2001 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=20th century
c=21st century
cf=22nd century
yp1=1998
yp2=1999
yp3=2000
year=2001
ya1=2002
ya2=2003
ya3=2004
dp3=1970s
dp2=1980s
dp1=1990s
d=2000s
da=0
dn1=2010s
dn2=2020s
dn3=2030s|

Artistic gymnastics

*World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
**Men's all-around champion: Feng Jing, China
**Women's all-around champion: Svetlana Khorkina, Russia
**Men's team competition champion: Belarus
**Women's team competition champion: Romania

Athletics

::"For an extensive coverage see 2001 in athletics (track and field)"

Marathon

International Races

* April 22 — flagicon|NED Rotterdam Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Josephat Kiprono (KEN) 2:06:50
**Women's Winner: Susan Chepkemei (KEN) 2:25:45

* May 27 — flagicon|NED Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: El Mustapha Riad (MAR) 2:12:20
**Women's Winner: Franca Fiacconi (ITA) 2:31:40

* August 3 — flagicon|CAN IAAF World Championships Marathon, Edmonton, Canada
**Men's Winner: Gezahegne Abera (ETH) 2:12:42

* August 12 — flagicon|CAN IAAF World Championships Marathon, Edmonton, Canada
**Women's Winner: Lidia Simon (ROM) 2:26:01

* September 11 — flagicon|TUN Mediterranean Games Marathon, Tunis, Tunisia
**Men's Winner: Sergio Chiesa (ITA) 2:21:07
**Women's Winner: Mehtap Sizmaz (TUR) 2:40:49

* December 2 — flagicon|JPN Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
**Men's Winner: Gezahegne Abera (ETH) 2:09:25

National Champions

* April 22 — flagicon|NED Rotterdam, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Peter van Egdom — 2:19:24
**Women's Winner: Nadezhda Wijenberg — 2:30:25

* April 22 — flagicon|ENG London, England
**Men's Winner: Mark Steinle — 2:10:46
**Women's Winner: Beverley Hartigan — 2:37:45

* May 13 — flagicon|CAN Ottawa, Canada
**Men's Winner: Bruce Deacon — 2:18:53
**Women's Winner: Danuta Bartoszek — 2:37:58

* September 8 — flagicon|FIN Kuopio, Finland
**Men's Winner: Jaakko Kero — 2:26:23
**Women's Winner: Maija Oravamäki — 2:49:09

* September 30 — flagicon|HUN Budapest, Hungary
**Men's Winner: Antal Szucs — 2:20:16
**Women's Winner: Judit Nagy — 2:39:04

* October 28 — flagicon|AUS Sydney, Australia
**Men's Winner: Borislav Devic — 2:29:11
**Women's Winner: Krishna Wood — 2:38:11

Auto racing

*Stock car racing:
**Michael Waltrip won the Daytona 500, a race that also saw the death of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt in an unspectacular crash during the final lap.
**NASCAR Championship - Jeff Gordon
*Indy Racing League - Sam Hornish Jr. won the season championship
*Indianapolis 500 - Helio Castroneves
*CART Racing - Gil de Ferran won the season championship
*Formula One Championship - Michael Schumacher of Germany
*24 hours of Le Mans: Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro driving an Audi R8
*World Rally Championship - Richard Burns of Great Britain
*Drag racing - Kenny Bernstein won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.

Baseball

*World Series: Only 4 seasons old, the Arizona Diamondbacks became the youngest franchise to win a World Series by defeating the New York Yankees 4 games to 3. Series co-MVPs were Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, both of Arizona.

*The Seattle Mariners tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs record with 116 wins.

*Barry Bonds set the record for most home runs in a season with 73.

*Season MVPs: National League: Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants. American League: Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners.

*Rookies of the Year: National League: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals. American League: Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle.

*Cy Young Award: National League: Randy Johnson, Arizona. American League: Roger Clemens, New York.

*Books published:
** Bill James, "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract": Revised edition of his classic 1985 book, introducing his Win shares system of player evaluation.

See also
*2001 in baseball

Basketball

* NBA:
**Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. The Lakers only loss in the postseason comes in Game 1 of the Finals, which the 76ers win in overtime.
**October 30 - Michael Jordan returns to the National Basketball Association with the Washington Wizards after 3 1/2 years (the Wizards lose 93-91 to the New York Knicks).

*NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
**Duke wins 82-72 over Arizona

* WNBA Finals:
**Los Angeles Sparks win 2 games to 0 over the Charlotte Sting, earning the franchise's first championship

*Chinese Basketball Association finals:
**Bayi Rockets defeat Shanghai Sharks, 3 games to 1

*National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
**Wollongong Hawks defeated the Townsville Crocodiles 2-1 in the best-of-three final series.

