Sport quiz of the year: test your knowledge of 2023

Top left, clockwise: Eleanor Cardwell of England netball, tennis great Novak Djokovic, former snooker world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, cricketer Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka. Composite: Guardian Picture Desk

1. January began with a bang as a classic PDC world darts championship final saw 'the greatest leg ever played'. Who were the two finalists?

   1. Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen

   2. Gerwyn Price and James Wade

   3. Gary Anderson and Peter Wright

   4. Jonny Clayton and Luke Humphries

2. Novak Djokovic returned to the Australian Open after having his visa rejected in 2022, and won the title. How many times has he now lifted the trophy?

   1. Six

   2. Eight

   3. 10

   4. 12

3. In the NFL, Super Bowl LVII saw the Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in Arizona. What was the final score?

   1. Chiefs 7-3 Eagles

   2. Chiefs 14-24 Eagles

   3. Chiefs 35-10 Eagles

   4. Chiefs 38-35 Eagles

4. In the 2023 Six Nations, the highest points-scorer, top try scorer and player of the tournament were all French. Which team won the trophy?

   1. England

   2. France

   3. Ireland

   4. Scotland

5. Ireland's performance in the Women's Six Nations meant that the country managed what unique achievement this year?

   1. Grand slams in the men's and women's events

   2. Five wins in one event, five losses in the other

   3. Grand slam in one event, wooden spoon in the other

   4. Unbeaten across both tournaments

6. In February, the Women's T20 World Cup took place in South Africa. Australia lifted the trophy, but who surprised England in the semi-finals?

   1. Australia

   2. India

   3. South Africa

   4. West Indies

7. Who came out with this memorable quote in March? "They don't play for something important here. They don't want to play under pressure."

   1. Antonio Conte

   2. Pep Guardiola

   3. José Mourinho

   4. Gareth Southgate

8. The Formula One season kicked off in March with the Bahrain Grand Prix – won by Max Verstappen. How many of the year's 22 races did he win?

   1. 16

   2. 19

   3. 21

   4. 22

9. 

   At which racecourse was this picture taken?

   1. Aintree

   2. Cheltenham

   3. Leopardstown

   4. Longchamp

10. Ange Postecoglou signed off at Celtic with a Scottish Cup final victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. What was unusual about Caley's trip to Hampden Park?

    1. They were the first third-tier side to reach the final

    2. They sent out a youth team in a protest over prize money

    3. They were knocked out in the fourth round and reinstated

    4. The match was delayed after the team bus driver got lost

11. Luton Town returned to the English top flight for the first time since 1991-92 after a dramatic penalty shootout in the playoff final. Who did they beat?

    1. Coventry City

    2. Middlesbrough

    3. Norwich City

    4. Watford

12. What happened on the 17th hole on day two of the Masters in April?

    1. Rory McIlroy broke two of his clubs in frustration

    2. McIlroy's caddie was ordered to remove his 'No to LIV' baseball cap

    3. A squirrel stole a ball and ran up a tree with it

    4. High winds blew three trees over as Sergio García was lining up a putt

13. Who said this? "When I woke up this morning I was telling myself I was stupid to run a marathon, and what is wrong with me. I was so scared I even cried."

    1. Mo Farah

    2. Kelvin Kiptum

    3. 

       Sifan Hassan

    4. Eliud Kipchoge

14. Why was third-placed Joasia Zakrzewski disqualified from the Manchester to Liverpool GB Ultras race?

    1. Her twin sister ran half of the 50-mile race for her

    2. She got a lift in a friend's car between checkpoints

    3. Her running shoes were not approved by the organisers

    4. She took a shortcut along the Manchester Ship Canal

15. Who ended Ronnie O'Sullivan's world title defence at the Crucible?

    1. Luca Brecel

    2. Mark Selby

    3. Si Jiahui

    4. Mark Williams

16. In April, Spanish climber and 'extreme athlete' Beatriz Flamini ended her 500-day stint in what location?

    1. On a boat adrift in the Atlantic

    2. Inside a cave in Granada

    3. On the roof of Atlético Madrid's stadium

    4. On top of a mountain in the Pyrenees

17. Roma lost a bad-tempered Europa League final to Sevilla on penalties. How did their manager, José Mourinho, respond?

    1. He called his team 'the real winners' in his press conference

    2. He confronted the referee, Anthony Taylor, in the car park after the game

    3. He called Taylor a 'bald fraud' on Twitter

    4. He said Sevilla were the better team and deserved their victory

18. Manchester City completed a historic treble by beating Inter in the Champions League final. On that subject, which of these venues is the odd one out?

