2012 was packed full of amazing sports stories. Being a Summer Olympics’ year provides tons of fodder alone (or at least far more fodder than those crappy Winter Olympics years). We saw gold for gymnasts, a man bolting to back-to-back 100 meter wins, and Michael Phelps returning to the headlines for something other than pot smoking and Subway commercials.
And that’s just the tip of the 2012 sports’ iceberg: the NY Giants parlayed a late-season tear into an unexpected Super Bowl, the “Big Three” finally turned up the heat enough to win an NBA title, baseball was played and hockey wasn’t.
But these are all stories you’ve heard before — probably a million times over. So we figured we’d hone in on a few stunning specifics: namely the lovely ladies who won our hearts in the year that was. Here are the women that made 2012 a compelling year, even if the events they participated in (or covered or dated actual athletes who played in) weren’t.
Our list features not only the hottest athletes, but also those wonderful WAGs, salacious sideline reporters and other chicks we can’t think of an alliterating adjective for…
Abigal Klein – Troy Aikman WAG / US Olympians / Antonija Misura – Croatian Basketball Player
Arianny Celeste – UFC / Australian Olympians / BiBi Jones – Gronk WAG
Bikini Basketball League / British Olympians / Brittney Palmer – UFC
Brooklyn Decker – WAG / Brooklynettes / CFL Cheerleaders
College Football Cheerleaders / Colombian Soccer Girls / Colts Cheerleaders Shave Heads for Cancer
Czech Beach Volleyball / Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Calendar / Dutch Field Hockey Team
Eva Longoria – Sanchez WAG / Gina Carano Does Hollywood / Gisele – Tom Brady WAG
Hayden Panettiere – WAG / Italian Olympians / Jenn Suhr – US Pole Vaulter
Kate Upton – Verlander WAG / Kayla Varner – Harper WAG / Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings
Kyna Treacy – AROD Distraction / LA Kings Ice Crew / Larisa Fraser – Ryan Braun WAG
LFL / Lolo Jones – Virgin / MAVS Dancers
Michael Phelps’ WAG / Michelle Beadle / Michelle Jenneke
MLB WAG Awards / MLS Cheerleaders / Natalia Siwiec
NFL Cheerleader Calendars / NFL Cheerleaders Go PINK / NFL WAGs
Olha Saladuha – Ukrainian Triple Jumper / Olympians in the Buff / Olympic Beach Volleyball Cheerleaders
Olympic Fencers / Olympic Heptathletes / Olympic Pole Vaulters
Paulina Gretzky / Ronda Rousey / Russian Olympians
Samantha Steele / Sanya Richards-Ross / Sarah Jones – Sex Scandal
Sharon Simmons – Grandma Cheerleader / Sync Swimmers / Stephanie Essin – Oregon Cheerleader
Sexiest Surfers / Thanksgiving Cheerleaders / Toronto Argonauts Cheerleaders
US Women’s Soccer Team / Victoria Pendleton – Cyclist / Voula Papachristou – Racist Tweeter
World Series WAGs / WWE Divas Thanksgiving / Zsuzsanna Jakabos – Hungarian Swimmer
