Only Edith Masai of Kenya can keep up with the 32-year-old Briton in the early stages of the 10,000m but, like the rest of the nominal opposition, she is also knocked for six by the relentless pace maintained by Radcliffe.AprilTONY MCCOY: Even for a jockey so prolific, there had long been one glaring omission on his CV. Finally, at the 11th attempt, Tony McCoy achieves that elusive prize as he and Jonjo O'Neill-trained favourite Clan Royal survive those daunting obstacles - and a late challenge by last year's winner, Hedgehunter - for a famous success in the Grand National.MayRICKY HATTON: Having settled his dispute with Frank Warren out of court, the "Hit Man" realises his dream of seeing his name in lights in Las Vegas. And it's lights out for the light-welterweight's veteran Canadian challenger Arturo Gatti, whom he consigns to retirement despite further cuts. Next up, he says, is the great Floyd Mayweather.JunePAUL ROBINSON: After finishing runners-up to Sweden in their World Cup group, England meet Germany in Munich in the first knockout round on 25 June. The Saturday television audience is transfixed by a gripping 1-1 draw, following which the Spurs keeper isa national hero after saving two penalties as England finally win a shoot-out against the Germans.JulyMICHELLE WIE: The 16-year-old golfing sensation is the only female to take up the Royal and Ancient's begrudging invite to try to qualify for The Open Championship. The Hawaiian cruises through the regionals, but is agonisingly denied a place at Hoylake when missing out by a shot at final qualifying. Nevertheless, history has been made.AugustTIM BENJAMIN: Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Roger Black, and of David Jenkins (whose high-stepping, upright style his quarter-miling style so uncannily resembles), Benjamin becomes the latest Briton to win the European 400m title.

The fast-finishing Cardiffian emerges as a clear winner at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg.SeptemberIAN WOOSNAM: No longer simply "the only Welshman to have won a major", Woosnam is now "the captain whose Ryder Cup team inflicted on America an unprecedented third defeat in a row". Tiger Woods once again shows his hatred of team golf and ominously warns of "reviewing my future schedules". A partying Dublin barely notices.OctoberJENSON BUTTON: Improved aerodynamics and a radical new engine make BAR-Honda the surprise package of the season. Button wins five races in a thrilling four-way title tussle with Michael Schumacher, Alonso and Raikkonen. His championship hopes are only ended in the final GP, as Schumacher collides with him on the first bend in Brazil.NovemberANDREW FLINTOFF: "Freddie" wows the Australian public in his first Ashes appearance Down Under. Ten wickets and a swashbuckling century in the First Test at Brisbane secure victory and an eternal place in Aussie hearts. But he falls over after chasing Ian Chappell round a pub car park and flies home injured.

England lose the Ashes before the new year.DecemberWAYNE ROONEY: Like Moore, Gascoigne and Owen, Rooney's exploits at a World Cup earn him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. His five goals in five games couldn't stop Argentina beating England 2-1 in the quarter-finals but led to a £45m bid from Real Madrid, accepted by the Glazer family, prompting Sir Alex Ferguson's departure.Contributions by Steve Tongue, James Corrigan, Simon Turnbull, Nick Townsend, Ronald Atkin, Hugh Godwin, Alan Hubbard, Andrew Tong and Simon Redfern. Kerry Packer had more influence on big-time cricket than anybody who never held a bat. It is not too much of a stretch to suggest that by effectively buying the international game in early 1977 he dragged it kicking and screaming into the 20th century, and ensured its prosperity in the 21st. When he died last week, the tributes to Australia's richest man, television mogul, passionate polo player, inveterate gambler and only very occasional recreational cricketer were so generous as to border on the fulsome.

There was a minute's silence before play began in the Second Test match between Australia and South Africa, when an hour's might not have done justice to the necessary revolution that he wrought. Yet 28 years earlier the game's establishment would have fallen silent on news of his demise only after dancing to the point of exhaustion on his grave. Both now have professional jobs, relevant to their qualifications.J MICHAEL WALPOLEBIRMINGHAM We're all shareholders Sir: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is just plain wrong to write "shareholders are like obese, compulsive eaters who can never be asked to reduce their greed" (Opinion, 2 January). You know how crowds in crowd scenes are supposed to say "Rhubarb... rhubarb ..."? Well, that is what they are meant to say in the UK, but what do extras in other cultures say? Am I the only person who would like to know what foreigners say when they are herded into a crowd scene? In the USA I think they say "Walla walla walla", on the grounds that that sounds more like a jumbled background noise, whereas when you get a crowd of people saying "Rhubarb ...

rhubarb ...", it actually sounds just like a lot of people saying "Rhubarb .. rhubarb ..." quite distinctly That would make sense. Except in Walla Walla, which I believe is a real town in Australia ...I would also like to write (or, preferably, again, read) an article on what people say in answer to sneezing round the world. Here, it is "Bless you", in France it is "A tes souhaits" and in Germany "Gesundheit", but what about Saudi Arabia? India? Russia?Ah, and what about the smiling-for-photograph instruction? Here we tell people to say "Cheese" (though I have heard it said that when you say "Sex" it spreads the mouth further sideways) but what about the rest of the world? What do Japanese photographers say to their family the moment before the taking of the family photo (and the Japanese do seem to take more photographs of each other than anyone else in the world)?But the article I wish I had written most of all is about the different names that Winnie the Pooh is given all round the world. On the first day of this new year a celebrated old gridiron coach who had just announced he was heading off into retirement was asked what he was possibly going to do with the rest of his life.