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rounds in every event, proving that he is really a magnificent all-rounder.

If Phelps were to be his own country, lets say the Phelps Republic of Michael,' he would have ranked fourth in the Olympic gold medal table. On top of this, he broke seven world records and even managed to win a race when he goggles filled with water and couldn't see where he was going. Now with 16 gold medals in total, Phelps is behind just one athlete, the Soviet gymnast Laryssa Latynina in the overall Games record. The accomplishment of Michael Phelps at the 2008 Olympic Games will never be forgotten.

Just as memorable as Phelps but a whole lot quicker, were the trio of gold medals won by the Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt. Before Beijing, it is fair to say Bolt was little known outside the track world but in shattering the 100m world record and even having time to mug for the camera before the finish line, he shot to superstardom. After going on to win the 200m and 4x400m relay, getting two more world records in the process, Bolt turned the Bird's Nest into a dance party. If there were a medal for personality of the year, Bolt would win without a doubt (in fact he did win the Overseas Personality of the Year Award at the BBC awards) with swivelling hips, cheeky demeanour and awesome performances. Bolt is a showman and will hopefully be around for years to come.

Lesser known outside of Europe was the success of Formula 1 (F1) driver Lewis Hamilton. In just his second professional F1 season, Hamilton not only won the Championship but became the youngest ever winner and perhaps just as importantly, the first black winner. In a thrilling season, Hamilton left it until the last race, or in fact the last lap, before claiming the crown, gaining 18 seconds on the car in front of him to secure his dream on one point from Felipe Massa. The last race summed up Hamilton's rare driving skill, doing what he had to do when the pressure was on and in tough conditions for much of the time. The reign of Lewis Hamilton has just begun and he has a great career ahead of him.

We mustn't forget our boxers either and the magnificent efforts of Joe Calzaghe during 2008 where he managed to maintain his unbeaten career record. For a fighter to never lose is quite something and it shows how much class Calzaghe must have to achieve such a feat. At the Beijing Olympics, underdog James Degale took the unexpected gold medal at his weight beating a number of favourites for the title in the process. Admittedly, boxing is not one of my most watched sports but these two athletes deserved a mention for their efforts in 2008.

A round up of the best athletes in 2008 wouldn't be complete without mentioning the quite amazing triumph of Team GB at the Beijing cycling track. With Chris Hoy, Rebecca Romero, Victoria Pembleton and Bradley Wiggins all shining amongst others it was a memorable track competition for the team. Hoy, who won three gold medals in possibly the most competitive and toughest events in the games, went on to win the British Sports Personality of the year also. The cycling providing some great days for British sport which will be remembered for years to come, until hopefully they do the same at the next Games!

For me, all of the athletes mentioned deserve the accolade of the best in 2008. Each have excelled in their own events and provided some fantastic sporting moments throughout the year. Apologies to any athletes that have missed out, it would have been great to pick everyone as a lover of sport in general but these lucky few stand out at top of their game this year.

Learn more about this author, Marc Steel.
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