It’s been 12 months of Olympic-sized achievements in more ways than one. Maidstone United made FA Cup history, Moses Itauma claimed his first professional boxing title, Jake Hill finally took the British Touring Car Championship crown and Georgia-Mae Fenton bagged a maiden individual European gymnastics medal.
Off the pitch an era ended at Priestfield, we said farewells to a cricket legend and a speedway great and lauded our Olympians and Paralympians in Paris. Read all about that, and so much more, in our look back at another sporting year to savour.
January
No one gave National League South Maidstone United a chance when they drew Premier League-bound Ipswich Town away in the FA Cup fourth round – but the Stones had other ideas and produced one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history.
The Stones goal led a charmed life as the Tractor Boys did everything but score before Lamar Reynolds’ stunning opener on the cusp of half-time. Liam Sole released Reynolds in the Ipswich half and he continued his run before dinking the ball over Christian Walton with a strike good enough to grace the final in front of a crowd of almost 28,000.
Jeremy Sarmiento levelled early in the second half but Sam Corne, the hero of Maidstone’s third-round victory over Stevenage, scored the winner in front of millions of TV viewers and gave Stones a place in cup folklore alongside fellow giantkillers Hereford, Wimbledon, Sutton United and Wigan.
“This was a historic occasion for Maidstone United, for our group of players, our supporters, but more so for our community,” said Stones boss George Elokobi. “Someone had to win today and the gods were with us.
“After the first 25 minutes we had to earn our luck and it’s important our players stayed resilient in those moments.
“We knew we wouldn’t create too many chances here because of the magnificent job Kieran [McKenna] is doing with Ipswich, a fantastic outfit sitting second in the Championship.
“We knew to come here and get a result was going to take some doing. We had to be resilient for like we saw today 98 minutes and I drummed this into our group of players and we prepared right.”
McKenna was gracious in defeat and said: “First of all, it’s full credit to Maidstone, it’s a fantastic day for them, they worked ever so hard for it.
“Of course, they rode their luck as well, but they were very, very clinical and they showed a fantastic spirit to get the result.”
Stones were already the only side left flying the flag for Kent after Gillingham’s 4-0 third-round defeat at home to Premier League Sheffield United in a mixed start to the year for Stephen Clemence’s side. Wins at Colchester and Accrington Stanley sandwiched the cup defeat before a draw at home to Forest Green Rovers and a 2-1 loss at MK Dons left Gills two points outside the play-off zone.
Just nine months after he led Ebbsfleet United to the National League South title, boss Dennis Kutrieb was sacked with the club in the National League relegation zone.
A 1-0 defeat at bottom side Oxford City proved the final act for the 44-year-old German, who had been in charge for three-and-a-half years.
Close neighbours Dartford were also looking for a new manager after dismissing Alan Dowson. Dowson guided the club to runners-up spot in National League South in his only full season at Princes Park, but with his side languishing in 16th place after dropping 21 points from winning positions, the board decided a change was needed.
Southern Counties League East Faversham wielded the axe, too, with Sammy Moore departing the top-of-the-table Lilywhites after a three-match winless run. Former Tonbridge Angels and Ashford United boss Tommy Warrilow was named as his replacement.
February
Maidstone boxer Sam Noakes proved he was the best of British at the Copper Box Arena.
Noakes extended his record to 13-0 as he won the vacant British lightweight title with a ruthless stoppage victory over Lewis Sylvester. The victory saw Noakes add the British and WBO International titles to his Commonwealth and WBC International Silver crowns.
“It’s been such a good ride,” he told TNT Sports. “I’ve got a good team behind me.
“Every person I’ve seen in a boxing ring, from my amateur days to now, has all been leading to this. I’ve been dreaming about this since I turned pro.”
Danny Searle was named as Dennis Kutrieb’s replacement at Ebbsfleet United – initially on a temporary basis, but he hit the ground running and was appointed full-time boss a few weeks later.
After creditable draws with Oldham and Chesterfield Fleet finished the month with three consecutive wins and National League survival – which seemed like mission impossible a few weeks earlier – was now starting to look plausible.
Speaking after the Oldham draw, Searle said: “I’ve made no bones about the fact that I’d love to manage this side.
“I know a few of the players as I’ve signed them at previous clubs and I know a lot of the lads as I’ve tried to sign them at previous clubs!
“It’s a great group and any manager, whether it’s me or somebody else, that gets hold of this group is inheriting a really good bunch of lads.
“I think the team needs some security now, some continuity. Whether it’s myself or a different manager, they need someone who is going to be with them until the end of the season now, and beyond.”
There was no repeat of their Ipswich Town heroics as the Tractor Boys’ fellow Championship side Coventry ended Maidstone’s FA Cup run in the fifth round.
The Sky Blues were in no mood to be on the end of a giantkilling as they raced into a two-goal lead inside 13 minutes and Ellis Simms completed his hat-trick just after the half-hour.
Maidstone forced four corners in the first 15 minutes of the second half and started to pass the ball much better in the final third. However two late goals from Fabio Tavares ensured Stones were on the wrong end of a 5-0 scoreline at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
“Huge congratulations to Mark Robins and to Coventry City – I thought they were worthy winners tonight,” said Stones boss George Elokobi.
“They showed us what different levels are in terms of how they finished their attacks and this is why we aspire to be in football.
“When you come to a good Championship side, like they are, you have to make sure you stick to the game plan and I thought we didn’t quite follow the tactical structure of our game plan and we got punished for the first goal.
“But again I’m immensely proud of our players and how they’ve gone about this historic day.
