- 1981 in sports
yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st centuryyp1=1978
yp2=1979
yp3=1980
year=1981
ya1=1982
ya2=1983
ya3=1984
dp3=1950s
dp2=1960s
dp1=1970s
d=1980s
da=0
dn1=1990s
dn2=2000s
dn3=2010s|Artistic Gymnastics *World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
**Men's all-around champion:Yuri Korolev ,USSR
**Women's all-around champion:Olga Bicherova , USSR
**Men's team competition champion: USSR
**Women's team competition champion: USSRAthletics
:"For an extensive coverage see
1981 in athletics (track and field) "Marathon
*
May 9 — flagicon|NEDAmsterdam Marathon ,Netherlands
**Men's Winner:Ferenc Szekeres (HUN) 2:18:11
**Women's Winner:Marja Wokke (NED) 2:43:38*
May 23 — flagicon|NEDRotterdam Marathon , Netherlands
**Men's Winner: John Graham (GBR) 2:09:28
**Women's Winner:Marja Wokke (NED) 2:43:23*
July 11 — flagicon|NEDEnschede Marathon , Netherlands
**Men's Winner:Cor Vriend (NED) 2:15:54
**Women's Winner:Jane Wipf (USA) 2:38:21*
December 6 — flagicon|JPNFukuoka Marathon ,Japan
**Men's Winner:Robert de Castella (AUS) 2:08:18*
Stock car racing :
**NASCAR Championship -Darrell Waltrip
**Richard Petty won theDaytona 500
*CART Racing -Rick Mears won the season championship
**May 25 -Indianapolis 500 -Bobby Unser
*Formula One Champion -Nelson Piquet ofBrazil
*24 hours of Le Mans :
**teammatesJacky Ickx / Derek Bell won, driving a Porsche 936
*Rally racing -Ari Vatanen in a Ford won theWorld Rally Championship
**the team ofJean Ragnotti /Jean-Marc Andrie won theMonte Carlo Rally driving a Renault 5 Turbo
*Drag racing :Gary Beck won "Top Fuel " at theNHRA World FinalsBaseball * For a Venezuelans baseball player's strike the
Caribbean World Series of this year is cancelled.
*January 15 - In his first year of eligibility, former Cardinalspitcher Bob Gibson is the only player elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame . Gibson won 20 games five times, struck out 3,117 batters, and captured theCy Young Award and MVP in1968 with a 1.12 ERA. Players falling short of the 301 votes needed for election includeDon Drysdale (243),Gil Hodges (241),Harmon Killebrew (239),Hoyt Wilhelm (238), andJuan Marichal (233). All except Hodges would subsequently gain election.
*April 18 - AnInternational League game between thePawtucket Red Sox and the visitingRochester Red Wings set the record for the mostinnings ever played in a single professional baseball game, at 33 innings (24extra innings ). The game was suspended after 32 innings on the morning ofApril 19 , and was concluded onJune 23 with a 3-2 Pawtucket victory.
*June 12 -Major League Baseball players begin a 49 day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.