Boxing

*March 3 – John Ruiz defeats Evander Holyfield in their second fight by a decision in 12 rounds, winning the WBA's world Heavyweight championship, becoming the first Hispanic to win the world Heavyweight title.
* June 3 to 10 – World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Belfast, Northern Ireland
**"Light Flyweight (– 48 kg):" Yan Bartelemy (Cuba)
**"Flyweight (– 51 kg):" Jérôme Thomas (France)
**"Bantamweight (– 54 kg):" Guillermo Rigondeaux (Cuba)
**"Featherweight (– 57 kg):" Ramaz Paliani (Turkey)
**"Lightweight (– 60 kg):" Mario Kindelán (Cuba)
**"Light Welterweight (– 63,5 kg):" Diógenes Luna (Cuba)
**"Welterweight (– 67 kg):" Lorenzo Aragón (Cuba)
**"Light Middleweight (– 71 kg):" Damián Austín (Cuba)
**"Middleweight (– 75 kg):" Andrey Gogolev (Russia)
**"Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg):" Yevgeniy Makarenko (Russia)
**"Heavyweight (– 91 kg):" Odlanier Solis (Cuba)
**"Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg):" Ruslan Chagayev (Uzbekistan)
*September 29 – In a gala event dedicated to the victims and rescuers of 9/11, Bernard Hopkins defeats Félix Trinidad by a knockout in round 12 to unify the world's Middleweight championships.

Cricket

* Courtney Walsh retires from international cricket, plays his last test match against South Africa.
* The Ashes - Australia win 4-1
* V.V.S. Laxman becomes the first Indian to score 250 in a test match as India fight back from following on to win the second test against Australia, ending the Australian's record 16 match winning streak. India go on to win the series 2-1.
* County Championship (England and Wales) - Yorkshire
* ICC Trophy - Netherlands

Cycling

Road cycling

*Giro d'Italia won by Gilberto Simoni of Italy
*Tour de France - Lance Armstrong of the United States
*World Cycling Championship: Óscar Freire, of Spain

Cyclo-cross

*UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tábor, Czech Republic (February 3–4)
**Men's Competition
*#Gold – Erwin Vervecken
*#Silver – Petr Dlask
*#Bronze – Mario De Clercq
**Women's Competition
*#Gold – Hanka Kupfernagel
*#Silver – Corine Dorland
*#Bronze – Daphny van den Brand

Dogsled racing

*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion
**Doug Swingley with lead dogs: "Stormy" & "Pepi"

Field hockey

World competitions

* Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Edinburgh, Scotland
** Gold: Argentina
** Silver: Spain
** Bronze: Poland

* Men's Champions Trophy in Rotterdam, The Netherlands
** Gold: Germany
** Silver: Australia
** Bronze: The Netherlands

* Men's Champions Challenge in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
** Gold: India
** Silver: South Africa
** Bronze: Argentina

* Women's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Amiens / Abbeville, France
** Gold: England
** Silver: Russia
** Bronze: Ukraine

* Women's Champions Trophy in Amstelveen, The Netherlands
** Gold: Argentina
** Silver: The Netherlands
** Bronze: Australia

Regional competitions

* Women's Pan American Cup in Kingston, Jamaica
** Gold Medal: Argentina
** Silver Medal: United States
** Bronze Medal: Canada

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: Evgeny Plushenko, Russia
**Ladies' champion: Michelle Kwan, United States
**Pairs' champions: Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, Canada
**Ice dance champions: Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio

=Football (American)=

*Orange Bowl: The Oklahoma Sooners won 13-2 over the Florida State Seminoles in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.
**MVP: Torrance Marshall (LB)
*Super Bowl XXXV: In their first and only Super Bowl appearance, the Baltimore Ravens won 34-7 over the New York Giants.
**MVP: Ray Lewis (LB)
* XFL is founded by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, but the league folded that same year.
**Memorial Stadium, former home of the Baltimore Colts and Baltimore Ravens is demolished

* INVESCO Field at Mile High opens up on September 10, 2001, as the Denver Broncos defeated the New York Giants

Football (Australian rules football)

* Australian Football League
** The Brisbane Lions win the 105th AFL premiership (Brisbane Lions 15.18 (108) d Essendon 12.10 (82))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Jason Akermanis (Brisbane Lions)
** "See also Australian Football League season 2001"

=Football (Canadian)=

*Grey Cup: Calgary Stampeders win 27-19 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
*Vanier Cup: UBC Thunderbirds won 39-23 over the Ottawa Gee-Gees

Football (Soccer)