“There’s been so much attention, they’ve inspired so many people around our Maidstone community but more so globally, and what’s not to savour?
“This is a moment we will never forget in the history of the club.”
Stones’ record-breaking run earned them more than £350,000 in prize money.
Kent’s Zak Crawley scored two half-centuries but England were beaten in the second Test against India.
Crawley top scored in both innings with 76 and 73 – and went on to become England’s leading scorer in the five-Test series – but India won by 106 runs, levelling the series, before completing a 4-1 victory.
In the Superbike World Championship Lydd’s Bradley Ray began his second season with Yamaha Motoxracing Down Under, scoring a point in race two at Phillip Island.
March
It is one thing a sportsman telling you how good they are, quite another when the heavyweight champion of the world gives a ringing endorsement.
Chatham fighter Moses Itauma got exactly that from Tyson Fury ahead of his fight with Bradford’s Dan Garber at York Hall, the Gypsy King replying to Itauma’s complimentary social media post about a sparring session with high praise. “@m.itauma is the future of the heavyweight division,” he replied on Instagram.
Itauma said: “I woke up to [Fury’s response] – he’s been there and done what I want to do and so it was nice seeing that – not being too arrogant or brash but I kind of already knew it.”
Garber proved no match for Itauma, who made it eight wins from eight with a first-round stoppage.
Tempers flared between Gillingham team-mates in a 2-0 defeat at Barrow, but boss Stephen Clemence was keen to play down the on-field row between Remeao Hutton and Conor Masterson which saw both players booked after a brief skirmish.
“Football is an emotional game and you have to keep your emotions in check,” Clemence said.
“I don’t like to see it but I’ve nipped it in the bud and I know they have shaken hands. They both just want to win, sometimes in the heat of the moment your emotions can get the better of you, but they are fine now.”
The Gills ended March with a 0-0 draw at home to Crewe but remained in the hunt for a play-off place in League 2 – despite only two wins from a busy month of seven league games.
Ahead of the Crewe fixture owner Brad Galinson gave Clemence and assistant boss Robbie Stockdale a vote of confidence.
“Culturally and personality-wise they are fantastic,” he said.
“They fit our organisation perfectly and they absolutely have my support, they are very excited, play-offs or no play-offs, to get the first transfer window in the summer to get everything right and I have every expectation that next season we will see us come right out of the gate and continue where they left off.”
A new manager was in post at Dartford. Former Gillingham boss Ady Pennock took the reins at Princes Park after a seven-week search for Alan Dowson’s replacement – club legend Tony Burman had returned to the dugout in the interim period but could only take four points from eight matches.
There was some sad news, too, with the death of co-chairman Dave Skinner aged 73. Mr Skinner was one of the key men behind the club’s rebirth and it is no exaggeration that Dartford would not exist in their current guise had it not been for his leadership in the early 1990s and beyond.
He became chairman of the Supporters Association in 1988 and was fundamental in the rescuing and reforming of the club in 1992, when he became chairman.
Dartford Football Club Supporters’ Association said: “We will all miss Dave incredibly. He was, simply put, Mr Dartford.”
The inevitable was confirmed at Dover, with the club relegated from National League South after a 1-0 defeat at Welling. Whites had won just three league games all season with the loss ending a 15-year spell in the top-two tiers of non-league.
Jake Dixon was forced to miss the opening MotoGP Moto2 round of the season following a spectacular crash.
The Dover racer lost control of his Aspar Kalex during Saturday’s final practice session for the season-opening round in Qatar and, despite his release from hospital the following day, was forced to remain in the country for another week until fit enough to fly home.
Dixon’s return to action in Portugal two weeks later proved too soon, and although he briefly topped the time sheets in practice he withdrew from the event with lower back pain.
April
Despite a vote of confidence a month earlier, Gillingham owner Brad Galinson called time on Stephen Clemence’s reign after less than six months – leaving him looking for his second manager since buying the club in December 2022.
Gillingham’s play-off hopes had ended nine days earlier after letting the lead slip in a 2-1 defeat at Mansfield and they finished the League 2 season in 12th place, signing off with a 2-2 draw against Doncaster Rovers.
In his programme notes for the Doncaster clash, Mr Galinson wrote: “The next couple of months are very important to the football club.
“Recruitment needs to be spot on, our pre-season schedule needs to be meticulously planned and our mentality very much needs to be about making sure we are at least a top seven side in 2024/25. We are ready for the challenge.”
After the Doncaster game, Clemence was asked about the pressure being on for next season and said prophetically: “I am not naive, it’s my first job as head coach but I have been involved since I was a little boy. I know anything can happen in football.”
Ebbsfleet pulled off the great escape after a final-day 0-0 draw away to Boreham Wood ensured National League survival at their hosts’ expense. It was a remarkable turnaround under Danny Searle for the Fleet as they stayed up against the odds.
Searle picked up 24 points from 15 games as the Fleet ended the season with 54 points in 19th. Below them were York (53) but Boreham Wood went down on 52 points, along with already-relegated Oxford City, Kidderminster and Dorking Wanderers.
Maidstone would not be joining them for 2024/25, however. They missed out on promotion back to the National League with a 2-1 play-off semi-final defeat to Worthing while, at the other end in the same division, new boss Ady Pennock failed to turn Dartford’s National South fortunes around and they followed Dover into Isthmian Premier.
Furious boss Ben Smith pulled no punches following Ramsgate’s Isthmian South East play-off semi-final defeat by Chichester.
Along with champions Cray Valley, Ramsgate had been the class of the field all season, racking up 89 points and scoring the most goals along the way, including a 4-2 win over Chichester in their penultimate league game.
