By T. Fakhoury

But when people talk about athletic perfection in 2025, one name is elevated (literally) above all: Armand “Mondo” Duplantis. Duplantis, born in Lafayette, Louisiana (USA) on Nov. 10, 1999, and a Sweden representative through his mother, is a hybrid of American power and Scandinavian precision. He was brought up in two former elite athletes’ homes: his father, Greg, a former pole vaulter, and his mother Helena, a Swedish heptathlete. Mondo was raised in a backyard envisioned for greatness: his family had a pole-vault runway installed behind their house. That’s when his path started. From an early age, it was obvious that Duplantis wasn’t simply talented — he was extraordinary. He was a trailblazer—breaking youth records and junior records. Then came the teen years, which saw him begin to break world records. His rise was a series of meteoric turns, but even after his Olympic and world titles Duplantis still felt unsatisfied. He continued. 2025 was the year Duplantis didn’t just make pole vault the world record … he redrew the boundaries of what human beings were allowed to do with their bodies. Whenever Duplantis sets a world record, fans respond, “Is this the limit?”. And all the time, he goes even further in reply. Mondo, himself, knows himself quite well now, and the only thing stopping him to move up is himself. He intentionally lowers himself on purpose so that he can keep breaking these records inch by inch. In 2025, he put in another set of outrageous shows pushing the pole vault world record farther than anyone had imagined. That makes the height especially special isn’t it? The impossible look? His is a clean, fluid, almost artistic shape. He leaps up higher than the rooftop of some houses, lands smiling and runs off as if nothing had happened. It’s not just that he’s beating other people who’re competing; he is pitted against history and prevailing every time. Not just does Mondo dominates Pole vaulting, he is also a gifted runner, who runs very, very fast and even competed with some Olympic athletes in other events. As far as for Mondo Duplantis there’s nothing like a wall, barrier or even a small voice screaming he wouldn’t be able to do what he dose, and for that alone Mondo broke some of the most records ever in the world in 2025 leaving him as the perfect cut up in between the entire bunch. We want to se Mondo continue to overcome, continue to persevere in life and grow to be the epitome of many people lives, because he so relentlessly encourages and demonstrates that “not being able” is something we shouldn’t ignore and because there should be no wall that can stop you in life, there is always a way over.

By S. Chamberlain

2025 has been a landmark year in the world of sports, filled with records, surprises and unforgettable moments. Every year new athletes are discovered, and more teams develop and progress. It is important to honour the hard work and grit of some of these players.
No team captured the spotlight this year as football team Paris Saint-Germain – they won the 2025 UEFA Champions League final with a dominant 5-0 victory over Inter Milan. This shows that players worked hard, and it was worth it!
In a year full of talent, no athlete shone brighter than tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, after winning the 2025 US Open – beating Jannik Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to claim his second US Open title and reclaim No. 1 ranking. This shows incredible grit for going back to first place without giving up. Truly inspiring.
If there’s one moment from 2025 that fans will never forget, it’s when female tennis player Iga Swiatek had her emphatic 6-0,6-0 win over Amanda Anisimova in the final of Wimbledon Championships 2025. It was the first “double-bagel” in a women’s Wimbledon final since 1911, a feat that shocked headlines everywhere.
2025 also introduced a rising star who reshaped expectations, the French teenager who scored twice in PSG’s historic final, Désire Doué. He is known for his very versatile forward/midfielder, where he can play both on the wings and more centrally when needed. In the final UEFA Champions League (2025), he scored 2 goals and provided one assist in a stunning 5-0 win over Inter Milan, making him standout throughout the whole match.
Perhaps the most unexpected twist of the year came during the intense battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, both fighting for world champion. Even though they both rose together on the same team, there seems to be growing tension between the teammates. Their duels weren’t clean or tame, there were multiple collisions, on track battles and controversial overtakes making all races unpredictable. Currently, Lando Norris is holding the lead. Will Oscar take his first-place position back? Or will Max Verstappen make an appearance?
Looking back, 2025 proved to be a year that redefined what’s possible in sport. From unexpected champions to record-breaking performance the season reminded us that even in the most structured competitions, unpredictability is what keeps fans watching and on edge. Whether it was rising stars claiming centre stage or rivals pushing each other to new limits, 2025 delivered moments that will shape the future of sports for years to come.

