In a way 2012 was a strange year for sport. With doping allegations against Lance Armstrong, racism controversies involving John Terry and Luis Suarez and the disaster of the Euros from an Ireland perspective it was easy to get side-tracked by the less savoruy stories in the world of sport.
But 2012 was a great year for sport with positive stories in every discipline...
"Never give up"
The Miracle of Medinah was not so much a miracle as a testament to the never-say-die attitude encapsulated by the sporting greats.
Heading into the final day, the US held a seemingly insurmountable 10 - 6 lead. Conventional wisdom suggested that Europe had little chance of overhauling that deficit.
But overhaul it they did in one of the great sporting comebacks. Martin Kaymer sank a putt on the 18th to complete the unlikeliest of comebacks in the dying embers of September.
(Video: BBC)
Tension to elation
Katie Taylor was always the favourite to claim the gold medal at the Olympics.
But as the gold medal winner was about to be announced after the final between the Bray boxer and Russian rival Sofya Ochigava, that did not stop the atmosphere in the London arena and across Ireland from becoming visibly tense.
And when Taylor sank to her knees, arms aloft as it was confirmed that she was the Queen of Women's Boxing, arms were raised in unison around Ireland as tension turned to elation.
Image by ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Unconditional support
Euro 2012 was an unmitigated disaster for Ireland as they crashed out at the first hurdle. Neither the players nor the manager emerged with any credit.
But one group did: the fans.
While Ireland were falling to a 4 - 0 defeat to Spain in Gdansk, the Green Army continued to sing in the rain, in defiance of what was happening on the pitch.
Lightning strikes twice
If you can remember the build up to the Olympics 100 metre final, Usain Bolt had plenty of doubters.
His compatriot and training partner Yohan Blake had beaten the sprinting legend at the Jamaican Olympic trials just months before the London showpiece.
And even though Blake's set a personal best time of 9.75 in the Olympic 100 metres final, Bolt lived up to his own legend by retaining his crown and celebrating in his own inimitable style.
Image by ©INPHO/PRESSEYE/William Cherry
Day of reckoning
The Paralympic Games were a great success for team Ireland and September 1st proved to be the high point.
Three gold medals were claimed on that day as well as two world records.
Jason Smyth broke his own world record to retain his Men's 100 metre T13 title and became the fastest Paralympian ever over 100 metres.
Later that day Michael McKillop also retained his Men's 800 metres T37 title, also setting a world record. Two days later McKillop also won the 1500 metres T37 title.
And to cap off a fine day's work, Darragh McDonald's gold was won in the pool as opposed to track, as he triumphed in the Men's 400 metre freestyle S6.
Messi's magic
There are hardly any superlatives left to describe Lionel Messi especially in the year that he beat Gerd Muller's record for goals in a calendar year.
The Barcelona No 10 finished on an eye-watering 91 goals in 2012 but his five goal salvo against Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals of the Champions League certainly helped him on his way to making history.
In fact, he set a landmark in that match, becoming the first man to score five in a Champions League match.
Main image by ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