    1. The City Ground, Nottingham

    2. Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul

    3. Wembley Stadium, London

    4. Etihad Stadium, Manchester

19. 

    Where was this picture taken?

    1. Bilbao

    2. Copenhagen

    3. London

    4. Paris

20. The NBA season concluded in June with the Denver Nuggets beating Miami Heat 4-1 in the finals. Who was the season MVP?

    1. Nikola Jokic

    2. Giannis Antetokounmpo

    3. LeBron James

    4. Joel Embiid

21. Why were Aldila Sutjiadi and Miyu Kato disqualified from the French Open?

    1. They came to blows at the net after a bad-tempered first-round singles match

    2. Kato accidentally struck a ball kid with a loose shot during a women's doubles game

    3. Kato stood in for Sutjiadi in a mixed doubles match without informing tournament officials

    4. The pair posted pictures on social media complaining about the Roland Garros facilities

22. "I said the issues that are with the car. I’ve driven so many cars in my life. I know what a car needs. I know what a car doesn’t need." Who said this during a disappointing season?

    1. Charles Leclerc

    2. Bubba Wallace

    3. Lewis Hamilton

    4. Romain Grosjean

23. Who won the NHL's Stanley Cup in 2023?

    1. Florida Panthers

    2. Vegas Golden Knights

    3. Montreal Canadiens

    4. Seattle Kraken

24. The Women's World Cup kicked off in Australia and New Zealand in July. Who went on to win the golden boot?

    1. Aitana Bonmatí

    2. Lauren James

    3. 

       Hinata Miyazawa

    4. Alexandra Popp

25. There were plenty of surprises at this summer's tournament, but who were the only team to beat the eventual winners, Spain?

    1. Colombia

    2. Jamaica

    3. Japan

    4. Nigeria

26. England and Australia played out a thrilling, intense Ashes series which ended in a 2-2 draw. But who was the series' top run-scorer?

    1. Joe Root

    2. Steve Smith

    3. Zak Crawley

    4. Usman Khawaja

27. Which legendary bowler ended his cricket career by taking the final wicket of the series?

    1. Stuart Broad

    2. Mitchell Starc

    3. Jimmy Anderson

    4. Moeen Ali

28. Which men's amateur golfer tied for the lead after the first round of The Open at Royal Liverpool?

    1. Christo Lamprecht

    2. Sam Bennett

    3. Harrison Crowe

    4. Aldrich Potgieter

29. Which famous cricket nation failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing to Scotland in a July qualifier?

    1. England

    2. Pakistan

    3. Sri Lanka

    4. West Indies

30. Which champion said: "It's great to win but even if I had lost, I would have been really proud of myself, playing against a legend of our sport."

    1. Carlos Alcaraz

    2. Luca Brecel

    3. Wyndham Clark

    4. Sha'Carri Richardson

31. Which dominant cycling team won all three men's grand tours with three different riders this year?

    1. Ineos Grenadiers

    2. UAE Team Emirates

    3. Bahrain Victorious

    4. Jumbo-Visma

32. 

    Where was this photo taken?

    1. Bath

    2. Budapest

    3. Mostar

    4. Venice

33. Which NFL franchise was sold for $6.05bn in July, becoming the most valuable team in US sports as a result?

    1. Dallas Cowboys

    2. Miami Dolphins

    3. Philadelphia Eagles

    4. Washington Commanders

34. How did England fare at the Netball World Cup, held in July and August in South Africa?

    1. They won the tournament

    2. They lost in the final to Australia

    3. They came fourth after losing the bronze-medal match to Jamaica

    4. They went out in the preliminary group stages

35. What was the shortest race at the world athletics championships in Budapest that did not feature a Team GB medallist?

    1. 100m

    2. 200m

    3. 400m

    4. 800m

36. Complete the tennis sequence: Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Marketa Vondrousova ...

    1. 

       Coco Gauff

    2. Elena Rybakina

    3. Ons Jabeur

    4. Karolina Muchova

37. "I laugh when people link me with LIV Golf. I’ve never liked the format. Phil [Mickelson] has told me I have no reason to go play for LIV. He has told me that multiple times." Who said this in August?

    1. Tiger Woods

    2. Rory McIlroy

    3. Jon Rahm

    4. Scottie Scheffler

38. Who was the most expensive signing in the men's summer transfer window?

    1. Declan Rice

    2. Harry Kane

    3. Moisés Caicedo

    4. Jude Bellingham

39. Who were the unexpected winners of the men's world basketball championships in September?

    1. Canada

    2. Germany

    3. Great Britain

    4. Latvia

40. South Africa won the 2023 Rugby World Cup to defend their 2019 title. What connects their three knockout victories in France?

