10. Carl Froch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeClxAdKZu0 Sport - Boxing With the retirements of Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton and David Haye, as well as the disastrous comeback of Ricky Hatton and losses for former Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan in his last two fights, British boxing fans have been rapidly running out of champions to cheer for over the last few years, though the successes of amateurs Luke Campbell, Fred Evans, Anthony Ogogo and Anthony Joshua at the Olympics may change that in the years to come as they step up to the professional level. For now, however, this leaves Nottingham-based super-middleweight Carl Froch, who ended 2011 on a disappointing note, losing his WBC world title in a close contest with American boxer Andre Ward, who stood to lose his WBA and Ring Magazine titles if defeated. Undeterred, crowd favourite Froch quickly bounced back from what was only the second defeat of his career by dominating the Romanian favourite Lucian Bute in a bout for the IBF world title in May, winning the belt with a fifth round technical knockout, which he subsequently retained with a recent victory over the American Yusuf Mack. Though at thirty-five, he has hinted at retirement, Froch will enter 2013 as one of Britains few world champions in the sport (others include Nathan Cleverly, who defended his WBO light heavyweight title twice in 2012), and certainly the highest profile one for the time being. 9. Ben Ainslie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTE3pBQXw4c Sport - Sailing In 2008, the British sailing team brought home four gold medals from Beijing, including a third for Ben Ainslie, who had previously triumphed in Sydney and Athens, in addition to earning a silver medal in Atlanta in 1996. The first person to officially carry the Olympic flame on its long journey across Britain prior to the games, Ainslie was ultimately the only sailor to win gold for Great Britain in 2012, though a further individual and three pairs added four more silvers to the nations medal tally. Ainslies event, the Finn class, featured eleven races, and he was soundly beaten by Danish rival Jonas Hogh-Christiansen in the first six, being forced to make a time-hindering penalty turn by the Dane and Dutch opponent Pieter-Jan Postma in one of the races. Commenting on this in a TV interview, Ainslie, channelling his inner Hulk, claimed that the two had made him angry, something that they didnt want to do. Mind game or not, Ainslies anger sparked a dazzling comeback in the final five races to secure the defence of his title and relegate the Dane to second place. The countrys flagbearer at the closing ceremony, it remains to be seen how much longer Ainslie will continue to sail competitively, though his intention to compete in 2013s Americas Cup indicates that he isnt quite ready to step off the boat just yet.