Sport
Top 5: Famous Sporting Siblings
Across social media, people are paying tribute to their brothers and sisters for National Siblings Day. To honour such a prestigious event on the calendar, we compiled a list of some of the most famous siblings from the world of sport.
Alistair and Jonny Brownlee (Athletics)
Alistair and Jonny Brownlee have dominated the world triathlon scene in recent years, with Alistair, in particular, achieving monumental success.
He became the first triathlete in Olympic history to win consecutive gold medals in the event, the first arriving in 2012 at the London Games before he followed it up in Rio in four years later.
The Brownlees were the first British brothers to finish first and second in an individual event in the Olympics and the first brothers to appear together on a podium from any country since 1908.
One of their most famous moments came in the Triathlon World Series in Mexico in 2016. Jonny Brownlee, the younger of the pair, was leading the race with just a couple of hundred of meters remaining before he succumbed to tiredness and altitude sickness. His legs began wobbling as he ran before he eventually collapsed into the arms of a nearby steward.
Alistair, tied for second place alongside the South African Henri Schoeman, sacrificed his own chances of winning the race by putting Jonny’s arm around his shoulder and effectively carrying him to the finishing line. He pushed Jonny across the line, giving him second place, before stepping across himself. Talk about brotherly love.
Serena and Venus Williams (Tennis)
Probably the most famous siblings on this list, Serena and Venus Williams have dominated the women’s tennis landscape since Serena, the younger of the pair, won the US Open for the first time in 1999.
She went on to land a staggering 23 majors in her career, including seven Australian Opens, three French Opens, seven Wimbledons and six US Opens, spending 319 weeks as world number one. This makes her the most successful female player in history, eclipsing the 22 majors won by Steffi Graf.
Venus was no slouch either, with her seven major wins placing her eighth on the all time women’s list. Ordinarily that haul would be regarded as an incredibly successful career but when your sister is arguably the greatest of all time, it’s tough to step out of her shadow.
Between them, the Williams sisters have won 30 of the last 78 majors, a number that would surely be higher if Serena hadn’t missed 14 of them through injury and, more recently, pregnancy.
Peyton and Eli Manning (American Football)
The Mannings are a pair of quarterback brothers who hail from a family with a rich tradition in the NFL. Their father, Archie, was quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings between 1971-84, leaving his sons huge boots to fill. Not only did the boys fills his boots, they both comfortably eclipsed his achievements.
Peyton Manning was selected as the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts. It proved to be a shrewd choice as he led the Colts to two Superbowls, winning in 2007 with a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears.
The 2011 season proved to be his last at the franchise. The Colts were in possession of the number one pick in the draft for the following season and, with Peyton having spent the entire season injured, opted to release him and recruit Andrew Luck. Manning subsequently signed for the Denver Broncos and took them to two Superbowls, winning at the second attempt in 2015 before retiring.
Not to be outdone by his older brother, Eli Manning has also won two Superbowl, having spent his entire career at the New York Giants.
The Giants drafted Eli in 2004 and, in just his fourth season as a professional, led them to Superbowl glory in 2007 by defeating the New England Patriots.
In 2011, the two sides contested another Superbowl and the result was the same with the Giants emerging victorious once again.
With four Superbowls, three Superbowl MVPs and five NFL MVPs between them, the Mannings are the definitive NFL siblings.
Gary, Phil and Tracy Neville (Football)
No list of sporting siblings could be complete without the Nevilles.
Gary and Phil Neville were mainstays in Manchester United and England defences throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
The duo were members of United’s famous ‘Class of 92’, bursting into the United team alongside David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, though Phil, the younger of the pair, didn’t make his debut until two
years later.
As key members of the team during the most successful spell in United’ history, the Neville’s won six Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and the Champions League together before Phil was sold to Everton in 2005.
Gary contunued at United and won a further two Premier Leagues, two league cups and another Champions League before hanging up his boots in 2011.
The Nevilles amassed 144 England caps between them as part of England’s so called ‘Golden Generation’. Now retired, both have stayed in the game with Gary the lead football pundit at Sky Sports and Phil becoming the head coach of England Ladies.
Gary and Phil didn’t monopolise sporting success in the Neville family though, their sister Tracey (Phil’s twin), represented England at netball over a 15 year period between 1993 and 2008, winning 81 caps. Her greatest success came in coaching though, leading England to gold in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Ryan, Jamie, Joshua and Hayley Moore (Horse Racing)
It’s not uncommon to see multiple members of a single family involved in horse racing. Ruby and Katie Walsh, Harry and Dan Skelton as well as Richard and Michael are all well known siblings within the sport. One of the most famous horse racing clans though are the Moores family.
Jamie and Joshua Moore are both jump jockeys who frequently compete with one another in high profile races, with Jamie winning the Scottish Grand National on Al Co in 2014.
Ryan Moore is is arguably the most well known of the quartet. He is a three time Champion Jockey and is regarded by many to be the finest flat jockey in the world. He has multiple high profile wins, including three victories in the 1000 Guineas and two in 2000 Guineas between 2012-17.
Hayley Moore was a top amateur but now works as a presenter for At The Races. However, she clearly still hasn’t lost her touch with the horses and proved to be something of an internet sensation sin 2018 when she single-handedly caught a loose horse which briefly dragged her along the floor.
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