    1. They won despite losing a player to a red card

    2. They won each match by a solitary point

    3. They were behind at 80 minutes in each game

    4. They did not concede a try in all three matches

41. The tournament in France was one of the year's biggest sporting events. Which four teams ended the pool stages unbeaten?

    1. New Zealand, France, South Africa and Australia

    2. France, Ireland, England and Wales

    3. Fiji, France, Ireland and South Africa

    4. Wales, Argentina, France and New Zealand

42. The 2023 Rugby World Cup saw a record-equalling eight red cards. Which of these players was not sent off at the tournament?

    1. Siya Kolisi

    2. Sam Cane

    3. Tom Curry

    4. Johan Deysel

43. 

    Where was this picture taken?

    1. Ahmedabad

    2. Auckland

    3. Paris

    4. Sydney

44. Europe won the Ryder Cup in September, beating the USA in Rome. What incident caused Rory McIlroy to confront Patrick Cantlay's caddie in a car park after Saturday's games?

    1. Cantlay had refused to wear his official cap during the fourballs match involving McIlroy

    2. Cantlay's caddie, Joe LaCava, waved his cap in celebration before McIlroy had taken his final shot

    3. LaCava repeatedly coughed when McIlroy was about to hit his tee shots

    4. Cantlay and his caddie claimed McIlroy had illegally moved his ball in heavy rough

45. "I watch the NBA Finals and they have 'world champion' on their head – world champion of what? The United States?" Which international star said this?

    1. Leon Edwards

    2. Giannis Antetokounmpo

    3. Noah Lyles

    4. Shohei Ohtani

46. Who stunned the boxing world by knocking Tyson Fury down in the third round of their 'crossover' boxing match in Riyadh?

    1. Jake Paul

    2. Francis Ngannou

    3. Jon Jones

    4. Brock Lesnar

47. Who were the top run-scorer and top wicket-taker at the men's Cricket World Cup?

    1. Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami

    2. David Warner and Adam Zampa

    3. Quinton De Kock and Gerald Coetzee

    4. Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah

48. What was the unusual reason for Angelo Mathews' dismissal in Sri Lanka's group-stage match against Bangladesh?

    1. He kicked the ball away to stop his batting partner being run out

    2. He slipped at the crease and fell backwards into the wicket

    3. He was not ready to face his first ball in time because of a helmet problem

    4. He was dismissed without facing a ball after arguing with the umpire

49. Who won the Super League grand final in October to end St Helens' run of four straight titles?

    1. Catalans Dragons

    2. Hull Kingston Rovers

    3. Warrington Wolves

    4. 

       Wigan Warriors

50. 

    Where in the world was this picture taken?

    1. Abu Dhabi

    2. Las Vegas

    3. Singapore

    4. Paris

51. How many different players found the net in France's Euro 2024 qualifying victory over Gibraltar?

    1. Six

    2. Eight

    3. 10

    4. 12

52. Emma Hayes announced she will leave Chelsea at the end of the season after more than a decade in charge. What job will she take up next summer?

    1. Barcelona Women's head coach

    2. Chelsea youth academy manager

    3. England Women's new manager

    4. The US women's team manager

53. "I’ve kept quiet. It’s on them. If that’s how they want to go about it and win a game, then so be it." Which England star said this?

    1. Mary Earps

    2. Jack Grealish

    3. Jonny Bairstow

    4. Owen Farrell

54. On the LPGA Tour, which golfer won two of the year's five majors to end the year as world No 1?

    1. Céline Boutier

    2. Allisen Corpuz

    3. Lilia Vu

    4. Ruoning Yin

55. The Euro 2024 draw was set in Hamburg in December. Twenty-one teams have already qualified; how many nations are making their finals debut?

    1. Zero

    2. One

    3. Three

    4. Six

56. Which baseball team won their first-ever World Series title on 1 November?

    1. Arizona Diamondbacks

    2. Milwaukee Brewers

    3. San Diego Padres

    4. Texas Rangers

57. Complete the sequence: Lewis Hamilton, Emma Raducanu, Beth Mead ...

    1. Tom Daley

    2. Mary Earps

    3. Katarina Johnson-Thompson

    4. Adam Peaty

58. 

    Where in the world was this picture taken?

    1. Barcelona

    2. Beijing

    3. Berlin

    4. Bratislava

59. Another big year of sport lies ahead with Euro 2024 in Germany and the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris. Which new event will make its debut at the 2024 Olympics?

