Over the last decade, British athletes have delivered some of the most iconic and inspiring performances on the global stage, cementing the country’s status as a sporting powerhouse. From Olympic triumphs to world cup victories against all odds, these moments have united the nation in joy and pride.
As we reflect on these victories, it’s important to remember that many of the individuals involved in the best British sporting moments in the last decade started out with sports days, after-school clubs, and local teams. If you’re involved in a club like this, you’ll have many opportunities to celebrate and commemorate wins and achievements. What better way is there to do this than with a glass award?
When Keely Hodgkinson won gold at Paris 2024
The most recent incredible British sporting moment on our list, Keely Hodgkinson’s 800m victory in the Paris 2024 Olympics was one long-awaited. No Brit had won the 800m at the Olympics since Kelly Holmes in Athens 2004, and despite Hodgkinson beating Holmes’ British record at Tokyo 2020, she’d come away with a silver medal.
An incredible Olympic cycle had seen the 22 year old win four European titles and the 2021 and 2023 Diamond League titles. But she had her eyes on an Olympic gold after finishing second at successive World Championships.
Hodgkinson took charge of the 800m final from the start, with only one thing on her mind. One minute and 56.72 seconds later, she’d crossed the line and won her first ever global gold.
As well as being Team GB’s first 800m win at an Olympics since 2004, it was the team’s first Olympic track title since Mo Farah had won the 5000m and 10,000m double in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
When England won the 2022 Euros
In the summer of 2022, England won their first major women’s title after an incredible tournament as the host nation and a drama-filled final against Germany. The dominance of England in the Euros put the spotlight on women’s football, bringing it into the mainstream and creating an incredible legacy. Almost 1500 new female football teams registered in the 2022-23 season after the Euros – now, in 2024, there are twice as many registered than 7 years ago. This was truly a sporting feat for the ages, and that final goal by Chloe Kelly is one of the absolute best British sporting moments in the last decade.
When Smith and van Gerwen gave us a perfect leg of darts
World No. 3 Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands) and No. 4 Michael Smith (England) stepped up in the final of the PDC World Championships on the 3rd of January 2023 to make history with a leg of darts closer to perfection than the sport had ever seen. Treble-20s and unmissed darts flew out of the hands of both players until their final visits where Smith managed to hit the all important double for the finish.
This nine-dart leg was only the second one to happen in a PDC World Championship final, the first achieved by Adrian Lewis against Gary Anderson in 2011. Whilst Anderson had hit three trebles in his first visit, he was miles away in his second – whilst MVG and Smith kept pushing each other to the bitter end of the leg. Beautiful!
The moment was made even more legendary by the sheer excitement of the commentator, Wayne Mardle, who yelled himself hoarse – “I can’t spake! I can’t spake!”
Michael Smith went on to win the match 7-4 to claim his first world championship title and to become world No. 1 for the first time.
When Wales won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2019
Winning the Six Nations is one thing, and an incredible achievement itself – but winning the Grand Slam? It’s one of rugby union’s greatest feats, with the winning team having to win all five of their matches.
Wales’ 2019 Grand Slam feat was full of achievements and broken records, from their 16-0 down comeback to beat France in the first round to the beating of their own record of 11 consecutive wins, first set more than a century prior. In the final, scrappy play from the Irish team made them unrecognisable from the team who had won their own Grand Slam the year before, and gave Welsh fly-half Gareth Anscombe the chance to score 6 penalties from 6 to put Wales 25-0 up at the 70th minute. A late try from Ireland in added time wasn’t enough to stop a Welsh victory, and when the final whistle blew, Wales had won the Grand Slam.
Emma Raducanu wins the US Open Title 2021
At just 18 years old, Emma Raducanu made tennis history when she won the US Open in 2021. Her professional tennis career had only begun in full just three months prior, and had not yet even had the chance to achieve most of the milestones many consider to be precursors to such an achievement. The British player was ranked world No. 150 prior to the tournament, which meant she had to go through three rounds of qualifying. She managed to do so without dropping a single set in any of her 10 matches, and won the final against Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3.
Emma Raducanu had already become the first qualifier to reach a Slam final, and winning meant she became the first qualifier to ever win a major. Her achievement also meant she became the youngest major champion since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon aged 17 in 2004. The odds were truly stacked against the young player, but she came through in spectacular fashion to prove there’s truly no right way to become a tennis great.
When Manchester City won a historic treble in 2023
Winning the FA Cup, the Premier League, or the UEFA Champions League are exciting achievements in their own right. And in 2023, Manchester City won all three to become the second English men’s club to do so after Manchester United in 1999.
Under the management of Pep Guardiola, City trailed Arsenal in the Premier League title race until April, when they showed their best. They’d lost against Tottenham Hotspurs in February, but 15 consecutive match wins later and they’d truly turned it around. Arsenal eventually lost their penultimate game against Nottingham Forest and surrendered the title to Manchester City, with the season ending on the 19th of May. And thus the club’s journey to the treble truly began.
City’s FA Club bid started strong with a 4-0 win over 2022 finalists Chelsea, and met Arsenal in the fourth round to win 1-0. They eventually reached the final against Manchester United, the cup final’s first Manchester derby, beating them 2-1 to achieve their seventh FA Cup title on the 3rd of June.
A week later on the 10th of June, Manchester City had reached the final of the UEFA Champions League against Inter Milan. They’d beaten Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals and Real Madrid in the semis, and came through with the match’s only goal, in the 68th minute, to win the treble.
When England won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019
The 2019 Cricket World Championship in England and Wales started poorly for the English side, with the team nearly knocked out in the round-robin stage following defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia. Their next two games, against New Zealand, who were finalists in the previous tournament four years prior and India, who had won the championship before that, had to end in English victory to keep their hopes of a first-ever title for the nation alive.
Despite entering the championship as the top-ranked ODI team, the odds were stacked against England as they managed to beat New Zealand and India to progress into the semi-finals. But their luck was beginning to turn, and when they met Australia in the semis, they defeated them by 8 wickets to move into the final against New Zealand.
The final was closely fought between the two sides, and ended in a tie-breaker when scores sat level after the end of a Super Over – the first Super Over to finish in a tie. England won the tie-break having scored more boundaries throughout the match and became World Cup champions for the first time in four final appearances.
Celebrate Every Win With Glass Awards
As the UK’s leading manufacturer of 3D crystal, our two decades worth of experience in creating crystal awards and trophies allows us to achieve unbeatable quality by using state-of-the-art 3D laser engraving to adorn each trophy with the name of the recipient.
Our huge range of crystal awards, trophies and gifts includes a wide variety of designs to suit all budgets, tastes and occasions, including sporting events such as school sports days, local football teams, and more.
Let us know what you need and when you need it, and we’ll do the rest. We ship worldwide and offer a same-day courier service for UK orders. Every award will be supplied in a high-quality, satin-lined presentation gift box.
Browse our range of crystal awards or contact the Laser Crystal team for further information, to receive a quote or if you’d like a sample. Alternatively, pop us a call on 01202 675000 and we’ll be happy to chat to you about your project!