1978 in sports

Years in sports:	1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Years:	1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981

Artistic Gymnastics

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
- Men's all-around champion: Nikolai Andrianov, USSR
- Women's all-around champion: Elena Mukhina, USSR
- Men's team competition champion: Japan
- Women's team competition champion: USSR

Athletics

Marathon

August 11 — Commonwealth Games Marathon, Edmonton, Canada
- Men's Winner: Gidamis Shahanga (TAN) 2:15:40

September 3 — European Championships Marathon, Prague, Czechoslovakia
- Men's Winner: Leonid Moseyev (URS) 2:11:58

December 3 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
- Men's Winner: Toshihiko Seko (JPN) 2:10:21

December 17 — Asian Games Marathon, Bangkok, Thailand
- Men's Winner: Mineteru Sakamoto (JPN) 2:15:30

Auto racing

USAC - A J Foyt won final season championship under USAC.
- CART, Championship Auto Racing Teams open wheel racing established in the United States.
- Indianapolis 500 - won by Al Unser Snr
Touring car racing: Peter Brock and Jim Richards won the Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Torana

Baseball

World Series: New York Yankees win 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Series MVP is Bucky Dent, New York

Basketball

Wilt Chamberlain is elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with coaches Sam Barry, Eddie Hickey, John McLendon, Ray Meyer and Pete Newell, and referee Jim Enright
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
- Kentucky wins 94-88 over Duke
NBA Finals:
- Washington Bullets won 4 games to 3 over the Seattle SuperSonics
FIBA World Championship
- Yugoslavia World Champion

Boxing

February 15 – Leon Spinks defeats Muhammad Ali by decision in 15 rounds to win the world's Heavyweight title.

May 6 to 20 – Second World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
- Light Flyweight (– 48 kg): Stephen Muchoki (Kenya)
- Flyweight (– 51 kg): Henryk Średnicki (Poland)
- Bantamweight (– 54 kg): Adolfo Horta (Cuba)
- Featherweight (– 57 kg): Ángel Herrera (Cuba)
- Lightweight (– 60 kg): Andeh Davidson (Nigeria)
- Light Welterweight (– 63,5 kg): Valery Lvov (Soviet Union)
- Welterweight (– 67 kg): Valery Rachkov (Soviet Union)
- Light Middleweight (– 71 kg): Viktor Savchenko (Soviet Union)
- Middleweight (– 75 kg): José Gómez (Cuba)
- Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg): Sixto Soria (Cuba)
- Heavyweight (> 81 kg): Teófilo Stevenson (Cuba)

September 15 – Muhammad Ali recovers the world's Heavyweight title, beating Leon Spinks by decision in their rematch. It is the first time a boxer wins the world Heavyweight title for a third time.

Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Johan de Muynck of Belgium
Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
World Cycling Championship: Gerrie Knetemann of Netherlands

Dogsled racing

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Dick Mackey won with lead dogs: Skipper & Shrew

Field hockey

Men's World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Gold Medal: Pakistan
- Silver Medal: The Netherlands
- Bronze Medal: Australia

Men's European Nations Cup in Hannover, West Germany
- Gold Medal: West Germany
- Silver Medal: The Netherlands
- Bronze Medal: England

Men's Champions Trophy in Lahore, Pakistan
- Gold Medal: Pakistan
- Silver Medal: Australia
- Bronze Medal: Great Britain

Women's World Cup in Madrid, Spain
- Gold Medal: The Netherlands
- Silver Medal: West Germany
- Bronze Medal: Argentina / Belgium

March 11 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, London. England drew with the United States of America: 2-2.

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Charles Tickner, United States
- Ladies' champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
- Pair skating champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexander Zaitsev, Soviet Union
- Ice dancing champions: Natalia Linichuk & Gennadi Karponossov, Soviet Union

Football (American)

Super Bowl XII: Dallas Cowboys won 27-10 over the Denver Broncos

Football (Australian rules football)

Victorian Football League
- Hawthorn wins the 82nd VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 18.13 (121) d North Melbourne 15.13 (103))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Malcolm Blight (North Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)

Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 20-13 over the Montreal Alouettes
Vanier Cup: Queen's Golden Gaels win 16-3 over the UBC Thunderbirds

Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1978 in football (soccer)

Football World Cup: Argentina wins 3-1 (after extra time) over the Netherlands
England - FA Cup: Ipswich Town won 1-0 over Arsenal
England - League: Nottingham Forest won the championship as well as the League Cup
The Major Indoor Soccer League begins operations in the United States.

Golf

Men's golf

Grand Slam of golf results:
1. May - The Masters - Gary Player
2. June - US Open - Andy North
3. July - British Open - Jack Nicklaus
4. August - PGA Championship - John Mahaffey
PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Watson - $362,429

Women's golf

US Women's Open - Hollis Stacy
LPGA Championship - Nancy Lopez
Nancy Lopez: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $189,213.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Australia - Melbourne Cup - Arwon
Canada - Queen's Plate - Regal Embrace
France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Alleged
Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shirley Heights

English Triple Crown Races:
1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Roland Gardens
2. Epsom Derby - Shirley Heights
3. St. Leger Stakes - Julio Mariner

July 13: At Belmont Park, Elmont, New York, star jockey Ron Turcotte is injured in a racing accident that leaves him a paraplegic, ending his riding career.

Affirmed, ridden by jockey Steve Cauthen, wins the United States Triple Crown Races by narrowly defeating Alydar in all three races:
1. Kentucky Derby - Affirmed, Alydar
2. Preakness Stakes - Affirmed, Alydar
3. Belmont Stakes - Affirmed, Alydar

Harness racing

United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
1. Cane Pace - Armbro Tiger
2. Little Brown Jug - Happy Escort
3. Messenger Stakes - Abercrombie

United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
1. Hambletonian - Speedy Somolli
2. Yonkers Trot - Speedy Somolli
3. Kentucky Futurity - Doublemint

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: Markovina
- Trotters: Derby Royale

Ice hockey

Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens

Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 2 over the Boston Bruins

World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
- Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
- Note: In the early years of the Junior tournament, Canada did not send a true National Junior team to the event. Instead, the Memorial Cup champions usually went to represent Canada. The exception was 1978 in Montreal, when an "all-star" team was put together.

Skiing

Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden
- The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein

Snooker

World Snooker Championship: Ray Reardon beats Perrie Mans 25-18
World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1978/79.

Speed skating

First ISU Short Track Speed Skating Championships for men and ladies held in Solihull, UK

Swimming

Events

The third FINA World Championships held in West-Berlin, West Germany

Records

July 29 — USA's Ron Manganiello sets a world record in the 50m freestyle at a swimming meet in Miami, Florida (United States), shaving off 0.02 of the previous record (23.74) set by Joe Bottom a year ago: 23.72.