2003 in sports - Definition and Overview

See also: 2002 in sports, other events of 2003, 2004 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Michael Waltrip wins rain-shortened Daytona 500
  • Winston Cup Championship won by Matt Kenseth for Ford.
    • Nextel signs deal to replace R.J. Reynolds as title sponsor of series
• Indianapolis 500
  • Won by Gil de Ferran of Brazil for Team Penske.
• Indy Racing League
  • Won by Scott Dixon of New Zealand, for Chip Ganassi Racing.
• CART Racing Series
  • Paul Tracy of Canada was the champion.
  • Sebastien Bourdais was the rookie of the year.
• Formula One Championship
  • Michael Schumacher of Germany wins his 6th World Driver's Championship, breaking tie with Juan Manuel Fangio.
  • Juan Pablo Montoya wins the Monaco Grand Prix.
• 24 hours of Le Mans
  • Victors Tom Kristensen / Rinaldo Capello / Guy Smith driving a Bentley Speed 8 GT
• V8 Supercars:
  • Bathurst 1000, Australia - Won by Greg Murphy of New Zealand and Rick Kelly of Australia for the K-Mart Racing Team. Murphy sets the fastest ever lap of any type of car on the mountain, including open wheelers.
  • Marcos Ambrose for Stone Brothers Racing wins V8 Supercar Championship Series, with more wins and more poles than any other.
  • Mark Winterbottom for Stone Brothers Racing wins 'junior division', Konica Championship Series.
• Rally racing:
  • the team of Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena wins the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Citroën Total.
  • Petter Solberg of Norway wins the World Rally Championship for Subaru, defeating Loeb by a single point at season's end.
• Drag racing
• Nations Cup Australia
  • Championship won by Paul Stokell for Team Lamborghini in a Lamborghini Diablo GTR.
  • Bathurst 24 hours at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, won by Peter Brock, Grey Murphy, Jason Bright and Todd Kelly in a Monaro GRM 427, 7-litre Race Prototype.

Baseball

• April 4 - Sammy Sosa hits his 500th career home run off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Scott Sullivan in the seventh inning at Great American Ball Park, becoming only the 18th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 or more home runs, as well as the first Hispanic to do so.

• May 5 - Matt Stairs' home run off Houston Astros pitcher Wade Miller was estimated at 461 feet, making it the longest home run in the history of Minute Maid Park.

• May 11 - Rafael Palmeiro hit his 500th career home run off Cleveland Indians pitcher David Elder becoming only the 19th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 or more home runs.

• June 13 - New York Yankee Roger Clemens becomes the 21st pitcher in history to win 300 games and only the 3rd pitcher to record 4,000 career strikeouts as he defeats the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2.

• 2003 World Series: The Florida Marlins win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees.

• Books published:
  • Michael Lewis, Moneyball: An examination of the present-day Oakland Athletics as run by their general manager Billy Beane, and how the application of sabermetric principles has allowed the A's to be competitive despite having one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.

See also

• 2003 in baseball

Basketball

• April 7 - NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Syracuse Orangemen win 81-78 over the Kansas Jayhawks

• April 8 - NCAA Women's Basketball Championship:
  • UConn Huskies win 73-68 over the Tennessee Lady Vols

• NBA Finals: San Antonio Spurs win 4 games to 2 over the New Jersey Nets

• WNBA Finals: Detroit Shock win 2 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Sparks, winning the franchise's first title, and marking the first time an Eastern conference team is WNBA world champions.

• December 13 - The largest crowd in the sport's history, 78,129, packed Ford Field in Detroit to watch Michigan State and Kentucky. Kentucky wins 79-74.

Boxing

• September 13: Shane Mosley conquers the WBA and WBC world Jr. Middleweight titles with a 12 round unanimous decision over Oscar De La Hoya in rematch of their 2000 bout

Cricket

• Bank Alfalah Cup - New Zealand defeats Pakistan in the final by 4 wickets
• Cricket World Cup - Australia defeats India in the final by 125 runs to win the ICC 2003 cricket World Cup
• Natwest Series - England defeats South Africa in the final by 7 wickets
• The Ashes - Australia win 4-1
• TVS Cup - The cup is shared when the final between India and South Africa is rained out
• Domestic competitions
  • County Championship (England and Wales) - Sussex
  • Pura Cup (Australia) - New South Wales
  • First Twenty20 Cup series held (England and Wales), won by Surrey
• May - West Indies defeat Australia scoring a world record 418 runs in the 4th innings breaking a 27-year-old record of India who had scored 406 runs in the 4th innings to win a test match against West Indies.