*World Series :Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over theNew York Yankees . The Series MVP is a tie betweenRon Cey , Pedro Guerrero andSteve Yeager , Los AngelesBasketball *
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship :
**Indiana wins 63-50 over North Carolina*NBA Finals:
**Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over theHouston Rockets *
National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
**Launceston Casino City defeated theNunawading Spectres 75-54 in the final.Boxing *
April 11 :Larry Holmes defeatsTrevor Berbick by a unanimous decision to retain the WBC heavyweight title.*
August 21 :Salvador Sanchez defeatsWilfredo Gómez by knockout in round eight to retainboxing 's WBC world Featherweight title.(see:The Battle of the Little Giants )*
September 16 :Sugar Ray Leonard defeatsThomas Hearns by knockout in round 14 to unify boxing's world Welterweight title.*
October 3 :Mike Weaver defeats James (Quick) Tillis by a unanimous decision to retain theWBA/World Boxing Association heavyweight title.Cycling *
Giro d'Italia won byGiovanni Battaglin ofItaly
*Tour de France -Bernard Hinault ofFrance
*1981 -Freddy Maertens , (Belgium )Dogsled racing *Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
**Rick Swenson won with lead dogs: "Andy" & "Slick"Field Hockey * Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in
Kuala Lumpur ,Malaysia
** Gold Medal: Soviet Union
** Silver Medal: Malaysia
** Bronze Medal: New Zealand* Men's Champions Trophy in
Karachi ,Pakistan
** Gold Medal: The Netherlands
** Silver Medal: Australia
** Bronze Medal: West Germany* Women's World Cup in
Buenos Aires ,Argentina
** Gold Medal: West Germany
** Silver Medal: The Netherlands
** Bronze Medal: Soviet Union*
March 21 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England beat Wales 2-1.Figure skating *
World Figure Skating Championships :
**Men's champion: Scott Hamilton,United States
**Ladies' champion:Denise Biellmann ,Switzerland
**Pair skating champions:Irina Vorobeva &Igor Lisovski ,Soviet Union
**Ice dancing champions:Jayne Torvill &Christopher Dean ,Great Britain
=Football (American)=*
January 25 -Super Bowl XV :Oakland Raiders won 27-10 over thePhiladelphia Eagles
*October 11 -LeRoy Irvin sets NFL record for most punt return yards in a game (207).Football (
Australian rules football )*
Victorian Football League
** Carlton wins the 85th VFL Premiership (Carlton 12.20 (92) d Collingwood 10.12 (72))
**Brownlow Medal awarded toBarry Round (South Melbourne) andBernie Quinlan (Fitzroy)
** At the end of the season, South Melbourne relocates to Sydney and is renamed the Sydney Swans.
=Football (Canadian)=*
Grey Cup :Edmonton Eskimos won 26-23 over theOttawa Rough Riders
*Vanier Cup :Acadia Axemen won 18-12 over theAlberta Golden Bears Football (
Soccer )::"For an extensive coverage see
1981 in football (soccer) "
*UEFA Champions League: Liverpool FC 1-0Real Madrid
*UEFA Cup : Two legs. 1st legIpswich Town F.C. 3-0 AZ '67 (Alkmaar); 2nd leg AZ '67 4-2 Ipswich Town. Ipswich Town won 5-4 on aggregate
*Cup Winners' Cup : Dynamo Tbilisi 2-1 Carl Zeiss Jena
*Copa Libertadores de América: Flamengo 2-0Cobreloa
*World Club Championship: Flamengo 3-0 Liverpool FC
*League champions
**Argentina:Boca Juniors
**Brazil: Grêmio
**France: Saint-Étienne
**England: Aston Villa
**Italy:Juventus
**Netherlands: Ajax
**Portugal: Benfica
**Scotland: Celtic
**Spain:Real Sociedad
**West Germany:Bayern Munich
**United States/Canada:Chicago Sting
*England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 3-2 over Manchester CityGaelic Athletic Association *
Camogie