By V. Messana

By L. Wichmann

This year was full of emotional, historical and intense moments in sports, from Islam Makhachev becoming a two-division champion to Paris Saint Germain’s historical champions league win stay tuned to read about  some of the best moments in sports throughout this year.  

For those of you who like college football, you are probably familiar with Jeremiyah Love and his historical season with Notre Dame this year. On Saturday the 22nd of November, Jeremiyah love put up a masterclass against Syracuse with 171 yards, 3 touchdowns and 8 carries which averages 21.4 yards per carry. This was a specifically important game in the season due to Jeremiyah cementing his legacy in Fighting Irish history for the Single Season touchdown record.

Moving onto football, Paris Saint Germain played Inter Milan in the 2025 Champions league final and beat them 5-0! It was the largest defeat in Champions League final history and was PSG’s first Champions League win. They started off as major underdogs but proved that anything is possible in sports.

By E. Rizkallah

No sport captures the feeling of the unknown quite like the UFC. The moment two fighters walk into the cage, everything becomes unpredictable. One clean punch, one perfectly timed kick, or even a single mistake can completely change the fight. You can be winning the whole time and still lose in a second. That’s what makes the UFC so exciting because it keeps you guessing until the very end.
Unlike other sports, there is never a guaranteed outcome. A team can’t just hold the ball and wait for the clock to run out. In the UFC, anything can happen at any moment. You could spend months training, studying every move your opponent makes, and still get caught by something you never saw coming. That’s what makes every fight so intense and so real.
There are plenty of examples of this. Anderson Silva was once seen as unbeatable, but he was knocked out by Chris Weidman. Ronda Rousey, who seemed unstoppable, was taken down by Holly Holm with one perfect head kick. Even Conor McGregor, one of the most famous fighters in the world, has been shocked by unexpected losses. In the UFC, no one is ever truly safe from the unknown.
But the unknown in fighting is not only physical. It is also mental. Fighters have to prepare their minds as much as their bodies. Every time they step into the cage, they face fear, pressure, and doubt. They know that one mistake could change their career forever, but they still go out there and take that risk. That level of courage is what makes the sport so special.
The UFC is more than just punches and knockouts. It is about unpredictability, emotion, and the stories behind every fighter. It is about people who are willing to step into the unknown, take a chance, and trust the work they have put in.
In a way, the UFC is a reflection of life itself. You can plan and prepare as much as you want, but you will never really know what is coming next. That mystery is what makes both fighting and life worth it. The unknown keeps us challenged, motivated, and alive.

By T. Belmonte

The unknown is every sport biggest enemy. There’s no way of guessing when a point will be scored, whether a team will win or not, and especially when accidents will occur. The simplest, and only way to find out is by practicing and competing. Organizations, coaches and athletes adapt their sport whenever needed. Serious accidents and fatalities are tragic, but they’re the only way to make sports safe and enjoyable. 
 
Technology plays a huge part in every sport, but when it comes to a sport that revolves around technology — and of course a bit of strategy — the unknown poses serious threats. Formula 1 is the most famous sport that requires full use of technology, better motors, engineers, machines, computers. All these factors are what make faster cars, and teams are constantly trying to build the fastest car, the one that will cross the finish line first every time. 
"But why is the secret enemy of F1?"  
Well, for the past 75 years, Formula 1 has been considered one of the most dangerous sports in the world, causing several serious and fatal accidents. Accidents that couldn't have been avoided because of the unknown. Situations like such were bound to happen but it's impossible to know what will cause them until they happen. Therefore, the lack of knowledge is truly the biggest nemesis of this sport. 
Though it isn't true to say that these tragedies haven't caused any good in the sport. Since the start of F1 75 years ago, a significant decrease in accidents can be noticed. Even as recently as 2008, a driver would usually have 1-3 serious accidents – broken bones or worse – per season. Nowadays, it is rare for a driver to have even one accident in the year. Fatalities have brought innovations and constant safety improvements to the drivers, cars and even the tracks.  
Some of the most notable innovations and adaptations of Formula 1 include: 

• 1960s: After the tragic death of two-time world champion Jim Clark, tracks were remodelled to remove dangerous obstacles such as trees and lampposts. 
  

• 1970s: Due to the number of fatalities and serious accidents, such as Niki Lauda's famous crash, doctors active in the practices and races received more authority to step in when they found necessary. 
  

• 1980s: Car designs were adapted to reduce the risk of fire through the adoption of fuel tanks housed within the car's single-shell body structure. 
  

• 1990s: The passing of Ayrton Senna shocked the entire world. Both cars and tracks were seriously reviewed. Stricter barrier tests and side-impact tests were introduced. 
  

• 2010s: The halo cockpit is argued to be the most significant safety development in Formula 1 history. After the sad loss of driver Jules Bianchi in 2015, the open cockpit and open wheels were assessed and replaced by the halo, which made the cockpit all the less open. The halo saved the lives of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Romain Grosjean, Max Verstappen. 
  

Finally, despite the unknown being scary, it is ultimately necessary and helpful when it comes to improving the safety of a sport. It would be foolish to attempt to skip ahead, trying to avoid accidents, innovations with no previous backing could cause more accidents than reduce them. ​

By L. Wichmann

On December 19th, 1983, a significant piece of sporting history slipped into obscurity. The Jules Rimet trophy, the original FIFA World Cup prize and a permanent fixture in Brazil after their third tournament victory, was stolen from the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. This audacious act was orchestrated by Sérgio Peralta, with Francisco Rivera and José Luiz Vieira carrying out the physical theft. 
The plan consisted of a faliure in the display of the trophy, where the replica was stored in the vault, meanwhile the real trophy was on display. Sérrgio Peralta, who represented Clube Athletico Mineiro in CBF exploited this failure and hired Francisco Rivera and José Luiz Vieira to carry out his plan. 
The trophy, a symbol of unparalleled achievement and a tangible link to decades of footballing legend, was never seen again. Despite extensive efforts by authorities, its trail went cold, leaving behind only questions and speculation. The most widely held belief is that the thieves melted the trophy for its gold, effectively reducing a global icon to mere raw material. However, this theory has never been definitively proven, and the true circumstances of its ultimate disposal remain contested. 
The absence of the Jules Rimet trophy leaves a void, not just in the CBF's display cases, but in the collective memory of football fans. Its disappearance stands as a persistent puzzle, a moment where a treasured artifact simply ceased to exist in any known form. ​

By T. Fakhoury

​The Beauty of Sports lies in its uncertainty, every type of sport is Unpredictable, every viewer watches for the thrill of the moment and celebrating big wins or achievements, but what really makes sports special is its unpredictability. The amazing thing is that anyone can win at anytime and anywhere, totally changing the game in few seconds time, and the best part is that they don’t have to be the best at their sports, it might happen that the worst team beats the best team and in the end, that’s what keeps us watching them, always supporting and believing in our team and what keeps the spirit high for every viewer!
 
Examples of Sports unpredictability is last-minute goals in football or weather and luck changing a game, and what makes this feel even crazier is that for some reason it seems to happen in the most unexpected ways possible, by the most unexpected players and it always seem like the team either has all the fault for letting this unfortunate turn of events happen, or the opposing team has created a sequence of spectacular events that lead to something that nobody could predict.
 
For fans, the unknown is an emotional roller coaster. It’s what makes hearts race, voices scream, and entire cities celebrate or mourn. When a game is tied in its final moments, and the outcome hangs by a thread, the unknown unites everyone ; players, fans, even rivals in pure suspense. It’s the drama of not knowing that makes victory so sweet. And that is what pushes sports, and forever will, to keep performing at its best, with endless opportunitys, which seem impossible, but there are only impossible because nobody did it, and its only a matter of time, untill something impossible becomes comon.

By V. Messana

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been lifting grand slam trophies and being acclaimed for seasons. However, the success of these major players has strengthened the competition beneath them and ignited a group of talent in younger age groups that desperately want to rise to the same heights. We are a few weeks from the end 2025 season, and players are making their mark within the ITF World Tennis Tour junior rankings. In this article, we shall explore the unknown talent of tennis’s Next Gen rising stars.




