Sporting Life writers nominate sportspeople to follow in 2024

Horse racing

Brandon Wilkie

‘Wilkie’ is a famous sporting surname, at least for those old enough to remember moustachioed Scottish swimmer David Wilkie, gold medal winner at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. But it’s a young Irishman, BRANDON WILKIE, who looks sure to be making more of a name himself in the apprentice jockey ranks in 2024.

After making the move from Eddie Harty in Ireland to Tim Easterby’s yard, Wilkie broke a leg riding out early in 2021 which meant a delayed start to his racing career, but support from the Easterby family was rewarded when the apprentice rode his first winner for the stable, Parys Mountain, at Catterick in May 2022.

Wilkie had five winners on the board by the end of that year and now based with another top Yorkshire trainer, Karl Burke, chalked up another 16 victories in 2023 resulting in his claim reducing to 5lb in November.

Highlights of Wilkie’s season included being entrusted with the ride on his stable’s Ayr Gold Cup runner Fast Response, who finished a close sixth, and getting a tune out of quirky habitual slow-starter Look Back Smiling to win a handicap at Doncaster on Futurity Trophy day.

John Ingles

Paddy Twomey

PADDY TWOMEY has been one of racing's emerging forces in recent seasons and the success of his two-year-olds in the latest campaign suggests he can make an impact in some of the major prizes in 2024, including in Classic company.

Twomey had ten individual two-year-old winners in 2023, with his juveniles accounting for 15 of the yard's 28 winners in total. Five of those two-year-olds achieved a Timeform rating of at least 100, headed by Deepone (108), who put himself into the conversation for top three-year-old honours when winning the Beresford Stakes with something to spare, and One Look (108p), who was a hugely impressive winner of the Goffs Million on debut and has only three above her in the market for the 1000 Guineas.

Others who showed notable promise for Twomey last season include A Lilac Rolla (100p), who took the notable scalp of Opera Singer when making it two from two, and Porters Place (84P), who picked up well from an unpromising position to score with plenty of hand on debut. The Timeform Large P denotes that she is likely to make significant improvement.

For the third season in succession Twomey achieved a strike-rate of 30% in Ireland – comfortably the highest among trainers with a decent sample size – and he will continue to place his horses to good effect.

Tony McFadden

Tennis

Arthur Fils

Heading into 2024, ARTHUR FILS is the highest-ranked teenager on the ATP Tour but there looks to be plenty more to come from the 19-year-old.

Fils enjoyed a real breakthrough season in 2023, winning his first ATP title on the clay of Lyon but he showed his all-court ability with some fine performances indoors – notably making the final in Antwerp, as well as reaching back-to-back semi-finals in Montpellier and Marseille early in the year.

His big serve benefitted him significantly indoors but was also a major factor in his claycourt success.

The forehand is also a major weapon – one of the most heavily spun on the tour.

But Fils is not standing still.

He recently appointed Sebastien Grosjean as his coach, the former world number four notably leaving his position as France’s Davis Cup captain to take the job. With former Grand Slam champion Sergi Bruguera also joining ‘Team Fils’, the young Frenchman looks in good hands.

As Grosjean said upon taking the post, “Arthur is an exceptional player with immense potential and I am confident that out collaboration will be fruitful”.

Their partnership immediately saw Fils reach the final of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah earlier this month.

He finished the season as world number 36 but the fact this was achieved while winning just a single Grand Slam match shows the possibilities which lie ahead.

Expect Fils to be challenging for titles again this season, make the second week of Slams and if anyone is going to leap out of the pack and into the top 10 then it could well be the youngster.

Andy Schooler

Football

Arda Güler

Not many people will have heard the name ARDA GÜLER before, but by the end of the 23/24 season and into Euro 2024, that will all change. The Turkish wonderkid would have likely had plenty of opportunities at his new club Real Madrid this season were it not for injuries, with Los Blancos limited in terms of attacking options.

Güler is a special player, highlighted by the fact he made his first professional assist at the age of 16 on his debut for Fenerbache in a late substitute cameo. The left-footed star played limited minutes for Fenerbache but shone whenever he was called upon. Across the 22/23 campaign the teenager created 40 goalscoring chances, or one every 23 minutes of action, while topping the Süper Lig standings for expected assists (xA) per 90 with 0.42 and finished in esteemed company.

He could have a big second half of the season for Real Madrid should he get healthy, with a front four of Vinicius Jr (23), Jude Bellingham (20), Güler (18) and Rodrygo (22) a frightening prospect not only in the present, but also for years to come. Güler will carry the hopes and expectations of perennial dark horses Turkey in the Euros, but he could be just what they have been missing - someone who can make the ball stick, beat a man and create chances.

Jake Osgathorpe

Evolving England

Any season that culminates with a major tournament inevitably leads to a heightened focus on the performances of English players. With the national team heading to Germany next summer as favourites, and it expected to be Gareth Southgate's final tournament as manager, that focus has understandably increased.

His departure will be a relief to many who are quick to criticise what they consider to be an overly conservative approach and a selection policy that is perhaps too loyal and lacking in bravery.

The latter is frankly untrue, with the England manager gradually evolving the team throughout his tenure: five changes from the opening game of the 2018 World Cup to the opener Euro 2020 (played in 2021) and a further three by the curtain-raiser in Qatar which took place just 17 months later.

But the most seismic shift Southgate has ever made was in the early days of his tenure. Having qualified for the World Cup he tore up his squad and started again, with only 13 of the 23 players included in the matchday squad for England's final 2018 World Cup qualifier taken to Russia.

Given the period of time he has been in post, such a shift feels unlikely for this summer's Euros but there were shades of such an attitude via the inclusion of RICO LEWIS, COLE PALMER and EZRI KONSA for the dead-rubber with North Macedonia in November.