    1. Breakdancing

    2. Cricket

    3. Kickboxing

    4. Skateboarding

60. Who said: "Sport can be cruel sometimes. I guess that's why we love it."

    1. Mikel Arteta

    2. Andy Farrell

    3. Christian Horner

    4. Brendon McCullum

Solutions

1:A - Smith won 7-4 after hitting a nine-darter in the same leg that Van Gerwen had narrowly missed one – leading to chaos in the commentary box, 2:C - Ten of Djokovic's 24 grand slam titles have been won in Melbourne; he took this year's title for the loss of just two sets in the entire tournament., 3:D - It was the third-highest combined score in a Super Bowl, with Philadelphia's 35 points the highest total for a losing team., 4:C - Ireland's 32-19 win over France in Dublin proved crucial in delivering the grand slam, 5:B - Ireland's women lost all five games to earn the wooden spoon for the first time since 2004 as England's Red Roses retained their title., 6:C - The hosts pulled off an upset to reach their first Women's T20 World Cup final, but were defeated by Australia in the final., 7:A - The Tottenham manager launched into an extraordinary attack on his players and club after a 3-3 draw with Southampton., 8:B - Verstappen's teammate, Sergio Pérez won two races; the only non-Red Bull driver to win a grand prix all season was Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in Singapore., 9:B - It shows Paul Townend winning the Champion Chase on Energumene on the second day of the Festival in March., 10:C - Inverness lost 2-0 to Queen's Park, but their opponents were kicked out for fielding an ineligible player., 11:A - In a twist of fate, it was the team who stayed up at the Hatters' expense back in 1992 who lost out at Wembley., 12:D - The sudden fall of three pine trees at Augusta brought an early end to play. Thankfully, nobody was injured in the incident., 13:C - The Dutch Olympic champion made her marathon debut in London. Despite stopping to stretch and almost being struck by a motorbike, she went on to win the race., 14:B - Zakrzewski has claimed she was injured and that her plan was to withdraw at the next checkpoint – and described her decision to continue the race and accept the third-place trophy as 'a massive error'., 15:A - The Belgian's run to his first title saw him beat Williams, then O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals, Si in the semis and Selby in the final., 16:B - Flamini entered the cave in November 2021 and had lived in darkness and isolation for 18 months. 'I got on very well with myself,' she told reporters after returning to the surface., 17:B - Mourinho's outburst, which was caught on camera, led to a four-game ban from Uefa., 18:D - None of City's three trophies were clinched at their home ground – they won the Champions League in Turkey, the FA Cup final at Wembley, while Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Forest handed them the title., 19:A - The Basque city hosted the opening stage of this year's Tour de France. Here, riders can be seen passing Louise Bourgeois' Maman sculpture outside the Guggenheim Museum., 20:D - The Philadelphia 76ers center was the league's top scorer., 21:B - The pair 'sincerely apologised' for the incident – and opponents Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo received backlash for demanding that the umpire disqualify them., 22:C - The Mercedes driver accused his F1 team of not listening to his concerns as the former multiple world champions fell way off Red Bull's pace., 23:B - The Knights beat the Panthers 4-1 in the finals, winning the title just six years after they were founded., 24:C - The Japan attacker burst on to the world stage with five goals. Popp scored four despite Germany's early exit; James and Bonmatí got three each for finalists England and Spain., 25:C - Japan beat Spain 4-0 in the group stages but lost in the quarter-finals to Sweden. Nigeria beat Australia in the group stages, while Colombia stunned Germany, who failed to progress from Group H., 26:D - Khawaja's 496 beat Crawley by just 16 runs; Root racked up 412 runs, while Smith made a total of 373., 27:A - Broad dismissed Alex Carey to seal victory at the Oval, having announced his retirement during the Test. Moeen also retired from England duty after the match., 28:A - Lamprecht's opening 66 briefly had him joint-top of the leaderboard. The 6' 8" tall South African eventually finished tied for 74th as Brian Harman won the Claret Jug., 29:D - The Windies, winners in 1975 and 1979, finished fifth in the 'Super Six' final qualifying round as Sri Lanka and the Netherlands advanced., 30:A - The Spanish star was speaking after his epic five-set win over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final., 31:D - Primoz Roglic won the Giro d'Italia, Jonas Vingegaard won the Tour de France and Sepp Kuss won the Vuelta a España, leading home a team 1-2-3 ahead of Vingegaard and Roglic., 32:C - The Bosnian city's famous 16th-century bridge hosted Red Bull's cliff diving world series in September., 33:D - Dan Snyder bought the team for $800m in 1999 and ended his unpopular tenure as owner by selling to Josh Harris, who has also invested in the NBA's 76ers, the NHL's Devils and Premier League club