From Tokyo to Istanbul and Croke Park: the top 25 moments of the year in women’s sport

25. Ireland women’s darts team (retaining WDF World Cup title)

Ireland and World Cups rarely go hand-in-hand, but Kevin Devaney’s team know very little of group-stage exits or quarter-final curses.

Captain Robyn Byrne, fellow Dubliner Katie Sheldon, Donegal’s Denise Cassidy and Kilkenny’s Aoife McCormack made easy work of Australia to secure another WDF World Cup title in Seoul, South Korea.

All four contributed wins as part of the 9-1 demolition of the Aussies to take back-to-back titles, following up on their 2023 victory over Wales.

24. Sophie O’Sullivan (NCAA 1,500m title)

You can only imagine how many times, and in how many ways, Sophie O’Sullivan has heard something to the effect of “she’s her mother’s daughter”. But pedigree alone doesn’t win races.

O’Sullivan jnr blew the rest of the field away in claiming the NCAA 1,500m title in June, becoming just the fifth Irish woman to earn an NCAA title. You hardly need a clue to guess one of the other names on that exclusive list.

23. Greta Streimikyte wins gold at the Paralympic World Championships

This was a long time coming for the Lithuanian-born Irishwoman. Streimikyte is a two-time Paralympian and a three-time European Champion, but she had never won gold on the world stage until she streaked home in the T13 1,500m event in New Delhi in September. After a decade of trying to make the breakthrough, she was in no mood to wait any longer and demolished the field to win by 12 seconds.

22. Róisín Ní Riain (World Championships medals)

LA might still be two-and-a-half years away, but Róisín Ní Riain is evidently keeping up her form from last year’s Paralympic Games to carry her through this four-year cycle.

The Limerick 20-year-old stormed the Para Swimming World Championships in September, showing the completeness of her skill set in pocketing medals in each of the four strokes (three silver and a bronze) before finishing off with another bronze medal in the SM13 200m individual medley.

21. Sarah Rowe wins the A-League soccer title with Central Coast Mariners

Sarah Rowe, right, with fellow Mariners player Brooke Nunn celebrate winning the A-League final against Melbourne Victory in May. Photograph: Olivier Rachon/Getty

The Mayo multi-sport demon added another notch to her belt by playing pro soccer in Australia in the AFLW off-season. She was a key asset at right-back as the Mariners took a fairytale first league title, winning on penalties against serial champions Melbourne Victory. Rowe then returned to Collingwood to complete her seventh season in Aussie Rules, becoming the second Irish woman to make 75 AFLW appearances.

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