However Smith described his team as “bottlers” after their 1-0 loss – but he wasn’t finished there. “Shambolic”, “appalling” and “embarrassing” were just a few of the words used by the manager, who said he would be “ashamed” if he were a player.
Margate were relegated to Isthmian South East despite a relative upturn in results late on. Former Gills boss Mark Stimson had been tasked with keeping Gate up since his December 2023 arrival, but was sacked hours after their final game of the season – a 5-3 defeat at Billericay.
New captain Daniel Bell-Drummond was joined by Joe Denly in making a second-innings century in the opening County Championship Division 1 match of the summer as Kent drew with Somerset. Bell-Drummond was at it again with another ton in the high-scoring draw at Essex, although Ben Compton topped the skipper’s 135 by 30 runs.
There was some sad news out of Canterbury with the death of Kent and England great Derek Underwood, aged 78.
Underwood made more than 900 appearances for Kent across three decades, from 1963 until 1987, taking a remarkable 2,523 wickets at an average of 19.04.
He captured his 1,000th first-class wicket, aged just 25 – and took 100 wickets in a season 10 times, notably 157 in 1966. He remains England’s sixth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket and is still the leading spinner in the list.
His passing sparked tributes from across the county, the country and globally.
“The Kent Cricket family is in mourning following the passing of one of its greatest-ever players,” said chairman Simon Phillip.
“Derek was an outstanding contributor to both Kent and England, winning trophies for club and country – and etching his name in the history books forevermore. Watching Derek weave his unique magic on a wet wicket was a privilege for all who were able to witness it.
“His induction into the ICC Hall of Fame shows the esteem in which he was held in world cricket.”
Kent, meanwhile, were denied Tier 1 status by the ECB ahead of a restructure of the women’s game from 2025. Eight Tier 1 spots were up for grabs, with another two set to be added in 2027 – but Kent missed out on both and must wait until 2029 to see if they are successful when the format is expected to be expanded again.
Platts Heath’s Jake Hill began his latest British Touring Car Championship bid with two third places and a fifth at Donington, while in the lower-octane world of snooker, Ditton’s Barry Hawkins crashed out in the first round of the World Championship at The Crucible, losing 10-8 to Welshman Ryan Day.
May
‘The work starts now’ Gillingham said in a post on X after announcing Mark Bonner as their new manager.
The appointment came just eight days after Stephen Clemence was sacked. The former Cambridge boss who, ironically, was replaced at the Abbey Stadium by Clemence’s predecessor at Priestfield, Neil Harris, led the U’s to League 1 in 2021 so arrived with the pedigree promotion-chasing Gills were after.
Bonner said: “I am delighted to join Gillingham FC and can’t wait to get started as manager as we get to work on preparing for the new season and building a team that supporters enjoy watching and a culture that the players love being part of.
“I have to thank [owners] Brad and Shannon [Galinson] for this opportunity and look forward to working closely with them, Joe [Comper], and Kenny [Jackett] to achieve the ambitions of the Football Club.”
Galinson also revealed why he wielded the axe after suggesting Clemence’s job was safe just weeks before.
“Because of the poor form we had at the end of the season, I was faced with going through the summer and going through recruitment, starting next season and if the first few months didn’t go well it is very difficult to change a manager in the middle of a season,” he said.
“It is a last resort thing that anyone at the club, certainly me, would want to do, but the conclusion was that we’re impatient, our fans are impatient, I am impatient, the club is impatient and the expectations for promotion are strong.
“With our budget and the reality of the size of our club, we fully expect to get out of this league, as I have said many times. The end result was that we needed to make a change now so that the new person in charge had pre-season and very importantly recruitment time and can start the next season with that behind them.”
There was play-off disappointment for Chatham Town. Chats fell at the final hurdle in Isthmian Premier with a 3-0 home loss to Enfield Town.
In cricket, Kent eased their way to a historic seven-wicket victory at Lancashire to clinch their first County Championship Division 1 win of the season – little did they know that it would be their only four-day success of the summer.
Skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond led his team to their 164-run target with an excellent unbeaten 79, despite some good pressure applied by Lancashire bowlers, with Nathan Lyon (2-48) taking the two wickets to fall. It was Kent’s first victory at Old Trafford since 1997.
Bell-Drummond said: “I’m very proud. Old Trafford has been a tough place to come for us historically – Lancashire are a very good team and pushed us every day – but we’re glad to get the win.
“There was a lot of thinking around the follow-on – the guys were on a roll with the ball, so we thought to put them under pressure, which we did. Big credit to them. They bowled so well and got their rewards.”
Moses Itauma produced another devastating performance to claim his first professional boxing title.
The Chatham heavyweight was part of the warm-up for the undisputed clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at the Kingdom Arena, Riyadh and picked up the vacant WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title with an explosive second-round stoppage against Ilja Mezencev.
“I think it went all right!” Itauma said. “That was my first title fight – the first of many and I am just happy!”
His opponent had gone down at the end of the first round – adjudged a push – but it gave Itauma the confidence to attack at the start of the second, landing a huge shot to send the Kazakh-born fighter to the canvas.
“I just go in and do my job – I am very grateful for this,” Itauma added. “I appreciate it and a shoutout to the people who have helped me, Frank Warren, Francis Warren, his excellency Turki Alalshikh, and to be in the beautiful country of Saudi Arabia, I can’t ask for more.”
Gravesend’s Georgia-Mae Fenton won the first European individual gymnastics medal of her career in the uneven bars at the European Championships in Rimini.