Crystal Palace., 34:B - The Roses came up short in the final, losing 61-45 in Cape Town, but the silver medal equalled their best-ever performance in 1975., 35:B - Zharnel Hughes won bronze in the men's 100m, Matt Hudson-Smith won silver in the 400m, while Keely Hodgkinson took silver and Ben Pattison bronze in their respective 800m finals. Hughes was fourth in the 200m final., 36:A - Gauff won the US Open in September to complete a year with four different women's slam champions. Salabenka beat Rybakina in Melbourne, Swiatek defeated Muchova in Paris and Vondrousova won the Wimbledon final against Ons Jabeur., 37:C - The Masters champion's words would come back to bite him in December – when he joined LIV Golf., 38:C - Chelsea paid £115m to sign Caicedo from Brighton; Rice cost Arsenal £105m, Kane moved to Bayern for £100m and Real Madrid spent £88.5m on Bellingham., 39:B - In a tournament filled with surprises, Latvia beat defending champions Spain while Germany beat the US and Serbia in their last two matches to win a first-ever title., 40:B - The gritty Springboks beat the hosts 29-28, edged out England 16-15 and then won an attritional final against New Zealand 12-11., 41:B - France beat New Zealand and Ireland beat South Africa to raise hopes of a northern hemisphere takeover; in the end, only England made it to the semi-finals., 42:A - While New Zealand's Cane became the first player to see red in a World Cup final, Kolisi received a yellow card. Curry was sent off early against Argentina; Namibia's Deysel was dismissed for the challenge that left Antoine Dupont with a fractured cheekbone., 43:A - It's the light show before India's final against Australia – which probably pleased the watching fans more than the game., 44:B - It was an oddly hat-focused affair – Cantlay didn't wear a cap, which led to US players and caddies waving their caps in celebration. He claimed it was simply because it didn't fit him., 45:C - The world 100m and 200m champion's playful swipe at US team sports was met with a swift backlash, although Greek NBA star Antetokounmpo backed Lyles' comments in an interview., 46:B - Ngannou, a former MMA world champion, belied his lack of boxing experience to seriously test Fury, who scraped a split-decision victory but later postponed his unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk., 47:A - Kohli hit 765 runs, with Rohit second on 597, and Shami took 24 wickets as India dominated the tournament – and then lost the final to Australia., 48:C - The Sri Lanka batter became the first player in 146 years of international cricket to be 'timed out' and called his opponents 'disgraceful' for making the appeal., 49:D - Wigan beat Catalans 10-2 at Old Trafford, after the French side had stunned Saints in the semi-finals., 50:B - The first Las Vegas Grand Prix had its doubters – not least Max Verstappen – but it delivered on race day., 51:C - Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick in France's 14-0 win. Eight other France players found the net, and Gibraltar's Ethan Santos scored an own goal., 52:D - Hayes, who has previous experience of working in the United States, is taking on the challenge of rebuilding the USWNT after a dismal World Cup showing., 53:C - Bairstow was talking about his controversial stumping by Alex Carey in the Ashes at Lord's, which led to an unseemly scuffle in the Long Room., 54:C - Once the world's leading amateur player, Vu had considered quitting professional golf during the Covid pandemic – but won the Women's Open at St Andrews and the Chevron Championship in a breakthrough year., 55:B - Serbia are the only newcomers, having never reached the finals as an independent nation. Slovenia (2000) and Albania (2016) are making their second appearances., 56:D - The Rangers beat the Diamondbacks 4-1 in an unexpected showdown for the title; Texas were 50-1 shots before the season started, with Arizona 125-1 outsiders., 57:B - Earps won the BBC's Sports Personality award in December, following Mead and Raducanu as the first female trio to win the award consecutively since 1962-64 (Anita Lonsbrough, Dorothy Hyman and Mary Rand)., 58:B - The picture was taken at the FIS snowboard and freeski Big Air World Cup in December, at the industrial site also used for the 2022 Winter Olympics., 59:A - Officially named 'breaking', the only new sport at the 2024 Games will feature two 16-person contests for 'B-Boys' and 'B-Girls'. Skateboarding first appeared at Tokyo 2020; cricket and kickboxing are set to feature in 2028., 60:B - The Ireland head coach was speaking after his side, ranked No 1 in the world, lost to New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

Scores

1. 31 and above.

   Very impressive work! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from all of us at Guardian sport.

2. 46 and above.

   An exceptional effort! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from all of us at Guardian sport.

3. 0 and above.

   Hard luck! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from all of us at Guardian sport.

4. 56 and above.

   Your sporting knowledge is unrivalled! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from all of us at Guardian sport.