**All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
**National Camogie League: Dublin*
Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Championship : Kerry 1-12 d. Offaly 0-8
**National Football League: Galway 1-11 d. Roscommon 1-3*
Ladies' Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry 1-12 d. Offaly 0-8
**National Football League: Galway 1-11 d. Roscommon 1-3*
Hurling
**All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship : Offaly 2-12 d. Galway 0-15
**National Hurling League : Cork 3-11 d. Offaly 2-8Golf Men's professional
*April 9-12 -Masters Tournament - Tom Watson
*June 18-21 - U.S. Open - David Graham
*July 16-19 - British Open - Bill Rogers
*August 6-9 -PGA Championship -Larry Nelson
*PGA Tour money leader -Tom Kite - $375,699
*Senior PGA Tour money leader -Miller Barber - $83,136
*Ryder Cup -United States won 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 overEurope in team golf.Men's amateur
*British Amateur -Phillipe Ploujoux
*U.S. Amateur -Nathaniel Crosby Women's professional
*LPGA Championship -Donna Caponi
*U.S. Women's Open - Pat Bradley
*Classique Peter Jackson Classic -Jan Stephenson
*LPGA Tour money leader -Beth Daniel - $206,998*
August 30 - John Henry becomes the first horse to win a million dollar race, the Inaugural Arlington Million, atArlington Park in the Chicago suburb ofArlington Heights, Illinois .*
Australia -Melbourne Cup -Just a Dash
*Canada -Queen's Plate -Fiddle Dancer Boy
*France -Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Gold River
*Ireland -Irish Derby Stakes -Shergar *English Triple Crown Races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes -To-Agori-Mou
*#Epsom Derby -Shergar
*#St. Leger Stakes -Cut Above *United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 2 -Kentucky Derby -Pleasant Colony
*#Preakness Stakes -Pleasant Colony
*#Belmont Stakes -Summing *United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace -Wildwood Jeb
*#Little Brown Jug -Fan Hanover (Filly)
*#Messenger Stakes -Seahawk Hanover *United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian -Shiaway St. Pat
*#Yonkers Trot -Mo Bandy
*#Kentucky Futurity -Filet of Sole *
Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship :
**Pacers: San SimeonIce Hockey *
Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season:Wayne Gretzky ,Edmonton Oilers *
Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player:Wayne Gretzky ,Edmonton Oilers *
Stanley Cup -New York Islanders win 4 games to 1 over theMinnesota North Stars *
World Hockey Championship
** Men's champion: Soviet Union defeatedSweden
** Junior Men's champion: Sweden defeatedFinland Rugby union *The
1981 Springbok Tour caused major controversy and riots inNew Zealand .Skiing *
Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion:Phil Mahre , USA
**The women's overall season champion:Marie-Theres Nadig , SwitzerlandSnooker *
World Snooker Championship :Steve Davis beatsDoug Mountjoy 18-12
*World rankings:Cliff Thorburn becomes world number one for 1981/82Swimming Records
*
August 15 —USA 'sRobin Leamy ofUCLA sets a world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet inBrown Deer, Wisconsin , shaving off 0.17 of the previous record (22.71) set byJoseph Bottom exactly one year ago inHonolulu, Hawaii : 22.54.Tennis *
Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open -Johan Kriek
*#French Open -Björn Borg
*#Wimbledon championships -John McEnroe
*#US Open - John McEnroe*
Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open -Martina Navratilova
*#French Open -Hana Mandlikova
*#Wimbledon championships -Chris Evert
*#US Open -Tracy Austin *
Davis Cup : United States wins 3-1 overArgentina in world tennis.Volleyball *European Championship in
