Damar Hamlin was 2023’s most-searched athlete, leaving behind Ronaldo, Messi, Djokovic and LeBron. But who is he?

Was it one-time teammate at Paris St-Germain, Lionel Messi, who nullified Mbappe’s virtuoso performance in the FIFA World Cup final and inspired Argentina to victory while France tasted defeat? Or was it Cristiano Ronaldo, who chose to move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, thereby sparking a wave of transfers to the Asian country?

The answer was none! In fact, neither Ronaldo, nor Messi are even in the top 10 list of the most searched athletes in 2023.

It was American football player Damar Hamlin, who was 2023’s most-searched athlete. In fact, Hamlin was the most searched person overall on Google in the year.

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Who is Damar Hamlin?

Damar Hamlin plays in USA’s National Football League for a team called Buffalo Bills. The six-foot, 200-pound athlete was picked by the Bills in the sixth round (as the 212th overall pick) of the 2021 NFL Draft. Before making the cut for the NFL, he was studying at the University of Pittsburgh.

The 25-year-old plays in a position called ‘safety’. The safety is a defensive position which is a cross between a linebacker and a cornerback. In games, the safety is often the last line of defense. This makes their job description fairly simply: don’t allow the ball to get carried past you. it is the safety’s job to keep the opposition team’s wide receivers in check.

Why was Damar Hamlin the most Googled person in 2023?

In January this year, Buffalo Bills’ safety Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during a game after he made a tackle on wide receiver Tee Higgins during a Monday Night Football encounter between Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills.

Higgins’ right shoulder hit Hamlin in the chest, before Hamlin was able to wrap his arms around Higgins’ shoulder and helmet to drag him down. In the first few minutes after the tackle, everything seemed alright. Hamlin quickly sprang to his feet and seemed like he wanted to adjust his face mask with his hand.

Then, he collapsed backwards and lay motionless on the field.

Medics quickly rushed to him and tried to resuscitate him, giving him medical treatment, including CPR. His teammates, some tearing up, circled him and the medics attempting to shield him from public view. The medics attended to him for 20 minutes. Then, he was rushed in an ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

The game was initially delayed then called off. The Bills management decided to fly the players home with Hamlin still in the hospital. The team later said that Hamlin’s heart had stopped on the field before his heartbeat was restored.

How did the players and fans react to Hamlin’s injury and hospitalisation?

After the horror injury, many players from the NFL spoke up in support for him while supporters held vigils in Cincinnati and outside the Bills’ home stadium in Orchard Park, New York.

Such was the outpouring of sorrow for the player that a GoFundMe page that Hamlin had started for a toy drive for kids received nearly $5.5 million in donations in the first 24 hours after his injury.

Later, it was discovered that Hamlin’s cardiac arrest was caused by a condition called commotio cordis, which can occur when severe trauma to the chest disrupts the heart’s electrical charge and causes dangerous fibrillations (or abnormal heartbeats).

Hamlin has since made a comeback into the Bills team.

In an interview in April, he said: “I died on national TV in front of the whole world.”

Here are some of the most notable top 10 lists for Google in 2023:

Google’s top trending athletes of 2023

1 Damar Hamlin

2 Kylian Mbappé

3 Travis Kelce

4 Ja Morant

5 Harry Kane

6 Novak Djokovic

7 Carlos Alcaraz

8 Rachin Ravindra

9 Shubman Gill

10 Kyrie Irving

Google’s top trending people searches of 2023

1 Damar Hamlin

2 Jeremy Renner

3 Andrew Tate

4 Kylian Mbappé

5 Travis Kelce

6 Jenna Ortega

7 Lil Tay

8 Danny Masterson

9 David Beckham

10 Pedro Pascal