Her bronze was sealed in dramatic fashion, too, holding her nerve as the last competitor in the final and scoring 13.900 behind home duo Alice D’Amato, who won gold, and Elisa Iorio.
“I feel so, so happy,” Fenton said. “To go through the routine, show some consistency and get a medal for myself, it feels very special.
“Going last up is always a bit nervy so I’m proud to have kept it together, I tried to stay calm, and I did that. To win my first major individual medal feels like a really big boost, I’m starting to really believe in myself and my gymnastics, which feels great.”
Paralympians Will Bayley and Ross Wilson both returned from the Slovenia Para Open with another medal to add to their collections.
Tunbridge Wells’ Bayley came out on top in the class 7 category, beating two-time European team bronze medallist Michal Deigsler to gold. Wilson, from Minster, bounced back from an early class 9 singles exit to team up with Ashley Facey in an-all GB class 18 doubles final, winning silver after losing to Aaron McKibbin and Joshua Stacey.
June
After waiting 96 years to win another rugby county championship crown last season, Kent secured back-to-back Bill Beaumont Division 1 titles with a 31-30 victory over Yorkshire at Twickenham.
It was the first time they’ve retained the title, and their fifth success since the oldest domestic competition in rugby union began in 1889.
The lead changed hands on no fewer than eight occasions. However, it was on 64 minutes, shortly after Sam Evans had put Kent ahead once more with his fourth penalty, when the decisive moment came.
With a further three points on offer, Ben Fryatt opted for the quick tap and, catching Yorkshire off guard, found Leo Fielding who, in turn, offloaded to Garry Jones for the Canterbury wing’s second try and a six-point lead.
Yorkshire struck back by dominating the closing stages, and with two sin-binnings reducing Kent to 13 for most of the final 10 minutes, great handling and a lovely inside ball from wing Pete Hudson saw Leeds Tykes’ centre Henry McNab slip over to the left of the uprights.
However, Lewis Minikin missed the conversion, and when Kent went through numerous phases in an attempt to close out the game, and were penalised for holding on with seconds remaining, the Hull Ionians’ centre, who’d kicked a couple of beauties earlier on, saw his strike at goal slide across the face of the uprights and wide.
“Those fine margins tell you how competitive county rugby is,” said Kent skipper and back-row Rafael Dutta. “All you can do is stick to your structure and understanding to get you through.
“Hampshire and Cornwall took us to the wire, and you saw again today with Yorkshire, even after their red card, they kept playing and credit goes to them for making it such a worthwhile game to watch and be part of.”
A club cricketer who’s new to the game achieved the extraordinary feat of taking all 10 wickets in an innings.
Mohammad Yaseen, 21, only started playing hard-ball cricket after moving to England from Pakistan in May 2023.
But that didn’t stop him emulating something that’s been done only three times in the history of Test cricket, by Jim Laker, Anil Kumble and Ajaz Patel.
Yaseen, who had made just a handful of appearances for Holborough Anchorians, finished with figures of 10-7 as opponents Bearsted were bowled out for 19 in Division 2 of the Kent Village League.
The youngster, who grew up playing tape-ball cricket – cricket with a taped-up tennis ball – was twice on a hat-trick during a devastating six-over spell. Eight Bearsted batsmen were bowled, with one dismissed lbw and the other caught behind.
“The pitch was so supportive and it was good for the inswing,” said Yaseen, who was introduced to Holborough by a friend.
“I bowled lots of inswing so it helped me create all the wickets I would like. It was a memorable moment for me. I’m not a professional. I just came from Pakistan last year where I used to play tape-ball cricket and I’ve just started playing hard-ball cricket.
“It was a bit easier for me to bowl a quicker delivery because in tape-ball you can bowl really fast, so it helped me.
“I’m trying to get as high as I can. If I am able to play high-level cricket, definitely I will. I played five games last year and this was my second game this year.
“I was not much good at the beginning but now I just start to target bowling so it’s given me a lot of confidence to get more wickets.”
June proved a busy month at Priestfield, with four arrivals as new manager Mark Bonner got down to the business of reshaping his squad with Jack Nolan, Armani Little, Elliott Nevitt and Aaron Rowe all signing.
Off the pitch, the club announced a pre-tax loss of more than £2million for the 2022/23 campaign, while season-ticket sales were up again with Gills chasing a target of more than 4,000.
National League side Ebbsfleet United posted a £1.9m loss, prompting renowned football finance expert Kieran Maguire to post on X: “Ebbsfleet United belatedly publish 22/23 accounts. Club lost £37,000 a week taking total losses over the years to almost £20m. Club is propped up by shareholder investment and nearly £4m of related party loans.”
Jake Hill claimed his fifth win in the last nine races at Oulton Park to go into the British Touring Car Championship’s summer break at the top of the standings.
Platts Heath’s Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport driver Hill had the final say in Cheshire, winning race three with a last-lap pass of Mikey Doble’s Vauxhall. Combined with fifth place in race one and third in race two, the victory gave Hill a four-point lead over Team Bristol Street Motors’ Tom Ingram.
July
The Olympic Games got under way in Paris with Chatham’s Nathan Hales hitting the target to win trap shooting gold – Team GB’s first in shooting in 12 years.
Hales made it a magical double by claiming an Olympic record. In the six-man final he started with 15 perfect shots and concluded with 18 – his two misses putting him four ahead of nearest rival China’s Qi Ying, while Guatemala’s Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas completed the podium.
“It was very intense and there were a lot of nervy moments but you don’t get better than an Olympic gold and an Olympic record,” Hales said.
“It was very tight. I just stuck to my routine and followed my process. I do some sports psychology work, so I stuck to my breathing and trusted myself. I didn’t realise it was an Olympic record until someone mentioned it.
“It’s the result of a lot of hard work and training. I was just trying to knock them down one at a time. I wasn’t worrying about the score.
“I’ve already had loads of messages from people watching at home on television, we’re not really used to that in shooting.”
Another Kent Olympian who made history was swimmer Eva Okaro. The 17-year-old from Sevenoaks was the first black female to represent Team GB in the pool at an Olympics and dived in for her debut at La Defense Arena as part of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay squad, labelling her Games experience “mind-blowing”.
“I am honoured to be in this position,” she said. “I think it’s an incredible achievement just to have got here and it was so much fun.”
The squad finished seventh.
It took just 25 days for new Ramsgate boss Tony Russell to become ex-Ramsgate boss after he surprisingly quit Southwood, forcing the cancellation of a pre-season friendly between Rams and Kennington.
Russell arrived on June 10, replacing Ben Smith in the hotseat, and said a miscommunication with chairman James Lawson led to his departure.
“There was no fallout or argument between me and James. In fact, we got on really well,” Russell said.
“It just came down to three agreements that I thought we agreed on, and James thought we had agreed on something else.
“I knew having that sort of conversation so early into a relationship wouldn’t end well, because we would be questioning each other’s integrity, which will never end well and out of respect I didn’t want to do it.
“And even if you do agree on something, it would damage the long-term relationship.”
Following Russell’s exit Smith returned to the club, initially as interim manager, before agreeing a permanent deal.
At Wimbledon, Orpington’s Emma Raducanu enjoyed her strongest Grand Slam performance since winning the US Open in 2021.
Renata Zarazua, Elise Mertens and Maria Sakkari were all dispatched in straight sets, but the wheels came off in round four with a 2-6, 7-5, 2-6 defeat to Lulu Sun.
Kent’s Jack Leaning denied claims the players weren’t trying hard enough or simply didn’t care after a disastrous T20 Blast campaign.
Spitfires, winners of the Blast in 2021, finished bottom of the South group with just four victories from 14 games. Ahead of their home finale against Surrey – which they won by 86 runs – Leaning had his say amid criticism from supporters.
“No one likes losing,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’re doing a lot of it this year. T20 cricket is such a momentum-based form of the game.
“When you’re forced to change your team every week and have different roles as a squad, and you get into a bit of a rut, it’s quite tough to turn that around.
“No one hurts more than the lads. I appreciate the fans are pretty annoyed. People outside will spout off, saying the lads don’t want it and that they’re not trying, which is a load of rubbish.”
Moses Itauma delivered another stunning display in defence of his WBO Intercontinental heavyweight belt.
Mariusz Wach was supposed to be a significant challenge for the rising heavyweight star from Chatham, but the taller and more experienced man was dispatched inside two rounds at the O2 Arena.
August
It was mission accomplished for Pembury’s Emily Craig at the Olympics.
Craig, alongside partner Imogen Grant, won gold in the women’s lightweight double sculls to cap a three-year unbeaten run. Ironically, the pair’s last defeat was at the Tokyo Games in 2021 when they missed out on bronze by 0.01sec.
“There was pressure, but also confidence,” Craig said. “We just had to go out and do something we have done multiple times before.
“We knew we did not have to pull something out of thin air, we just had to race the race plan that we have. It saw us over the line first.
“It was a blur to be honest, it was the quickest race of our lives.”
The Paralympics began at the end of the month with a bronze medal for Kent cyclist Matthew Robertson in the men’s C2 3,000m individual pursuit.
Gillingham made a flying start to the League 2 season for the second year in a row – ending August top of the table with 10 points from a possible 12, including a 4-1 thrashing of Carlisle on the opening day at Priestfield.
However new boss Mark Bonner was keen to keep fans’ feet on the ground.
“Don’t expect that every week!” he joked after the Carlisle win.
“It is tough scoring but we certainly took our moments really well and we do want to be a team that can find those moments.
“There were spells in the game where we had too long without the ball, got too deep, got forced back into the half, didn’t get enough pressure on them in the opposition half, or with the ball.
“There’s loads to work on but I was really pleased that people came out and saw a performance that they like and it’s quite a while until we are back here [at Priestfield] but hopefully we get a really good support when that happens again.”
Days later there was more good news for Gills supporters with the return of club legend Bradley Dack.
The 30-year-old was back at Priestfield seven years after leaving for Blackburn in a deal worth £750,000, having been a free agent in the summer following his departure from Sunderland.
“Obviously, there’s a romance about the signing because he’s coming home in that sense,” said Bonner.
“That’s nice, but it’s not the reason to do it. The reason to do it is he can help us win football matches, no question.
“When he is fit and available he gives us one hell of an option to help us win games at this level.”
Dover’s Jake Dixon achieved a lifetime’s ambition when he won the Moto2 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
In keeping with a season of drama, which included a stay in hospital after a big accident in Qatar, and several crashes, Aspar Team racer Dixon beat Spain’s Aron Canet to the chequered flag by less than two-tenths of a second.
The win was his third career victory and his first of the season.
“It is a dream come true,” said an elated Dixon. “Had they told me at the beginning of the weekend that I was going to win, I would not have believed it. I have fought for it, and today I knew I could do it.
“After last year’s disappointment, winning today is incredible. I am very happy. I have just waited for my moment.
“The team has done an amazing job, and I hope we can win many more races from now on.”
