Norwegian Kjetil Andre Aamodt, who had overcome a broken ankle and ligament damage, became the first Alpine skier to win four Olympic golds with victory in the super-G at the age of 34. Half an hour later Croatian Janica Kostelic, who had endured nearly a dozen knee operations, matched Aamodt's feat with her fourth career gold in the combined.

At the closing ceremony, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge pledged to pursue the war against doping with unrelenting vigour. Judged by the events of 2006 it is a fight with no end in sight.

In July it was announced that Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and Olympic 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin had tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone.

Landis's failed test followed an astonishing win in the 17th stage after the American had apparently dropped out of contention on the previous day.

The Tour had already lost what little credibility it still retained when the 1997 winner Jan Ullrich and Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso were withdrawn by their teams as a result of a Spanish doping investigation.

Because of Gatlin's positive test, track fans have been denied the showdowns they craved against Jamaican Asafa Powell, who equalled his own 100 metres world record twice this year.

Doping even sullied cricket, a sport where beer is the traditional drug of choice. Pakistan pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif tested positive for the steroid nandrolone and their trouble-prone side became the first team to forfeit a test match when they refused to take the field against England after being penalised for alleged ball-tampering. England, who recaptured the Ashes on a heady September evening in 2005 after 16 fruitless years, relinquished the symbol of cricket supremacy against the Australians after holding the urn for just 15 months.

Australia took an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-test series in Perth after which their wonderful spin and pace bowling duo Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, mission accomplished, announced their impending retirements.

Warne, the finest leg spin exponent ever and possibly the best bowler the world has seen, became the first man to top the 700 wickets mark in test matches in front of a record crowd at his home ground in the fourth test in Melbourne.

WOODS TRAGEDY

Personal tragedy scarred Tiger Woods who lost his father Earl in May after a long battle with cancer and on his eventual return to competition he missed the cut at the U.S. Open.

His consequent victory at the British Open was a testament to extraordinary willpower, technique and the ability to focus exclusively on the job at hand.

Woods concluded that the unusually hard fairways after prolonged hot weather and the profusion of bunkers demanded accuracy rather than length. Accordingly he used his driver only once in four days, winning by two strokes from Chris DiMarco and breaking down in tears after the final hole.

Even Woods, who won his 12th major with a five-shot victory at the PGA championship, could not prevent Europe beating the United States for a record third successive time in the Ryder Cup.

Michael Schumacher chose Grand Prix racing's centennial year to announce his retirement at the age of 37 after winning the most victories, most pole positions and most points, narrowing the enjoyable if ultimately futile debate over the identity of world's greatest athlete.

One school of thought argues that while Woods walks and Schumacher sat, Roger Federer hits a ball on the run.

Certainly the Swiss maestro would win awards for artistry, revealing an exquisite blend of power and touch to win the Australian, Wimbledon and U.S. tennis championships.

Spaniard Rafael Nadal on a clay court at the French Open denied Federer the first grand slam since Rod Laver in 1969.

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