Yearender: Top 10 world sports news events in 2022

BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Here is Xinhua News Agency's selection of the 10 most significant pieces of international sports news in 2022, in chronological order:

File photo taken on Feb. 4, 2022 shows the river of images during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)

- Beijing successfully hosted the Olympic Winter Games from February 4 to 20 and the Paralympic Winter Games from March 4 to 13. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the opening and closing ceremonies and declared both events open.

China notched nine gold, four silver and two bronze medals to rank third, with the number of gold and total medals marking record highs in its Olympic Winter Games history. Sitting atop the medal standings with 61 medals, of which 18 were golds, the host nation also set new records in its Paralympic Winter Games history.

The legacy of Beijing 2022 went far beyond the arena. When Beijing won the Olympic bid in 2015, China aimed to engage 300 million people in winter sports. And by October 2021, over 346 million Chinese people had participated in winter sports or related leisure activities since 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

File photo taken on June 5, 2022 shows Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with his trophy during the awarding ceremony after the men's singles final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Casper Ruud of Norway at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)

- On June 5, Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Casper Ruud of Norway in straight sets to win his 14th French Open championship, becoming the first player in the Open era to win 22 Grand Slam men's titles.

File photo taken on June 24, 2022 shows team China perform during the Artistic Swimming Women's Team Free Final of the 19th FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)

- China claimed 18 gold, two silver and eight bronze medals at the 19th FINA World Championships held between June 18 and July 3, leveling with the United States on the gold medals table and finishing second in the medals tally. China completed a clean sweep of 13 titles in diving and surpassed the 100-gold mark in the discipline at the worlds.

File photo taken on July 24, 2022 shows Armand Duplantis (R) of Sweden hugs his father and coach Gregory Duplantis during the men's pole vault awarding ceremony at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in Eugene, Oregon, the United States. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

- Three new world records were created at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, the United States. On July 22, Sydney McLaughlin of the United States set a new women's 400m hurdles world record with 50.68 seconds. Two other world records were also shattered, with Swedish star pole vaulter Armand Duplantis clearing 6.21m and Nigeria's Tobi Amusan clocking 12.12 seconds in the women's 100m hurdles.

Image shows the Phryges, the official mascots for the Paris 2024. (Paris 2024 Organizing Committee/Handout via Xinhua)

- "Ouvrons Grand Les Jeux", meaning "Games Wide Open", was unveiled on July 25 as the shared slogan for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. A Phrygian cap named the Phryges was unveiled on November 14 as the official mascot for the Paris 2024. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games use the same design with slight differences.

File photo taken on Sept. 25, 2022 shows Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya celebrates after the Berlin Marathon 2022 in Berlin, Germany. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

- On September 25, Kenya's two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge clocked two hours, one minute and nine seconds to win the 2022 Berlin Marathon, beating his own world record set in 2018 by 30 seconds.

File photo taken on Oct. 1, 2022 shows team USA members celebrate during the awarding ceremony of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Xinhua/Hu Jingchen)

- On October 1, the United States captured its fourth consecutive title at the FIBA Women's World Cup with an 83-61 victory over China. The silver medal for China's women represented the nation's best finish in the global showpiece since 1994.

File photo taken on May 8, 2022 shows Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts on the podium after the men's singles final against Alexander Zverev of Germany at the Madrid Open in Madrid, Spain. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)

- On November 15, Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, 19, was confirmed as the year-end world No. 1, becoming the youngest year-end ATP No. 1 since the ranking system was introduced in 1973 and the first player outside the Big Four - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray - to end the season as world No. 1 since 2003. Alcaraz won five titles overall in 2022, including his success at the US Open.

File photo taken on Sept. 15, 2019 shows team Spain celebrate during the awarding ceremony after the final match between Spain and Argentina at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

- Spain overtook the United States to become the new No. 1 team in the FIBA men's world rankings released on November 18. Spain is only the second team to top the rankings since 2010, ending a 12-year run of the United States holding the top position.

File photo taken on Nov. 20, 2022 shows the general view of the opening ceremony of the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

- The 2022 FIFA World Cup ended in dramatic fashion with Argentina beating France through a penalty shootout in the final and winning the trophy for the first time in 36 years.

With seven goals and three assists, Argentina's Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. French striker Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot for the tournament's top scorer with eight goals.

The Qatar World Cup marked several firsts in the history of the tournament - the first held in the Middle East, the first taking place in winter of the Northern Hemisphere. The Qatar World Cup also became the first to feature female referees, semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) and five-substitute rule. Morocco became the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals.