Top 100 sporting moments of 2023: 60-51

From World Cups in rugby union, women's football, cricket and netball to rarely-seen feats in darts, formula 1 and MMA, the past year has contained thrills and spills to keep any sports fan entertained, regardless of what they are interested in.

GOATs have been crowned, sporting perfection has been achieved and a plethora of prestigious honours and trophies have been hoisted aloft.

Here, Sports Mole takes on the sizeable task of narrowing the last 365 days down to the 100 greatest sporting moments from across the spectrum, based on a ranking system which takes into account prestige, drama, history, newsworthiness, quality and importance.

So sit back and raise a glass to another historic year of sport with the conclusive list of the 100 greatest moments, continuing with numbers 60 to 51.

Top sporting moments of 2023: 100-91

Top sporting moments of 2023: 90-81

Top sporting moments of 2023: 80-71

Top sporting moments of 2023: 70-61

60. Leigh win first Challenge Cup for 52 years (August 12)

The 2023 Challenge Cup final was already sure to be an historic affair, with two clubs - Leigh Leopards and Hull KR - making a rare trip down to Wembley for the showpiece event.

Hull KR's last triumph in the competition came in 1980, while Leigh had to go back to 1971 for the last time they won the famous trophy, and for the full 80 minutes plus extra time there was very little indication of which team would end their drought.

A relatively low-scoring but relentlessly gripping and absorbing battle swung in Leigh's favour when Tom Briscoe went over to make it 16-10, only for Hull KR to equalise in the final minute through Matt Parcell's score from a hail mary kick into the try area.

That took the game to a golden point extra time, and after both teams made errors which could have proved costly, Lachlan Lam wrote his name into Leigh legend with a drop goal to send the leopard skin-clad half of Wembley - and his dad and head coach Adrian Lam - into delirium.

While Hull KR ultimately had to settle for the disappointment of losing, they more than played their part in a classic final that was another sign of Leigh's meteoric rise from Championship side last season to Challenge Cup winners and playoff contenders in 2023.

59. Man City win Manchester derby FA Cup final (June 3)

Never before in the history of the oldest football competition in the world had local rivals Manchester City and Manchester United faced off, and there was more than just silverware on the line when that finally did occur at Wembley in June.

Man City were bidding to add the FA Cup crown to their Premier League title, and in doing so complete leg two of a possible treble that would see them join none other than Man United as the only English clubs to have won the three biggest trophies available to them in a single campaign.

Man United were aiming to stop City's class of 2023 joining Sir Alex Ferguson's legendary 1998-99 squad, while also looking for a double themselves, having already picked up the EFL Cup during a positive first season at the helm for Erik ten Hag.

It took just 13 seconds for those hopes to suffer a significant blow, though, as City skipper Ilkay Gundogan registered the fastest-ever FA Cup final goal with a blistering volley almost straight from kickoff.

A controversial handball call allowed Bruno Fernandes to level things up from the penalty spot, but Gundogan was the hero again for Man City with the winner - another volley - six minutes into the second half.

That clinched a seventh FA Cup trophy for Man City, but more importantly left them 90 minutes from immortality as their treble hunt went on.

58. Sevilla beat Roma on penalties to win Europa League (May 31)

The 2023 Europa League final was set up perfectly as 'The Specialists vs. The Special One' - Sevilla having won the tournament more often than any other club and Roma boss Jose Mourinho looking to extend his own perfect record in European finals.

Mourinho certainly left his mark on the match too, with his trademark playing style contributing to no fewer than 14 yellow cards being brandished by English referee Anthony Taylor - including one to Mourinho himself.

Ultimately, though, the Portuguese had to swallow the unfamiliar taste of defeat in a European final as Sevilla won on penalties to lift the trophy for a record-extending seventh time.

Roma arguably had the better of the match itself and took the lead through Paulo Dybala, only for an unfortunate Gianluca Mancini own goal to restore parity in the second half.

Nerves were shredded as the clock ticked into an 11th minute of added time at the end of extra time, when Chris Smalling hit the crossbar in the final meaningful action before penalties.

