Euros, Olympics and Paralympics — 2024 in pictures

The entire world mourned the loss of one of the greatest footballers of all time in 2024. Franz Beckenbauer passed away on January 7 at the age of 78. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (seen above) described Beckenbauer as a "great German." Beckenbauer was a World Cup winner as a player and coach and also won titles with Bayern Munich, the New York Cosmos and Hamburg.

In January, the Italian won his first tennis Grand Slam, the Australian Open. His second, the US Open, followed in September. Sinner ended the season by winning the ATP Finals. Two positive doping tests in March overshadowed his season, but the top-ranked men's player avoided a ban. The authorities believed Sinner's assertion that he had been accidentally contaminated with a banned substance.

No more taunts of "Neverkusen!" Bayer Leverkusen finally lost that moniker by winning the Bundesliga for the first time in their history. Led by Xabi Alonso (center), the team went unbeaten in the season's 34 league matches. Leverkusen then clinched the double by winning the German Cup. This will have made their 3-0 defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League final a bit easier to take.

After his triumph at the Giro d'Italia, Tadej Pogacar won the Tour de France in July (photo) before adding the world champion title to his trophy haul after a solo attack over 51 kilometers (31.7 miles) in Zurich. He thus became just the third rider to win the Triple Crown of Giro, Tour and World Championship — following in the footsteps of Eddy Merckx of Belgium and Ireland's Stephen Roche.

Germany had no happy ending as they hosted the 2024 European Championship. While the men's national side galvanized the whole nation behind them, it all ended in tears in the quarterfinals. Germany lost 2-1 in extra time to the eventual European champions, Spain. A blatant handball by Spain's Marc Cucurella (second from right) in the penalty area was inexplicably ignored by the officials.

The Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Paris was more spectacular and creative than ever before. The athletes sailed along the Seine River on boats, the Olympic flag raced along the river on a metal horse (photo), Lady Gaga and Celine Dion performed and the Olympic flame rose into the Parisian evening sky on a balloon.

Nobody won gold in Paris as often as he did. Frenchman Leon Marchand celebrated four Olympic victories at the Games in his home country, making him the most successful athlete at the event. In one evening, he achieved the feat of winning individual gold in both the 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter breaststroke within the space of a few hours — a historic achievement.

Marie Reichert, Elisa Mevius, Sonja Greinacher and Svenja Brunckhorst (from left to right) won Olympic gold for Germany in women's 3x3 basketball in Paris, beating Spain in the final 17-16. They went on to easily beat Bayer Leverkusen in a vote by German sports journalists for the country's "Team of the Year" for 2024.

Whether Imane Khelif of Algeria (photo) and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan should be allowed to box in the women's competition was the most significant talking point of the Olympics. Their gender was being publicly questioned. The IOC declared that both were women and could, therefore, compete in the women's boxing event. Khelif and Lin both won gold in their respective weight classes.

Markus Rehm won gold in the long jump for the fourth time in a row at the Paralympic Games in Paris. His winning distance was 8.13 meters (26 feet, 8 inches). The 36-year-old thus drew level with Carl Lewis, who won four consecutive Olympic gold medals in the long jump. "To be at the top for so long and to always be unbeaten is a huge honor," Rehm said. "It's nice that it's always worked out."

Patrick Lange of Germany won the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii for the third time in 2024, after 2017 and 2018. The 38-year-old triathlete set a new course record by becoming the first to complete the events in under eight hours. The new title winner at the Women's World Championship in Nice was also a German, as Laura Philipp triumphed for the first time in her career.

The 27-year-old Dutchman's fourth drivers' championship title in a row is not quite as impressive as his third. While Verstappen won 19 of 22 races in 2023, he won only nine of 24 in the 2024 season. Verstappen and his Red Bull team weakened in the second half of the season in particular. This time, the constructors' title went to the up-and-coming McLaren team.