Namesake Jake Hill was also going well in the British Touring Car Championship, the Platts Heath driver winning one of the three races at Knockhill before reclaiming top spot in the standings in the next round at Donington Park.
With two rounds remaining Hill was back in the driving seat in his bid to win his first BTCC crown.
“We have a nine-point lead, which is fantastic, and we’ve just had a nice day with two thirds and a fifth, which is great considering we started seventh in race one,” Hill said after the Donington event.
“Overall, it’s just been a good day and we’ve scored lots of points, with huge thanks to the West Surrey Racing team and Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport.”
Kent’s miserable year continued, this time in the 50-over format, as Spitfires were hammered by nine wickets at home to Northamptonshire in their final Metro Bank One-Day Cup match of the summer.
They finished third from bottom of Group A, winning three but losing five of their eight matches.
September
After more than one great escape of their own in recent seasons Kent were finally relegated from Division 1 of the County Championship with head coach Matt Walker departing the club following eight years in charge.
A 10-wicket defeat by Nottinghamshire sealed Kent’s fate, and they finished bottom of the table with just one win all season. Walker’s departure had already been confirmed almost two weeks earlier.
“It’s been an incredible honour to be the head coach of my home county for eight years,” he said.
“Now is the time for new ideas and new personnel to come in and make their own mark, something that I have enjoyed doing in my time here.
“The promotion to Division 1 and trophy successes have been fantastic to be a part of but most of all working with the players and the coaches here has always been the most rewarding.
“I’m now looking forward to watching Kent as a fan again and beginning a new challenge, whatever that might be.
“There have of course been many highs we’ve shared collectively as well as some low points – that’s sport, that’s why we all love it.
“Winning the Vitality Blast in 2021 will always be up there for me as one of the best days of coaching this great club.”
No sooner had the Olympic Games ended, the focus switched to the Paralympics where Tonbridge youngster Iona Winnifrith was in record-breaking form.
The 13-year-old became ParalympicsGB’s youngest swimming medallist this century as she set a personal best in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB7 final and was beaten only by a lowering of the world record.
Winnifrith toppled her own British record with a time of 1min29.61sec, finishing 3.60sec behind gold medallist and neutral Paralympic athlete Mariia Pavlova.
“I was really excited going into this race, so [I’m] really happy,” said Winnifrith, “I knew I just needed to fight and power off and do what I need to do.
“Of course, I really wanted that gold, but you can’t have everything. I’m 13, I’m young, but I’m super happy with that performance.
“I knew I needed to do another good performance. I knew it would be who performs well, and I knew what I needed to do.
“I spoke to my coach about trying to keep up with the girls all the way through and powering through the last end. Getting a silver medal at 13 is really cool.”
There were also medals for swimmer Callie-Ann Warrington and table tennis player Will Bayley, who narrowly missed out on gold in his class 7 rematch with Tokyo winner Yan Shuo.
Off-the-pitch matters made the headlines at Gillingham after the club called a meeting of shareholders with a view to removing former owner and chairman Paul Scally as a club director.
Scally ended his long run as club chairman when selling his majority control to American businessman Brad Galinson and his wife Shannon in December 2022.
During the initial period, Scally was heavily involved, remaining on the club board and still holding a sizeable amount of shares.
In June his role was changed with Companies House to that of a non-executive director and he had been absent from games since the start of the season.
Galinson, club chairman since the takeover, wrote to shareholders with a ‘notice of general meeting’ for Thursday, October 10 at Priestfield Stadium.
The letter stated that the meeting is for “the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing the resolution” which is that “Paul Damian Phillip Scally be and is hereby removed from their office as a director of the company with immediate effect.”
If August was near-perfect results-wise, September was pretty good, too. Gills ended the month top of the League 2 standings with six wins from eight games – one of the highlights a 2-0 victory at home to Barrow, now managed by former boss Stephen Clemence.
Goals in either half from Jayden Clarke and Robbie McKenzie secured the points, but Gills manager Mark Bonner felt they could have made things easier for themselves.
“I just thought the game was average,” he said. “I thought we were pretty average as well.
“It was enough to win but if we want to stay where we are and we want to keep being a team that wins, we can do better than that, no question about it.
“I think everybody would know, and our players definitely know, there’s more in us than that.
“I’m really happy that we’ve got a result and kept a clean sheet but the good thing is that you can do that on days where you’re maybe not at your best.”
While life couldn’t be much better for Bonner, the opposite was true for Danny Searle, and he was sacked as Ebbsfleet boss just five months after leading them to a great escape when they avoided National League relegation on the final day of the 2023/24 season.
A Fleet statement said: “The club would like to go on record as recognising the incredible job that Danny achieved last season in saving the club from relegation, after taking over initially as interim manager in February through to that memorable afternoon at Boreham Wood that maintained the Fleet’s National League status.
“It is with that very status in mind this season, however, that the decision has been made to part company with Danny after a start to the season which has fallen below expectations. Such a decision is never one that is taken lightly or without due consideration – but it must always be taken with the good of the football club in mind.”
Former Glasgow Rangers and QPR coach Harry Watling was named Searle’s successor, and made a flying start with a win over Hartlepool in his first game in charge.
October
After almost three decades of highs and lows, Paul Scally lost his place on the board at Gillingham after shareholders voted to remove the former chairman.
Scally, who owned the Gills for 27 years before selling a majority shareholding to Florida-based businessman Brad Galinson in December 2022, was believed to have lost the vote to remove him by 311-11.
He had initially acted as a consultant but his services were terminated. The club said that “a number of matters in respect of Mr Scally’s conduct came to light which gave rise to concerns.