Curling

• 2003 Nokia Brier
  • Final: (March 9) Alberta (Randy Ferbey) 8-4 Nova Scotia (Mark Dacey)
• 2003 Scott Tournament of Hearts
  • Final: (February 23) Canada (Colleen Jones) 9-7 Newfoundland and Labrador (Cathy Cunningham)
• 2003 Ford World Curling Championship
  • Women's Final: (April 12) United States (Debbie McCormick) 5-3 Canada (Colleen Jones)
  • Men's Final: (April 13) Canada (Randy Ferbey) 10-6 Switzerland (Ralph Stöckli)
• Continental Cup of Curling (November 27-30)
  • Europe 208-179 North America
• 2003 McCain TSN Skins Game Final: (December 7) Wayne Middaugh $36,000-$28,000 Pål Trulsen
• 2003 JVC/TSN Women's Skins Game Final: (December 14) Sherry Middaugh $31,000-$11,000 Debbie McCormick
• 2003 Canada Cup
  • Women's Final: (January 11) Sherry Middaugh 8-7 Kelley Law
  • Men's Final: (January 12) Randy Ferbey 7-5 John Morris
• 2003 Canadian Open Final: (November 9) Glen Despins 8-7 Dave Boehmer
• Masters of Curling Final: (January 12) Kevin Martin 8-7 Vic Peters
• M&M Meat Shops Masters of Curling Final: (December 14) Wayne Middaugh 5-2 Jeff Stoughton
• 2003 WCT National Champion: Pierre Charette
• PharmAssist Players' Championship Final: (February 23) Jeff Stoughton 8-3 John Morris
• 2003 Strathcona Cup: Scotland 2600-2492 Canada
• 2003 Asia-Pacific Curling Championships:
  • Women's Final (November 29) Japan (Shinobu Aota) 7-3 South Korea (Mi-Yeon Kim)
  • Men's Final (November 29) New Zealand (Sean Becker) 6-5 Australia (Hugh Millikin)
• Le Gruyère European Curling Championships 2003 (ended December 13)
  • Women's Final Sweden (Anette Norberg) 7-6 Switzerland (Luzia Ebnöther)
  • Men's Final Scotland (David Murdoch) 11-5 Sweden (Peja Lindholm)
• World Junior "B" Curling Championships (ended January 12)
  • Men's Final: Norway (Thomas Løvold) 4-3 Finland (Tuomas Vuori)
  • Women: Russia's Nkeiruka Ezekh wins gold.
• Winter Universiade 2003 (ended January 23)
  • Women's Final: Russia (Olga Jarkova) 11-2 Lakehead University, Canada (Krista Scharf)
  • Men's Final: Brandon University, Canada (Mike McEwan) 6-4 Switzerland (Cyril Stutz)
• World Junior Curling Championship (ended March 30)
  • Women's Final: Canada (Marliese Miller) 5-4 United States (Cassandra Johnson)
  • Men's Final: Canada (Steve Laycock) 5-4 Sweden (Carl-Axel Dahlin)
• World Senior Curling Championship (ended April 6)
  • Women's Final: Canada (Nancy Kerr) 7-4 Scotland (Carolyn Morris)
  • Men's Final: Canada (Tom Reed) 9-3 United States (Scott Baird)

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Gilberto Simoni of Italy
• Tour de France - Lance Armstrong
• World Cycling Championship: Igor Astarloa of Spain

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Evgeni Plushenko, Russia
  • Women's champion: Michelle Kwan, United States
  • Pairs champions: Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao, China

Football (American)

• January 3 - Fiesta Bowl (Bowl Championship Series):
  • Ohio State Buckeyes win 31-24 over the Miami Hurricanes (double overtime)

• January 27 - Super Bowl XXXVII:
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers win 48-21 over the Oakland Raiders

Football (Australian Rules)