MARC GUEHI also started that game, with the often forgotten FIKAYO TOMORI at least included on the bench.

Southgate's experiment with TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD in midfield also speaks to his willingness to try and integrate as many of England's most gifted players as possible, rather than revert to the risk-averse nature that has held back so many talented England teams of the past.

Joe Townsend

Paris 2024

Sky Brown

Britain’s skateboard superstar claimed an historic bronze medal at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics and will head to Paris as the reigning world champion in the park category. Still only 15, Brown has still not given up hope of also representing Team GB in the Olympic surfing event in Tahiti.

Noah Lyles

The US track star dazzled in 2023, winning gold in both 100m and 200m at the World Championships in Budapest. Looking to build on the 200m bronze he took in Tokyo, Lyles is intent on expanding his horizons by potentially also forming a part of the men’s 4x400m relay squad.

Simone Biles

One of the world’s greatest ever gymnasts launched a spectacular return in 2023, after an extended hiatus to prioritise mental health. With a remarkable four world golds, including in the prestigious women’s all-around, Biles once again set her stall out as the star to watch in Paris.

Keely Hodgkinson

So far it has been a career of so near yet so far for the British 800 metres ace, who has had to settle for silver medals at consecutive world championships, as well as the Tokyo Olympics and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. All eyes will be on her bid to go one better in Paris.

PA Sport

Cycling

Mads Pedersen

Lidl-Trek rider MADS PEDERSEN has had the most consistent season ever for his personal records in 2023.

Over 79 days of racing, Pedersen accumulated 38 top-10 finishes including notable stage wins at Etoile de Bessegas, Paris-Nice, Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France along with one day race BEMER Cyclassics.

After completing the grand tour stage wins trilogy in 2023 by taking stage six at the Giro d’Italia, it’s time for Pedersen to achieve a monument win to add to his palmares.

After finishing close last year in sixth place at Milan San-Remo, third at Tour of Flanders and fourth at Paris-Roubaix, the consistent Dane will once again be in the mix to gain his first monument win and place himself in elite company.

With a strike rate of 48% finishing in the top 10 in 2023, this also makes him a rider to keep on-side across the year.

Nathan Jackson

Darts

Wessel Nijman

The start of WESSEL NIJMAN’s fledgling career was shrouded in controversy and disgrace at the age of just 20 back in 2020 when fixing a match during an online darts league and he was subsequently banned for two and a half years.

Since returning to the game, the Dutchman has been making up for lost time and his fantastic season on the Development Tour in 2023 – where he regularly posted 100+ averages and fired in 180s for fun – earned him a PDC Tour Card for next season.

Nijman was favourite to defeat Steve Beaton on his Ally Pally debut but a lack of experience of the big stage took its toll as the Bronzed Adonis beat him 3-1 despite a highly creditable average of 92.82.

He can take a lot of heart from that performance and will no doubt continue his upward trajectory amongst the elite next year and could be one to watch to back for Players Championship titles and potentially even a lengthy run at the UK Open.

Nijman will no doubt be back at the World Championship this time next year and perhaps he’ll be one of those very dangerous outsiders primed to cause some shocks.

Chris Hammer

Cricket

Jamie Smith

England have basked in the glory of their white-ball batting stocks for a while now, but following a humiliating defence of their 50-over World Cup crown in India, that theory will now be put to the test.

A new era has already begun in the shorter formats, with the likes of Phil Salt and Will Jacks impressing on England’s recent tour of the Caribbean.

Jacks plays his county cricket for Surrey and clearly has a bright future ahead, but perhaps his teammate at the Oval, JAMIE SMITH, will be the one who proves to be England’s next batting superstar.

The early signs have certainly been promising, with eight First Class hundreds and a top score of 234 not out already to his name, and Smith caught the eye in The Hundred for Birmingham Phoenix last summer when overshadowing a host of high-profile international players.

England recognition followed, with two ODI appearances against Ireland, and this is surely just the beginning for a player who has a little bit of Kevin Pietersen in his batting in the way he picks up length early and can dominate off front and back foot in equally devastating fashion.

Richard Mann

Golf

Rafa Cabrera Bello

As you'll by now have gathered, the remit of this piece is malleable: there are some genuine stars mentioned above, others with star potential, and a few names who might just make you a bit of money by following them throughout the next 12 months, regardless of their ceiling.

If you want a genuine star to follow from me, then I do wonder if Patrick Cantlay could take another step forward after impressing in the role of villain at the Ryder Cup. Between him, Viktor Hovland and Max Homa, we might have a first-time major champion in 2024, each of them having taken steps forward at the highest level in recent months.

Ludvig Aberg has skipped the potential category, Min Woo Lee isn't exactly a secret and neither is Alex Fitzpatrick owing to his big brother's exploits, so I'm going to opt for the 'make you a bit of money' interpretation and nominate something of a curveball in RAFA CABRERA BELLO.

With the DP World Tour sending its ten highest-ranked players to the PGA Tour, a player with the back-class of Cabrera Bello ought to be spying an opportunity to reestablish himself as one of the best on the circuit – and a milestone 40th birthday approaching in May might also help jolt the 2016 Ryder Cup star back into life.

Cabrera Bello spoke recently about a technical tweak he's made that promises to accelerate a return to form which has been quietly bubbling away for a while now, a top-10 finish in Australia giving him something tangible to build on when the DP World Tour returns in the Middle East.

That part of the world has always been kind to Cabrera Bello, a contender last January in Abu Dhabi and a former winner of the Dubai Desert Classic, and he looks the type who could reward backers at big prices while a handful of the best Europeans try to do what he did and prove competitive in the USA.

Ben Coley