Bulgaria
**Men's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vb|URS
***Silver Medal: vb|POL
***Bronze Medal: vb|BUL|1971
**Women's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vbw|BUL|1971
***Silver Medal: vbw|URS
***Bronze Medal: vbw|HUN|1957Water polo Men's Competition
* FINA World Cup in Long Beach,
United States
** Gold Medal: wp|URS
** Silver Medal: wp|YUG
** Bronze Medal: wp|CUBWomen's Competition
* FINA World Cup in
Brisbane, Australia
** Gold Medal: wpw|CAN
** Silver Medal: wpw|NED
** Bronze Medal: wpw|AUSMulti-sport event s* First
World Games held in Santa Clara, United States* Eleventh Summer Universiade held in
Bucharest, Romania * Tenth Winter Universiade held in
Jaca ,Spain Awards
*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: John McEnroe, Tennis
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year:Tracy Austin , TennisBirths
January
*
January 2 —Maximiliano Rodriguez , Argentinian football player
*January 3 —Sanggai Chanu , Indian female field hockey player
*January 3 —Eli Manning , American football player
*January 4 —Davor Mizerit , Slovenian rower
*January 5 —Vugar Alakparov , Azerbaijani boxer
*January 6 —Eduardo Tubau , Spanish field hockey striker
*January 9 —Erik Vendt , US swimmer
*January 11 —Jonathan Mandick , Canadian rower
*January 15 —El Hadji Diouf , Senegalese football player
*January 15 —Graham Moodie , Scottish field hockey player
*January 18 —Olivier Rochus , Belgian tennis player
*January 24 — Andrea Berg, German volleyball player
*January 27 —Alicia Molik , Australian tennis player
*January 27 —Yaniv Katan , Israely football playerFebruary
*
February 1 —Angie Skirving , Australian field hockey player
*February 2 —Dmitry Lobkov , Russian speed skater
*February 6 —Niall Stott , Scottish field hockey player
*February 7 —LeJuan Simon , Trinidad and Tobago triple jumper
*February 8 —Semen Poltavskiy , Russian volleyball player
*February 10 —Fränzi Aufdenblatten , Swiss alpine skier
*February 13 —Flávia Fernandes , Brazilian water polo player
*February 15 —Nicolas Rostoucher , French freestyle and medley swimmer
*February 17 —Bernhard Eisel , Austrian road bicycling racer
*February 18 — Andrei Kirilenko, Russian NBA player
*February 19 —Thomas Buffel , Belgian football player
*February 19 —Tina Pisnik , Slovenian tennis player
*February 19 —Andreas Vinciguerra , Swedish tennis player
*February 22 —Assan Bazayev , Khazakstan cyclist
*February 24 —Lleyton Hewitt , Australian tennis player
*February 24 —Mauro Rosales , Argentinian football player
*February 25 —Ulrich Bubolz , German field hockey goalkeeper
*February 25 —Marek Plawgo , Polish athlete
*February 26 —Daniel Geale , Australian boxerMarch
*
March 10 —Samuel Eto'o , Cameroon football player
*March 10 — Akira Ito, Japanese field hockey player
*March 12 —Katarina Srebotnik , Slovenian tennis player
*March 14 —Isabelle Pearson , Canadian judoka
*March 15 —Brice Guyart , French foil fencer
*March 16 —Andrew Bree , Irish breaststroke swimmer
*March 20 —Tibor Weißenborn , German field hockey player
*March 28 —Yuniel Hernández , Cuban hurdling athlete
*March 30 —Tulashboy Doniyorov , Uzbek boxer
*March 31 —Eileen Coparropa , Panamanian swimmer
*March 31 —Lourdes Dominguez Lino , Spanish tennis player
*March 31 —Maarten van der Weijden , Dutch long distance swimmerApril
*
April 2 — Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer
*April 3 —Heath Ramsay , Australian butterfly swimmer
*April 4 —Lucas Cammareri , Argentine field hockey forward
*April 5 —Pieter Weening , Dutch cyclist
*April 6 —Ceferino Labarda , Argentine bantamweight boxer
*April 7 —Suzann Pettersen , Norwegian golfer