Ivan Ivanov
Number 1 on the Boys ITF Junior Ranking
Bulgaria
16-year-olds
Preferred surface: clay
This year, Ivanov won the boys' singles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open, becoming the second Bulgarian in history after Grigor Dimitrov to lift both trophies in a season.
In their first official tournament meeting, No. 1 seed Ivan Ivanov beat his friend and sometimes training partner, seed Alexander Vasilev, to win his first US Open title.
As the current Number 1 of the Junior Ranking, Ivanov is a promising talent who will certainly take part in the next generation of great tennis players.




Andres Santamarta Roig
Number 3 on the Boys ITF Junior Ranking
Spain
18-year-olds
Preferred surface: unknown
From Valencia, he started playing tennis at the age of four years-old and competitively a few years later. He is one of four siblings. His father and two older brothers also played tennis. He attended school locally before switching to an online school through a program based in Madrid. He is a member of the GTennis Academy. He won the Madrid Open U16 title in 2023 and won the Spanish Junior Championship the following year. In
2024, he made his debut on the ATP Challenger Tour.[4][5] In November 2024, he was brought in as a practice partner for the Spanish Davis Cup Team ahead of the Davis Cup Finals.[6] In December 2024, he became the first Spaniard since Alberto Martín in 1996 to win the Orange Bowl title defeating Moise Kouame in the final.




Julieta Pareja
Number 1 on the Girls ITF Junior Ranking
USA
16-year-olds
Preferred surface: unknown
At 16, American tennis player Julieta Pareja just competed in her first Grand Slam on the professional circuit. The youngster, currently ranked number one in the world junior rankings, received a wild card to the main draw of the US Open, recognition for a standout season in which she has asserted herself not only among juniors but also against professionals on the WTA circuit. Slam at home will be incredible, especially with the support of the fans," said the athlete.
Earlier this season, she became the youngest player to reach a WTA semifinal since Coco Gauff in 2019, after advancing to the Copa Colsanitas in Colombia. The feat was especially significant due to the athlete's connection to the South American country: her mother is Colombian, and her father also has roots in the region. It was her own mother who introduced her to the sport at age 4, on the local courts.




Hannah Klugman
Number 3 on the Girls ITF Junior Ranking
Great Britain
16
years olds
Preferred surface: hard
Klugman was born in Kingston-upon-Thames and raised in Wimbledon Village, where she was introduced to tennis at the Westside Club. Her first coach was Alison Taylor, wife of former Wimbledon semifinalist Roger Taylor. She began training with Ben Haran at the age of nine. She is the youngest of four girls and was inspired to play tennis by her older sisters.
In January 2024, Klugman entered the 2024 Australian Open junior events. She reached the semifinals of the women's doubles alongside Mingge Xu. In June 2024, she received a wild card to qualify for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships singles. In the first round, she defeated Petra Marčinko, and in the second round, Linda Fruhvirtová.She lost in the final round of qualifying to American Alycia Parks.
​

By V. Messana

​Whether you are a gifted athlete looking for a full ride scholarship or a recreational sports player, your athletic ability is one of the things universities look out for. In this article, we will be exploring how sport can help you get into your dream school.
 
Scholarships
Athletic scholarships are offered at D1 and D2 levels as well as the NAIA and NJCAA levels. Most scholarships for D2 athletes are partial. Currently about 365 schools offer scholarships for D1 athletes and 293 for D2 athletes. Athletic scholarships can cover tuition and fees, course related books, room board and living expenses, depending on the size of the scholarship. However, fewer than 2% of high school students are offered athletic scholarships.
 
College Applications
Another way in which sports can help you get into your dream university is just by being in your college application. Admissions officers seek students who contribute positively to their community. Sport-related extracurriculars can set you apart. They show long-term involvement and dedication. Captaining a team or organizing events demonstrates leadership and responsibility. Other skills like teamwork, time management and resilience can transpire in your application through sport as well.
 
A good way to use sports to boost your college application is:
 

• Tracking sports involvement
• Maintaining a strong academic record alongside
• Include sports achievements (MVP in games, won a championship, etc.)

• Research colleges that value student athletes

 
Overall, sports can be a powerful asset in your journey to your dream school. While not everyone will receive a scholarship, the skills and qualities developed by sports carry just as much weight.