“These matters included, but are not limited, to his conduct as a senior member of management of the club, his treatment of club staff and his management of club resources and assets”.
Ahead of the general meeting, Scally was adamant that the club had no right to remove him from the board, claiming in his submission that he was excluded from significant operation decisions, had his email account blocked, was excluded from official areas of the stadium and told staff weren’t allowed to talk to him.
And he warned that: “I confirm that should (GFC) Holdings be successful in its attempt to remove me as a director, the founder will immediately exercise its constitutional and contractual rights to reappoint me (or such person as the founder shall nominate) as a director of the club.
“The net result will be that a lot of time will have been wasted by me, Holdings, the club and its shareholders, causing me considerable emotional distress and necessitating Holdings, me and the club in incurring unnecessary expenditure on legal fees to achieve no net result”.
On the pitch, a dramatic dip in form saw Mark Bonner’s side fail to win a match in October, dropping from first to 11th place in just four weeks.
Maidstone won the big FA Cup derby in style, beating higher-league Ebbsfleet 3-0 to reach the first round.
Fleet were second-best against a Stones side who eased through thanks to a pair of Aaron Blair headers and an Antony Papadopoulos strike.
Tonbridge Angels, meanwhile, beat Cray Wanderers 1-0 and were drawn at home to Southern League Harborough as they chased a place in the second round for the first time in their history.
“It’s a tricky one when the draw is made because you either get a big club, with a chance of being on TV, or you get a team like we have at home with an opportunity of going through,” said Tonbridge manager Jay Saunders.
“I went to watch Harborough play Stourbridge and they’re a good side. They’re a very big, physical side, but they’re a good side, so it’s not going to be easy but it’s a winnable game.”
Trainer Karen Jewell enjoyed an extraordinary afternoon after running three horses in the same race for the first time.
Eight-year-old mare Torbellino won the 4.12 on the all-weather track at Kempton by two lengths from Pablo Prince, with The Colorist taking fourth place.
All three horses are trained by Jewell at Eyehorn Farm in Borden, the former premises of John Best, and the only racing yard left in Kent.
“For a small trainer to end up with three horses in the same race is pretty much unheard of,” said Jewell, who was granted her sole training licence after Best retired in March last year.
“To do that, the yard, the owners and the staff, everyone was so excited.
“If I’m honest, I didn’t know which one to watch as you’re rooting for anyone from the team. You don’t have a preference but it was a bit of a blur because I couldn’t quite believe that all three of them were in the shake-up.
“As they were running to the line, Torbellino just swooped round the outside and took the boys.
“As Torbellino was ridden by Hollie Doyle and trained by myself, there was an in-house joke that the girls beat the boys.”
Jake Hill claimed his first British Touring Car Championship title in a thrilling finale at Brands Hatch.
The Platts Heath-based BMW racer defeated title rival Tom Ingram to become the first driver from Kent to take the laurels since Farnborough-born Tim Harvey in 1992.
Hill, who entered the weekend tied at the top of the standings with Ingram, started the race-three finale just a single point clear of his rival after winning race one and finishing second in the middle encounter. A second-place finish in the wet, including an overtake on Ingram, secured the title by eight points.
“I’ve never won a championship in anything I’ve done, so to win the BTCC as my first means so much more,” Hill said. “And it’s lovely to win the championship at home. It means the world to me.”
Hill said he feared Ingram may “drive off into the distance” in the early stages of race three, but quickly realised his rival was struggling for pace.
“I just stayed calm and after the end of the second lap I thought, hang on, it’s coming,” Hill said. “Then it just started to swing massively in my favour with the car.”
The world of speedway bid farewell to one its legendary characters after the death of former Kent Kings promoter Len Silver, aged 92.
Kings were the final club of Silver’s long and distinguished career. He won the 1962 Provincial League Riders’ Championship but his racing career was cut short by injury following a crash at Hackney two years later.
He moved into promoting and also enjoyed two spells as Great Britain and England manager in a highly successful era in World Team Cup speedway.
Silver’s promoting career included 20 years at Hackney while in 1999 he bought Rye House Stadium, winning Premier League titles with the Rockets in 2005 and 2007. He was inducted into the British Speedway Hall of Fame in 2021 – just the second person to achieve the honour.
Lydd’s Bradley Ray re-signed for his British Superbike title-winning team OMG Racing, ending a two-year stint in the Superbike World Championship.
November
There was bad news for the rest of the grid after Platts Heath’s Jake Hill agreed to remain in the driver’s seat with West Surrey Racing for the 2025 British Touring Car Championship.
The Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport driver insisted an agreement was a no-brainer and after eight wins en route to the title it was difficult to disagree.
“I was so proud that, as a team, we managed to take the crown in 2024 after going close so many times before,” said Hill. “To achieve it in the way we did in a thrilling title race that went right down to the wire made it even better.
“To put it simply, there was nowhere else I wanted to be in 2025 than to be lining up on the grid once again for Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, in a WSR-run BMW.”
Jake Dixon’s dream of a fairytale finish with the Aspar Team turned into a nightmare.
The Dover rider, who switches to Marc VDS in 2025, crashed out on the first lap of his final race for the Moto2 squad at the season-ending Solidarity Grand Prix in Barcelona, leaving hopes of a glorious departure in ruins.
Dixon failed to make a clean getaway and ran wide at turn one. Taking to the long lap penalty loop, he tumbled down the order and as he tried to slice his way back through the field he tagged the back of Alonso Lopez before going into the path of Jorge Navarro – with both men ending up in the gravel.