*April 7 —Kenya Moreta , Dominican volleyball player
*April 8 —Frédérick Bousquet , French freestyle swimmer
*April 21 —Kim Lammers , Dutch field hockey forward
*April 23 —Jenny McDonough , Irish field hockey forward
*April 24 —Taylor Dent , US tennis playerMay
*
May 1 —Niklas Meinert , German field hockey midfielder
*May 6 —Robert Hammond , Australian field hockey midfielder
*May 8 —Yasuko Tajima , Japanese medley swimmer
*May 10 —Lloyd Stephenson , New Zealand field hockey player
*May 10 —Ignace Tirkey , Indian field hockey player
*May 11 —Lauren Jackson , Australian basketball player
*May 12 —Rob Bontje , Dutch volleyball player
*May 13 —Jean-Philippe Brulé , Belgian field hockey player
*May 14 —Ramón Alegre , Spanish field hockey player
*May 19 —Klaas-Erik Zwering , Dutch swimmer
*May 20 —Morgan Knabe , Canadian breaststroke swimmer
*May 20 —Daniel McPherson , Australian field hockey goalkeeper
*May 21 —Beth Botsford , American backstroke swimmer
*May 21 — Rob Moore, English field hockey midfielder and forward
*May 21 —Anna Rogowska , Polish track and field athlete
*May 22 —Jürgen Melzer , Austrian tennis player
*May 26 —Anthony Ervin , American swimmer
*May 28 —Gábor Talmácsi , Hungarian motorcycle racerJune
*
June 2 —Nikolay Davydenko , Russian tennis player
*June 7 —Anna Kournikova , Russian tennis player
*June 8 —Miguel Albarracin , Argentine judoka
*June 9 —Dean Couzins , New Zealand field hockey player
*June 9 —Irakli Labadze , Georgian tennis player
*June 9 —Bastiaan Tamminga , Dutch swimmer
*June 13 —Wieteke Cramer , Dutch speed skater
*June 14 —Hope Munro , Australian field hockey player
*June 19 —Moss Burmester , New Zealand swimmer
*June 23 —Rachele Sangiuliano , Italian volleyball player
*June 25 —Simon Ammann , Swiss ski jumperJuly
*
July 2 —Manuel Sevillano , Spanish volleyball player
*July 2 —Luis Villarroel , Venezuelan diver
*July 2 —Zurab Zviadauri , Georgian judoka
*July 7 —Mahendra Singh Dhoni , Indian cricketer
*July 8 —Anastasia Myskina , Russian tennis player
*July 9 —Rutger Smith , Dutch athlete
*July 12 —Fabiane Hukuda , Brazilian judoka
*July 14 —Matti Hautamäki , Finnish ski jumper
*July 15 —Albert Sala , Spanish field hockey player
*July 16 —Vicente Rodríguez , Spanish football player
*July 21 —Joaquín Sánchez , Spanish football player
*July 23 —Dmitriy Karpov , Kazakhstani athlete
*July 23 —Jarkko Nieminen , Finnish tennis player
*July 25 —Cristian Bejarano , Mexican boxer
*July 27 —Juan Carlos Blanco , Venezuelan volleyball player
*July 29 —Fernando Alonso , Spanish Formula 1-driver
*July 31 —Paula Baracho , Brazilian freestyle swimmer
*July 31 —Mireia García , Spanish butterfly swimmerAugust
*
August 5 —Jim Piper , Australian breaststroke swimmer
*August 8 —Roger Federer , Swiss tennis player
*August 9 —Li Jiawei , Singaporean table tennis player
*August 10 —Guillaume Elmont , Dutch judoka
*August 12 —Djibril Cissé , French football player
*August 15 —Brendan Hansen , American breaststroke swimmer
*August 15 —Hong Moo-Won , South Korean boxer
*August 17 —Richard Mantell , English field hockey full back
*August 21 — David Guest, Australian field hockey player
*August 29 —Hugues Duboscq , French breaststroke swimmer
*August 29 —Rob Reckers , Dutch field hockey player
*August 31 —Örn Arnarson , Icelandic swimmereptember
*
September 1 —Jaime Hipp , American water polo goalkeeper
*September 6 —Brandon Simpson , Jamaican athlete
*September 12 —Staciana Stitts , American breaststroke swimmer
*September 12 —Sabina Wojtala , Polish figure skater
*September 16 —Sebastian Biederlack , German field hockey midfielder
*September 17 —Marina Tumas , Belarusian volleyball player
