| 31/12/2024 | 24-year-old Kenyan double olympic gold medallist (5000 and 10000 meters) from Paris 2024 Beatrice Chebet smashes the 5km world record with 13:54 at the Cursa dels Nassos in Barcelona, becoming the first woman to beat 14 minutes for the distance on any surface, track or road |
| 31/12/2020 | Becky Hammon makes history by becoming the first woman to act as head coach during an NBA regular-season game. The San Antonio assistant coach filled in for head coach Gregg Popovich after he was ejected in the first half of the Spurs' 121-107 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. |
| 31/12/2019 | China alerted the World Health Organisation to several cases of unusual pneumonia in Wuhan. On January, 11, China will announce its first death and on February, 11, the WHO will announce that the new corona virus will be called “COVID-19” which will become a pandemic throughout the globe and cancel all sporting activity. |
| 31/12/1999 | It is the last day white balls are used in the Greek volleyball championship. From next year balls will bear yellow and blue stripes |
| 31/12/1999 | 38 year-old sports journalist Costas Tsogas dies in a car accident |
| 31/12/1999 | Legendary Australian marathon swimmer Des Redford dies aged 72. He began his career at the age of 39. He swam across the Channel 19 times |
| 31/12/1999 | Jacky Joyner Kersee's record in eptathlon (7.291 points on September 24, 1988) is erased when the new type of javelin is introduced. The new record will stand from the 1th January 2000 |
| 31/12/1993 | Thomas J. Watson, Jr., president of IBM from 1952 to 1971, son of Thomas J. Watson, IBM’s founder and first president, dies at the age of 79. He took over from his father, a month before his father’s death (19/6/1956), and in the 60’s he redirected the company from electromechanical punch card systems to mainframe computers |
| 31/12/1989 | Jockey Kent Desormeaux on 2 year-old ''East Royalty'' sets world record by completing 598 wins in one year, surpassing Chris McCarron by 52 wins |
| 31/12/1989 | Antenna TV begins broadcasting |
| 31/12/1987 | One second is deducted from the year 1987 in order to set straight the Gregorian calendar |
| 31/12/1972 | 36-year-old Puerto Rican baseball legend Roberto Clemente, is killed while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. His airplane crashed into the ocean off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico immediately after takeoff. |
| 31/12/1964 | Donald Campbell, driving Bluebird K7 at a speed of 444,71 km/h, breaks the world water speed record (his 7th) in Lake Dumbleyung near Perth, becoming the first to set both land and water speed record in the same year. Five months ago, on July 17th, he broke the land record with 648,73km/h for a four-wheeled vehicle. |
| 31/12/1958 | Willie Shoemaker becomes the first jockey to win 4 American championships |
| 31/12/1952 | With the 14374 directive of the Athens Primary Court, the Union of Sports Journalists (SAS) is recognized as an official body. In 1971 it will be renamed to SAT and on the 17th of April 1981 to PSAT |
| 31/12/1836 | Gymnastics are introduced to greek schools |