Former Gillingham boss Mark Stimson received a six-month ban from all football-related activity following an FA investigation.
Stimson, found guilty of assaulting Hertford Town coach Patrick Sinfield at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court in July, admitted two breaches of FA rules during and after the FA Trophy fixture between Grays Athletic – who he was manager of – and Hertford in September 2023.
The FA Commission said they “took the view that an immediate six-month suspension from all football and football-related activity was the appropriate sporting sanction ”.
Current Gills manager Mark Bonner said his side deserved to be booed off after a defeat at home to Harrogate.
The Gills were a goal up early in the second half but were beaten 2-1 – the third time they’d lost a game in recent weeks after taking the lead. The defeat left the club, who had seen director of football Kenny Jacket resign on medical grounds earlier in November, 11th in the standings.
Bonner said: “We were a disgrace when we went ahead, to be honest.
“We started the second half well, got ourselves ahead, had two good moments after that. From that point on, there’s a pattern that emerges in the team: we go ahead and throw games away. We’ve done it way too often.
“Probably a bit like everybody else in the stadium, I absolutely hated the last half hour, it was as rubbish as everyone thought. We deserve to be booed off because that is miles off a good team there.”
Gills started the month with an FA Cup exit at the hands of Blackpool, while last season’s giantkillers, Maidstone United, also crashed out at Solihull Moors.
The big FA Cup story, however, was at Longmead where a record crowd watched National League South side Tonbridge Angels miss the chance to make the second round for the first time ever against lower-division Harborough Town.
Angels were slight favourites for a match which attracted an attendance of 3,132 – but it was Harborough who enjoyed a memorable day as it finished 4-1.
In the National League, bottom-of-the-table Ebbsfleet hit a new low with a 6-0 thrashing by visiting Solihull Moors – their worst home league defeat for 33 years.
December
Ditton’s Barry Hawkins vowed to continue the fight for a Triple Crown snooker title after his latest showpiece disappointment.
Hawkins went down 10-8 to Judd Trump in the UK Championship final at the York Barbican – a fourth Triple Crown defeat following losses to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the 2013 Worlds and 2016 Masters, as well as his 2022 Masters reverse against Neil Robertson.
Despite the defeat Hawkins, who had to go through the qualifiers to reach the tournament proper this year before banking the £100,000 runners-up prize, preferred to focus on a week of plus-points which began with a first-round victory over O’Sullivan and included wins against David Gilbert and Shaun Murphy.
“It’s been a great week,” he told BBC Sport. “If someone said to me I would have got to the final before I came I would have took it, but once I was here obviously in the final you want to win.
“I’ve lost to the best player in the world at the moment and he’s No.1 for a reason. He’s such a fantastic player, his all-round game is phenomenal, really. It’s no disgrace losing 10-8.
“I’m still fighting, I keep fighting and days like this make it all worthwhile.”
Former England all-rounder Adam Hollioake was named as Kent’s new head coach.
Hollioake, 53, was confimed as Matt Walker’s successor – three months after he stepped down from the role – on a three-year contract.
“I’m honoured to be appointed as the head coach of Kent,” he said.
“It’s an amazing chance for me to work with a great squad of players and to be involved with a county with such a rich history of success.
“County cricket is something that I hold extremely close to my heart and this is an opportunity that I could not turn down.”
Moses Itauma produced a short but devastating display to beat Demsey McKean in Riyadh.
Itauma, 19, lived up to the ever-growing hype – fighting on the undercard of the Oleksandr Usyk versus Tyson Fury rematch – with a first-round stoppage victory against a more-experienced Australian opponent who had only ever been beaten once before.
Hollywood actor Jason Statham was among those on their feet ringside to applaud.
Fighting to defend his WBO Intercontinental belt, with the vacant WBA International and Commonwealth Silver heavyweight titles up for grabs, Itauma powered past an opponent who was expected to be providing him with his toughest test yet.
It was a ninth KO from his 11 pro fights – with seven of them now coming inside the opening round.
Maidstone’s boxing brothers Sam and Sean Noakes ended the year in style.
Fighting on the same bill for the first time since turning professional, the siblings showed their class at Wembley Arena as Sam, 27, defended British, European and WBO International lightweight titles with a dominant points victory over Ryan Walsh.
That came after Sean, 29, bossed his first English title defence in taking a unanimous decision against fellow unbeaten opponent Mathew Rennie (13-0-1).
Harry Watling became the third Ebbsfleet manager to depart in a year, leaving the club by mutual consent after just 90 days. The decision came with the Fleet rock bottom of the National League and on a 12-game winless league run after a 2-0 loss at fellow strugglers AFC Fylde.
Ebbsfleet scored just 11 goals in the 13 league games Watling took charge, collecting one win, four draws and suffering eight defeats.
Josh Wright, who took temporary charge when Danny Searle was sacked in September, was named his replacement.
There was a fairytale ending to the career of Tony Collett as the legendary trainer signed off with a remarkable 341/1 five-timer, including victory in his final race.
The veteran handler hung up his leads after 52 years working in greyhound racing, during which he’s won some of the sport’s biggest competitions and awards while based at his kennels in Harvel.
His five-timer at Central Park started with wins for King Stevens, Rugged Road, Kevinsfort Duke and Queen Ruby – priced 9/4, 6/1, 6/4 and 4/1 respectively.
Dreams of a magical ending to his time trackside were pinned on Extra Place in the evening’s final race – the Tony Collett Retirement Stakes. And the three-year-old black bitch duly obliged when winning the sprint in a career-best 16.18sec by more than three lengths.