• Australian Football League
  • The Brisbane Lions win the 107th AFL premiership (Brisbane Lions 20.14 (134) d Collingwood 12.12 (84))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Nathan Buckley (Collingwood), Adam Goodes (Sydney Swans) and Mark Ricciuto (Adelaide Crows)
  • See also Australian Football League season 2003

Football (Canadian)

• February 27 - Darren Flutie retires

• November 16 - 91st Grey Cup (Canadian Football League Championship game)
  • Edmonton Eskimos 34-22 Montreal Alouettes

• November 22 - Vanier Cup: (Canadian University Championship game)
  • Laval University 14-7 St. Mary's University

Football (Soccer)

• Champions League: AC Milan wins 3-2 on penalties over Juventus, after a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford. This was AC Milan's 6th European Cup.

• UEFA Cup: FC Porto wins 3-2 in the final against Celtic, after extra time, with a silver goal by Derlei. This is Porto's first UEFA Cup title.

• European Super Cup: AC Milan beats FC Porto 1-0, winning the cup for the 4th time.

• Intercontinental Cup: Boca Juniors win 3-1 on penalties over AC Milan, after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time. This is Boca Juniors' second cup.

• England - FA Cup: Arsenal win 1-0 over Southampton

• English Premier League - Manchester United wins the English Premier League by 5 points over Arsenal.

• Women's World Cup: Germany wins the final against Sweden 2-1 after extra time.

• June 17 - Manchester United sells English soccer star David Beckham to Real Madrid for 35 million euros.

• November 28 - In an Asian Cup qualifier between Iran and Lebanon, Ali Daei scores his 85th goal for the Iranian national team, breaking the record of Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas.

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  • April 10-13 - The Masters - Mike Weir. Weir becomes the first Canadian and the first left-handed golfer to win The Masters. He defeats Len Mattiace on the first playoff hole.
  • June 12-15 - US Open - Jim Furyk - takes place at Olympia Fields, Furyk wins his first major by 3 shots.
  • July 17-20- British Open - Ben Curtis, a virtual unknown, shocks the world, posting a -1, a single shot ahead of Thomas Björn and Vijay Singh at the very difficult Royal St. George's.
  • August 14-17 - PGA Championship - Shaun Micheel, another virtual unknown, wins by 2 shots at the tough Oak Hill Country Club.

• Other highlights
  • March 2 - Tiger Woods wins the Accenture Match Play Championships, defeating David Toms 2 and 1.
  • April 20 - Davis Love III chips in on the 72nd hole to force a playoff, which he wins, giving him his fifth victory at the MCI Heritage at Harbour Town.
  • May 22 - At the Colonial Open golf tournament, LPGA champion Annika Sörenstam became the first woman in 58 years to compete in a men's professional golf tournament.
  • June 1 - Kenny Perry wins for the second straight week, this time at The Memorial, held at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
  • July 6 - Tiger Woods wins the 100th Western Open at Cog Hill

• Vijay Singh is the PGA TOUR's leading money winner for the year, with earnings of $7,349,907 in 27 events.

• Tom Watson is the leading money winner on the Champions Tour, with earnings of $1,853,108 in 14 events.

• President's Cup - For the first time ever, the Cup is shared between the United States and International teams.

Women's Golf

• Major results
  • Kraft Nabisco Championship - Patricia Meunier-Lebouc
  • US Women's Open - Hilary Lunke wins an 18-hole playoff over Angela Stanford and Kelly Robbins.
  • LPGA Championship - Annika Sörenstam
  • Women's British Open - Annika Sörenstam

• Annika Sörenstam was the leading money winner on the LPGA tour, with earnings of $2,029,506.

• Michelle Wie, then 13 years old, becomes the youngest person ever to win a USGA event for adults by winning the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links.

