1997 in sports

 

Years in sports:	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Years:	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Artistic gymnastics

• World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
  • Men's all-around champion: Ivan Ivankov, Belarus
  • Women's all-around champion: Svetlana Khorkina, Russia
  • Men's team competition champion: China
  • Women's team competition champion: Romania

Athletics

Marathon

• June 8 — Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
  • Men's Winner: Dmitriy Kapitonov (RUS) 2:12:09
  • Women's Winner: Carla Beurskens (NED) 2:37:20

• June 15 — Mediterranean Games Marathon, Bari, Italy
  • Men's Winner: Azzedine Sakhri (ALG) 2:20:40
  • Women's Winner: Serap Aktas (TUR) 2:39:22

• August 9 — IAAF World Championships Marathon, Athens, Greece
  • Women's Winner: Hiromi Suzuki (JPN) 2:29:48

• August 10 — IAAF World Championships Marathon, Athens, Greece
  • Men's Winner: Abel Antón (ESP) 2:13:16

• December 7 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
  • Men's Winner: Josia Thugwane (RSA) 2:07:28

Auto racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Jeff Gordon is the youngest driver ever to win the Daytona 500 on February 16
  • NASCAR Championship - Jeff Gordon
• Indy Racing League -
• Indianapolis 500 - Arie Luyendyk of The Netherlands
• CART Racing - Alex Zanardi won the season championship
• Formula One Championship - Jacques Villeneuve of Canada
• V8 Supercars Australia
  • Championship Series won by Glenn Seton in a Ford Falcon EL.
  • Bathurst 1000 for V8 Supercars won by Russel Ingall and Larry Perkins in a Holden Commodore VS.
  • Bathurst 1000 for Super Touring won by Jim Richards and Rickard Rydell. Rydell setting a shootout lap of 2:14.x, fastest super touring lap ever around the mountain at that time.
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Michele Alboreto / Stefan Johansson / Tom Kristensen won, driving a TWR-Porsche
• Rally racing - Tommi Mäkinen won the World Rally Championship
  • the team of Piero Liatti / Fabrizia Pons won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Subaru Impreza WRC97
• Drag racing - Gary Scelzi won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.

Baseball

• June 12 - Interleague play begins in baseball, ending a 126-year tradition of separating the major leagues until the World Series.
• World Series: Florida Marlins won 4 games to 3 over the Cleveland Indians. The Series MVP was Liván Hernández, Florida
• More information: 1997 in baseball

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Arizona Wildcats win 84-79 in overtime over the Kentucky Wildcats. This is Arizona's first NCAA title in men's basketball.

• NBA Finals|NBA Finals:
  • Chicago Bulls earn their second repeat of the decade as they beat the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 (see Steve Kerr).

• WNBA NBA Finals, inaugural WNBA season:
  • Houston Comets defeat the New York Liberty in one game playoff series.

• National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
  • Melbourne Tigers defeated the South East Melbourne Magic 2-1 in the best-of-three final series.

• More information: 1997 in basketball

Boxing

• January 18 – Oscar de la Hoya maintained his World Boxing Council super lightweight title in with a 12-round unanimous decision over Miguel Angel Gonzalez in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• June 28 – Mike Tyson bites off a piece of the ear of Evander Holyfield in the third round of their WBA Heavyweight title fight, getting disqualified by referee Mills Lane.
• July 9 – Mike Tyson's boxing license is suspended for at least a year and he is fined $3 million for biting Evander Holyfield's ear in a televised match.

• October 18 to 26 – World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Budapest, Hungary
  • Light Flyweight (– 48 kg): Maikro Romero (Cuba)
  • Flyweight (– 51 kg): Manuel Mantilla (Cuba)
  • Bantamweight (– 54 kg): Raimkul Malakhbekov (Russia)
  • Featherweight (– 57 kg): István Kovács (Hungary)
  • Lightweight (– 60 kg): Aleksander Maletin (Russia)
  • Light Welterweight (– 63,5 kg): Dorel Simion (Romania)
  • Welterweight (– 67 kg): Oleg Saitov (Russia)
  • Light Middleweight (– 71 kg): Alfredo Duvergel (Cuba)
  • Middleweight (– 75 kg): Zsolt Erdei (Hungary)
  • Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg): Aleksandr Lebziak (Russia)
  • Heavyweight (– 91 kg): Félix Savón (Cuba)
  • Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg): Georgi Kandalaki (Georgia)

Cricket

• The Ashes - Australia win the six test series 3-2
• ICC Trophy - Bangladesh
• Women's Cricket World Cup - Australia beat New Zealand by five wickets
• County Cricket Championship (England and Wales) - Glamorgan