Mancini suffered more heartbreak when he, along with Roger Ibanez, missed from the spot for Roma, allowing Gonzalo Montiel to step up for the decisive penalty, just as he had in the World Cup final last year.

There was another twist to come, though, as Montiel saw his penalty saved, only for a review to rule that the keeper had come off his line, forcing a retake which Montiel this time dispatched.

That made it seven wins from seven finals in this competition for Sevilla, who completed a remarkable turnaround under their third manager of the season having been battling relegation at one point in La Liga earlier in the campaign.

57. Tyson Fury controversially avoids boxing's greatest-ever upset against Francis Ngannou (October 28)

Suffice to say, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou was given no chance by the vast majority of predictions heading into his first-ever professional boxing fight against the unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Fury had taken the cross-over fight despite the clamour for a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk, and it was a decision that came within a whisker of coming back to bite him in the most spectacular fashion.

It was clear early on in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that Ngannou was better than many - including Fury himself - had expected, and in the third round he scored a sensational knockdown that was heard around the world.

Suddenly, arguably the biggest shock in boxing history looked like it could be on the cards, and that belief only grew as Fury struggled to inflict any real damage on Ngannou, who was largely the aggressor.

Indeed, having unexpectedly gone the distance with the champion, many observers felt that Ngannou had clearly won the fight.

However, the judges controversially felt differently - including one who scored it 96-93 to Fury - as the Gypsy King was handed a split decision to maintain his unbeaten record and avoid humiliation on the world stage.

The scorecards did raise fresh questions regarding the integrity of the contest, and of the sport of boxing as a whole, but it was also a bout which appeared to immediately cement Ngannou among the top heavyweight boxers in the world.

56. Jon Rahm wins The Masters (April 9)

Pitted as a battle between the PGA Tour and LIV golf as the two rival tours' star names went head to head, the 2023 Masters lived up to expectations at Augusta.

Plenty of traditional golf fans will have been fearing a LIV success when Brooks Koepka made a stunning start to the tournament, which was affected by adverse weather conditions which even caused trees to dramatically fall on the course, miraculously not injuring any spectators.

It was Koepka's fall which ultimately made the biggest difference, though, as a final-round 75 for the American opened the door for Jon Rahm to surge to glory with a brilliantly consistent final round.

The Spaniard ultimately finished four shots clear of LIV duo Koepka and Phil Mickelson, who became the oldest player in Masters history to finish in the top five.

Rahm's triumph also saw him ascend to the world number one ranking, while he became the first European to win both the US Open and The Masters, leaving him halfway towards a career Grand Slam.

To make things even more special, the success came on what would have been the 66th birthday of former two-time champion Seve Ballesteros, leading Rahm to dedicate his win to his legendary compatriot.

55. Sean Strickland stuns Israel Adesanya to win UFC middleweight title (September 10)

The co-main event at UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia seemed to have an air of inevitability about it, as middleweight king Israel Adesanya strode out confidently for his 11th title fight against a man ranked only fifth in the division.

Indeed, Sean Strickland had only been drafted into the title picture because of an injury to Dricus du Plessis, and he was understandably the overwhelming underdog heading into his first ever title bout.

The American was not happy to go along with the script, though, and he dropped Adesanya in the first round before acting as the aggressor for the rest of the fight.

Adesanya failed to inflict any serious damage on his opponent, and at the end of the five rounds all of the judges unanimously declared Strickland the winner.

It was an outcome that shook the UFC world and will go down as one of the biggest shocks in the company's history.

54. Coco Gauff wins first Grand Slam title at US Open (September 9)

Ever since bursting onto the scene as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon, Coco Gauff had been tipped as a future Grand Slam winner and poster girl of women's tennis.

The now 19-year-old fulfilled that potential at the US Open in September, finally getting her hands on a major trophy, and doing it on home soil too.

Seeded sixth for the tournament and coming up against the incoming world number one Aryna Sabalenka, the American was considered the underdog for the final at Flushing Meadows, and sure enough went down 2-6 in the first set.

However, cheered on by a raucous New York crowd, the home favourite fought back to win 2-6 6-3 6-2, combating Sabalenka's power hitting with incredible movement around the court which contributed to the Belarusian's 46 unforced errors.