*September 18 —Helen Richardson , British field hockey player
*September 18 —Rodrigo dos Santos , Brazilian water polo player
*September 19 —Damiano Cunego , Italian cyclist
*September 20 —Oreidis Despaigne , Cuban judoka
*September 20 —Feliciano Lopez , Spanish tennis player
*September 23 —Robert Doornbos , Dutch Formula 1-driver
*September 26 —Serena Williams , US tennis player
*September 26 —Klaas Veering , Dutch field hockey playerOctober
*
October 3 —Zlatan Ibrahimović , Swedish football (soccer) player
*October 3 —Ronald Rauhe , German canoer
*October 5 —Enrico Fabris , Italian long track speed skater
*October 5 —Juan Camilo Novoa , Colombian boxer
*October 11 —Kate Hector , South African field hockey player
*October 12 —Sun Tiantian , Chinese tennis player
*October 15 —Elena Dementieva , Russian tennis player
*October 15 —Guo Jingjing , Chinese diver
*October 19 —Sarah Taylor , Australian field hockey player
*October 20 —Elka Graham , Australian swimmer
*October 20 —Stefan Nystrand , Swedish swimmer
*October 22 —Clementine Stoney , Australian backstroke swimmer
*October 23 —Rodrigo Vila , Argentine field hockey striker
*October 25 —Carlos Valcarcel , Puerto Rican boxer
*October 28 —Milan Baroš , Czech football (soccer) player
*October 29 —Amanda Beard , American swimmerNovember
*
November 2 —Tatiana Totmianina , Russian figure skater
*November 6 —Sylwia Gruchała , Polish fencer
*November 7 —Nicole Arrold , Australian field hockey player
*November 7 —Ana Vasconcelos , Brazilian water polo player
*November 11 —Johan Röjler , Swedish ice speed skater
*November 13 —Charlee Minkin , American judoka
*November 15 —Lorena Ochoa , Mexican golfer
*November 21 —Werknesh Kidane , Ethiopian long distance track and field athlete
*November 21 —Simona Păduraru , Romanian freestyle swimmer
*November 21 —Ainars Kovals , Latvian javelin thrower
*November 25 —Xabi Alonso , Spanish football (soccer) player
*November 27 —Vikram Pillay , Indian field hockey midfieler
*November 29 —Silvia Bonastre , Spanish field hockey player
*November 30 —Steffen Driesen , German backstroke swimmerDecember
*
December 7 —Frédérique Ankoné , Dutch ice speed skater
*December 9 —Mardy Fish , American tennis player
*December 10 —Liam de Young , Australian field hockey player
*December 10 —Anett Györe , Hungarian water polo player
*December 10 —Ryan Pini , Papua New Guinean swimmer
*December 11 —Javier Saviola , Argentinian football (soccer) player
*December 12 —Yuvraj Singh , Indian cricketer
*December 14 —Émilie Heymans , Belgium-born Canadian diver
*December 15 —Hossam Ghaly , Egyptian football player
*December 17 —Miek van Geenhuizen , Dutch field hockey player
*December 18 —Nick Brunelli , American freestyle swimmer
*December 18 —Bekzod Khidirov , Uzbek boxer
*December 19 —Najai Turpin , American boxer (d.2005 )
*December 21 —Justin Kane , Australian boxer
*December 22 —Nico Freriks , Dutch volleyball player
*December 22 —Marina Kuptsova , Russian high jumper
*December 26 —Robert Horstink , Dutch volleyball player
*December 28 —Ramón Fumadó , Venezuelan diver
*December 28 —Khalid Boulahrouz , Dutch football (soccer) player
*December 28 —Mika Väyrynen , Finnish football (soccer) player
*December 29 —Shizuka Arakawa , Japanese figure skaterDeaths
*
Canonero II — champion thoroughbred race horse
*January 20 —Vittorio Tamagnini (70), Italian boxer (b.1910 )
*August 27 —Mike Marino , British wrestler (b.1930 )
*August 27 —Valery Kharlamov (33), Russian ice hockey player
*October 3 —Fidel La Barba , US boxer and sportswriter (b.1905 )
*August 2 —Delfo Cabrera (62), Argentine long-distance runner (b.1919 )
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