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Ivan Gotti of Italy
• Tour de France - Jan Ullrich of Germany
• World Cycling Championship: Laurent Brochard of France

Dogsled racing

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion
  • Martin Buser won with lead dogs: Blondie & Fearless

Field hockey

• Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Gold Medal: Spain
  • Silver Medal: South Korea
  • Bronze Medal: New Zealand

• Men's Champions Trophy in Adelaide, Australia
  • Gold Medal: Germany
  • Silver Medal: Australia
  • Bronze Medal: Spain

• Women's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Harare, Zimbabwe
  • Gold Medal: South Africa
  • Silver Medal: New Zealand
  • Bronze Medal: Scotland

• Women's Champions Trophy in Berlin, Germany
  • Gold Medal: Australia
  • Silver Medal: Germany
  • Bronze Medal: The Netherlands

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Elvis Stojko, Canada
  • Ladies' champion: Tara Lipinski, United States
  • Pairs' champions: Mandy Wötzel & Ingo Steuer, Germany
  • Ice dancing champions: Oksana Grishuk / Evgeny Platov, Russia

Football (American)

• Super Bowl XXXI: Green Bay Packers won 35-21 over the New England Patriots
• Florida Gators Florida State Seminoles and win their first national title in college football.

Football (Australian)

• Australian Football League
  • Port Adelaide join the league

Florida lose to Nebraska in College Football National Championship.

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts won 47-23 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Vanier Cup: UBC Thunderbirds win 39-23 over the Ottawa Gee Gees

Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1997 in football (soccer)

Gaelic Athletic Association

• Camogie
  • All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Cork
  • National Camogie League: Cork

• Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 0-13 d. Mayo 1-7
  • National Football League: Kerry 3-7 d. Cork 1-8

• Ladies' Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Monaghan
  • National Football League: Waterford

• Hurling
  • All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Clare 0-20 d. Tipperary 2-13
  • National Hurling League:

Golf

Men's golf

• Major championship results:
  1. April 13 - The Masters - Tiger Woods
  2. June - US Open - Ernie Els
  3. July - British Open - Justin Leonard
  4. August - PGA Championship - Davis Love III

• PGA Tour Player of the Year: Tiger Woods
• PGA Tour leading money winner: Tiger Woods - $2,066,833
• PGA Tour rookie of the year: Stewart Cink
• Senior PGA Tour leading money winner: Hale Irwin - $2,343,364
• Ryder Cup: Europe won 14 1/2-13 1/2 over the United States in world team golf.
• Other highlights
  • Tiger Woods creates an uproar with his record 12-shot victory at the Masters, and becomes the first Masters winner of African-American descent. He set the record for the lowest to-par score of -18, and the lowest 72-hole score of 272. He also rises to the No. 1 ranking on June 15, in only his 42nd week as a professional -- the fastest ascent to the No. 1 ranking.

Women's golf

• US Women's Open - Alison Nicholas
• LPGA Championship - Christa Johnson
• Annika Sörenstam: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $1,236,789.

Thoroughbred horse racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Might And Power
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Awesome Again
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Peintre Célèbre
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Desert King

• English Triple Crown races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Entrepreneur
  2. Epsom Derby - Benny the Dip
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Silver Patriarch

• United States Triple Crown races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Silver Charm
  2. Preakness Stakes - Silver Charm
  3. Belmont Stakes - Touch Gold

• Breeders' Cup:
  1. Breeders' Cup Classic - Skip Away
  2. Breeders' Cup Distaff - Ajina
  3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Favorite Trick
  4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Countess Diana
  5. Breeders' Cup Mile - Spinning World
  6. Breeders' Cup Sprint - Elmhurst
  7. Breeders' Cup Turf - Chief Bearhart

Harness racing

• North America Cup - Gothic Dream

• Western Dreamer won the United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Western Dreamer
  2. Little Brown Jug - Western Dreamer
  3. Messenger Stakes - Western Dreamer

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Malabar Man
  2. Yonkers Trot - Lord Stormont
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Take Chances

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Our Sir Vancelot
  • Trotters: Pride Of Petite

Ice hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres

• Stanley Cup - Detroit Red Wings win 4 games to 0 over the Philadelphia Flyers

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Canada defeated Sweden
  • Junior Men's champion: Finland defeated Russia
  • Women's champion: Canada defeated the United States

Lacrosse

• The Rochester Knighthawks defeat the Buffalo Bandits 15-12 to win the Major Indoor Lacrosse League championship
  • The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is formed from the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL), with the decision to move from league ownership of all teams to individual team ownership.
• Mann Cup for the Canadian box lacrosse championship: Victoria Shamrocks of the Western Lacrosse Association
• European Lacrosse Championships:
  • Men's champion: England defeats the Czech Republic
  • Women's champion: England defeats Wales

