Cameron Norrie created history late last night by becoming the first British tennis player to win the Indian Wells Masters in California beating Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 3-6 6-4 6-1. To celebrate this historic achievement, here are some more examples of historic British firsts.
Rachel Blackmore
Horse Racing is one of the best examples of men and women competing in sport head-to-head against each other. The rise of female jockeys in the last few years has been massive and there’s no greater example than that of Rachel Blackmore.
An Irish jockey that is a jump rider, Blackmore has risen through the ranks to become one of the most sought after jockeys for owners and trainers. A large part of that is due to a historic 2021 where Blackmore won 6 races at the Cheltenham Festival notably the Champion Hurdle aboard Honeysuckle. However her crowning moment was becoming the first ever woman to win the Aintree Grand National, the biggest Horse Race on the calendar.
Blackmore was aboard Minella Times trained by Henry de Bromhead when she romped home on the 11/1 shot to create history in front of a packed Aintree roaring their approval as she crossed the line.
World Cup Wins
There is only one country that has ever won the Football, Rugby and Cricket World Cup. That country is little old England who have achieved the pinnacle in each of these sports. Each win was just as dramatic as the other with everyone remembering Cheltenham resident Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick, Jonny Wilkinson’s drop goal and Jason Roy’s Run out. In fact you could argue that all three of England’s World Cup triumphs have been won in ‘Extra Time’.
From winning the football World Cup on home soil first in 1966, winning down under in 2003 and at historic Lords in 2019, England are the first country to complete the historic treble and it maybe an achievement that no other country completes.
Tour De France
In terms of sporting achievement and effort, little can compare to the gruelling nature of the Tour De France. The cycling race takes place over three weeks with the winner wearing the iconic yellow jacket.
In recent years Britain have enjoyed lots of success in the Tour with Chris Froome winning 4 times in 5 years from 2013-2017, Geraint Thomas followed in 2018 and Mark Cavendish tied the record for amount of stage wins in 2021. However, it is easy to forget the Bradley Wiggins became the first ever Britain to win the Tour as recently in 2012.
Wiggins is an absolute record machine. He was Britain’s most successful Olympian with eight medals until he was overtaken by his mate Jason Kenny in 2021. He won Gold in the Time Trial at the London Olympics just a few months after winning the Tour de France. In the race’s 50th anniversary Wiggins became the first Britain to win the Tour which was hailed as one of the greatest sporting moments in British history. His achievements in 2012 earned him a knighthood and he will forever be a pioneer and inspiration for British cycling.