Handball

• 2003 World Men's Handball Championship played in Portugal
  • Gold medal: Croatia
  • Silver medal: Germany
  • Bronze medal: France

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Makybe Diva
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Wando
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Dalakhani
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Alamshar

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Refuse to Bend
  2. Epsom Derby - Kris Kin
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Brian Boru

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Funny Cide
  2. Preakness Stakes - Funny Cide
  3. Belmont Stakes - Empire Maker

• Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships:
  • Breeders' Cup Classic - Pleasantly Perfect
  • Breeders' Cup Distaff - Adoration
  • Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf - Islington
  • Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Action This Day
  • Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Halfbridled
  • Breeders' Cup Mile - Six Perfections
  • Breeders' Cup Sprint - Cajun Beat
  • Breeders' Cup Turf - Dead heat High Chaparral - Johar

Harness Racing

• North America Cup:

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace
  2. Little Brown Jug
  3. Messenger Stakes

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian
  2. Yonkers Trot - Sugar Trader
  3. Kentucky Futurity

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Baltic Eagle
  • Trotters: Take A Moment

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche

• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Peter Forsberg, Colorado Avalanche

• Stanley Cup: New Jersey Devils win 4 games to 3 over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP is won by Jean-Sebastien Giguere of Anaheim.

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Canada defeats Sweden 3-2
  • Junior Men's champion: Russia win 3-2 over Canada
  • Women's champion: tournament scheduled for Beijing, China cancelled due to the outbreak of SARS.

See also: 2002-03 NHL season and 2003-04 NHL season

Lacrosse

• Victoria Shamrocks win the Mann Cup.
• St. Catharines Athletics win the Minto Cup
• In May, Canada wins the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, defeating the Iroquois Nation in the final by a score of 21-4.
• Long Island Lizards win Major League Lacrosse championship over Baltimore Bayhawks

Rugby Union

• Antim Cup: Romania 19 defeats Georgia 6
• Bledisloe Cup: New Zealand All Blacks defeats the Australia Wallabies 2 matches to 0 in a two-match series
• Calcutta Cup: England defeats Scotland
• Epson Cup (Pacific Ring): Manu Samoa
• Heineken Cup: Toulouse defeats Perpignan 22-17
• Six Nations Championship: England (Grand slam)
• Rugby World Cup: England defeats Wallabies 20-17 after extra time
• Tri Nations Series: New Zealand
• World Sevens Series: New Zealand

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season championship: Stephan Eberharter, Austria
  • The women's overall season championship: Janica Kostelic, Croatia

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Mark Williams beats Ken Doherty 18-16
• World rankings: Mark Williams becomes world number one for 2003/04

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  • Australian Open - Andre Agassi defeats Rainer Schuettler, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.
  • French Open - Juan Carlos Ferrero defeats Martin Verkerk, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
  • Wimbledon championships - Roger Federer defeats Mark Philippoussis, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6.
  • US Open - Andy Roddick defeats Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  • Australian Open - Serena Williams defeats Venus Williams, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.
  • French Open - Justine Henin-Hardenne defeats Kim Clijsters, 6-0, 6-4.
  • Wimbledon championships - Serena Williams defeats Venus Williams, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
  • US Open - Justine Henin-Hardenne defeats Kim Clijsters, 7-5, 6-1.

• Davis Cup in world tennis.

• Pete Sampras retires, aged 32 on August 25
• Michael Chang retires, aged 31 on August 26

General sporting events

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Robert Sorlie wins with lead dog: Tipp

• Show Jumping World Cup Champion - Marcus Ehning of Germany wins, riding his Oldenburg mare, Anka.

Births

Deaths

• January 13 - Julio Botelho (Julinho), Brazilian soccer star
• February 14 - Johnny Longden, Hall of Fame jockey
• February 17 - Steve Bechler, baseball player, collapsed during spring training
• May 14 - Dave DeBusschere, basketball hall of famer
• June 9 - Spectacular Bid, U.S. race horse, won the 1979 Derby and Preakness
• June 18 - Larry Doby, Hall of Fame baseball player
• June 21 - Roger Nielson, Canadian Ice Hockey coach
• June 26 - Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon football player
• August 11 - Herb Brooks, U.S. Ice Hockey coach
• August 23 - Bobby Bonds, U.S. baseball player and father of Barry Bonds
• October 12 - Bill Shoemaker, jockey
• October 22 - Tony Renna, Indy Racing League driver, killed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• November 6 - Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer
• November 24 - Warren Spahn, Hall of Fame pitcher
• December 18 - Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame quarterback
• December 21 - Morappakkam Gopalan, Indian - test cricket and field hockey
• December 30 - Yoshio Shirai, Japanese Boxer (world champion at flyweight)