Mixed Martial Arts

• February 2 — Vitor Belfort makes his UFC debut at UFC 12. He wins the heavyweight tournament by beating Tra Telligman in the first round and then demolishing Scott Ferrozzo in forty-three seconds in the final.
• May 30 — Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz make their UFC, and professional MMA debuts, at UFC 13. Couture beats Tony Halme and Steven Graham on his way to winning the heavyweight tournament. Ortiz takes part in the light-heavyweight tournament. He beats Wes Albritton in his first bout but then loses to Guy Mezger in the tournament finals.
• October 11 — KRS-PRIDE (later renamed PRIDE Fighting Championships) holds its inaugural event at the Tokyo Dome. In the show’s main event Rickson Gracie defeats Nobuhiko Takada by armbar, in the first round.

Radiosport

• Eighth Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in Sankt Englmar, Germany.
• Second High Speed Telegraphy World Championship held in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Rowing

• McGill University wins the inaugural McGill-Queen's Challenge Boat race.

Skiing

• Alpine skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Luc Alphand, France
  • The women's overall season champion: Pernilla Wiberg, Sweden

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Ken Doherty beats Stephen Hendry 18-12
• World rankings: Stephen Hendry remains world number one for 1997/98

Swimming

• March 28 – Japan's Ayari Aoyama breaks Misty Hyman's world record in the Women's 100m Butterfly (short course): 58:24

• Third World Short Course Championships, held in Gothenburg, Sweden (April 17 – 20)
  • April 19 – US-swimmer Jenny Thompson breaks Ayari Aoyama's world record in the Women's 100m Butterfly (short course): 57:79
  • April 20 – Australia wins the most medals (17), and the most gold medals (9)

• 23rd European LC Championships, held in Seville, Spain (August 19 – 24)
  • Germany wins the most medals (19), and the most gold medals (8)

• XIX Summer Universiade, held on Sicily, Italy (August 24 – 30)

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Pete Sampras
  2. French Open - Gustavo Kuerten
  3. Wimbledon championships - Pete Sampras
  4. US Open - Patrick Rafter

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Martina Hingis
  2. French Open - Iva Majoli
  3. Wimbledon championships - Martina Hingis
  4. US Open - Martina Hingis

• Davis Cup: Sweden won 5-0 over the United States in world tennis.

Volleyball

• Men's European Championship in Den Bosch and Eindhoven, Netherlands
  • Gold Medal: Netherlands
  • Silver Medal: Yugoslavia
  • Bronze Medal: Italy

• Women's European Championship in Brno, Czech Republic
  • Gold Medal: Russia
  • Silver Medal: Croatia
  • Bronze Medal: Czech Republic

• I. Beach Volleyball World Championships in Los Angeles, United States
  • Men's Competition
    • Gold Medal:  Rogerio Ferreira and Guilherme Marques (BRA)
    • Silver Medal:  Canyon Ceman and Mike Whitmarsh (USA)
    • Bronze Medal:  Dain Blanton and Kent Steffes (USA)
    • Bronze Medal:  Paulão Moreira and Paulo Emilio Silva (BRA)
  • Women's Competition
    • Gold Medal:  Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva (BRA)
    • Silver Medal:  Lisa Arce and Holly McPeak (USA)
    • Bronze Medal:  Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar (BRA)
    • Bronze Medal:  Karolyn Kirby and Nancy Reno (USA)

General sporting events

• Second East Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea
• 8th Pan Arab Games held in Beirut, Lebanon
• Fifth World Games held in Lahti, Finland
• 13th Mediterranean Games held in Bari, Italy
• 19th Summer Universiade held on Sicily, Italy
• 18th Winter Universiade held in Muju County, South Korea

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Tiger Woods, PGA golf
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Martina Hingis, Tennis

Deaths

• Exceller — thoroughbred racehorse
• March 21 — John Nemechek (27), NASCAR race driver
• March 25 — Oswaldo "Baltazar" da Silva (71), Brazilian football (soccer) player (b. 1926)
• June 20 — John Akii-Bua, Ugandan hurdler (b. 1949)
• September 9 — Richie Ashburn, Major League Baseball player
• November 14 — Eddie Arcaro, only jockey to win two Triple Crowns
• November 29 — Heikki Savolainen (90), Finnish gymnast (b. 1907)
• December 6 — Willy den Ouden (79), Dutch freestyle swimmer (b. 1918)
• December 23 — Felix Bwalya (27), Zambian boxer (b. 1970)

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