::"For an extensive coverage see 2001 in football (soccer)"
*Confederations Cup: Held one year before the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, this tournament served as a prelude, for both South Korea & Japan and the participating nations. France defeated Japan to win the tournament.
*Champions' League: Bayern Munich won 5-4 on penalties, in the final against Valencia, after a 1-1 draw at the end of the match. This was Bayern Munich's 4th European Cup title.
*UEFA Cup: Liverpool won 5-4 after extra-time, in the final against Alavés, with an unfortunate own goal/golden goal by Delfi Gelí. This was Liverpool's third UEFA Cup title.
*European Super Cup: Liverpool beat Bayern Munich 3-2, winning the cup for the second time.
*Intercontinental Cup: Bayern Munich beat Boca Juniors 1-0, winning the cup for the second time.
*Asian Champions Cup - Korean side Suwon Samsung Bluewings won their first Asian Champions Cup crown, defeating Jubilo Iwata 1-0. They also lifted the 2001 Asian Super Cup.

Gaelic Athletic Association

*Camogie
**All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Tipperary
**National Camogie League: Cork

*Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Galway 10-17 d. Meath 1-8
**National Football League: Mayo 0-13 d. Galway 0-12

*Ladies' Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Laois
**National Football League: Clare

*Hurling
**All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Tipperary 2-18 d. Galway 2-15
**National Hurling League:

Golf

Men's professional
*April 8 - Masters Tournament - Tiger Woods becomes the first golfer in history to hold all four major championship titles at the same time.
*June 18 - U.S. Open - Retief Goosen
*July 22 - British Open - David Duval
*August 19 - PGA Championship - David Toms
*PGA Tour money leader - Tiger Woods - $5,687,777
*PGA Tour Player of the Year - Tiger Woods
*PGA Tour Rookie of the Year - Charles Howell III
*Senior PGA Tour money leader - Allen Doyle - $2,553,582
*Ryder Cup postponed until 2002.Men's amateur
*British Amateur - Michael Hoey
*U.S. Amateur - Bubba Dickerson
*European Amateur - Stephen BrowneWomen's professional
*Nabisco Championship - Annika Sörenstam
*LPGA Championship - Karrie Webb
*U.S. Women's Open - Karrie Webb
*Women's British Open - Se Ri Pak
*LPGA Tour money leader - Annika Sörenstam - $2,105,868

=Thoroughbred horse racing=

*Australia - Melbourne Cup - Ethereal
*Canada - Queen's Plate - Dancethruthedawn
*France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Sakhee
*Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Galileo

*English Triple Crown races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - Golan
*#Epsom Derby - Galileo
*#St. Leger Stakes - Milan

*United States Triple Crown races:
*#May 5 - Kentucky Derby - Monarchos
*#Preakness Stakes - Point Given
*#Belmont Stakes - Point Given

*Breeders' Cup:
*#Breeders' Cup Classic - Tiznow
*#Breeders' Cup Distaff - Unbridled Elaine
*#Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf - Banks Hill
*#Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Johannesburg
*#Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Tempera
*#Breeders' Cup Mile - Val Royal
*#Breeders' Cup Sprint - Squirtle Squirt
*#Breeders' Cup Turf - Fantastic Light

Harness racing

*North America Cup - Bettor's Delight

*United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace - Four Starzz Shark
*#Little Brown Jug - Bettor's Delight
*#Messenger Stakes - Bagel Beach Boy

*United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian - Scarlet Knight
*#Yonkers Trot - Banker Hall
*#Kentucky Futurity - Chaising Tail

*Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
**Pacers: Yulestar
**Trotters: Take A Moment

Ice hockey

*Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins

*Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player:
**Joe Sakic - Colorado Avalanche

*Stanley Cup: Ray Bourque of the Colorado Avalanche won his first and only Stanley Cup when the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 4 games to 3.

*World Hockey Championship
** Men's champion: Czech Republic defeated Finland
** Junior Men's champion: Czech Republic defeated Finland
** Women's champion: Canada defeated the United States

Lacrosse

*Major League Lacrosse begins play as a single-entity-ownership league.
*Long Island Lizards win the first Steinfeld Cup over Baltimore Bayhawks, 15-11.
*The Philadelphia Wings defeat the Toronto Rock 9-8, to win the Champion's Cup.
*The 100th anniversaries of the donations of both the Mann Cup and the Minto Cup.
*The Coquitlam Adanacs win the 100th Mann Cup.
*The St. Catharines Athletics win the 100th Minto Cup.
*The Wallaceburg Red Devils win the Founders Cup.

Radiosport

*Fourth High Speed Telegraphy World Championship held in Constanţa, Romania.

Orienteering

*Orienteering included as an event for the first time in the World Games held 18-19 August in Akita, Japan.

Rugby Union

*Six Nations - ru|England
*Tri Nations - ru|Australia
*Heineken Cup - Leicester Tigers beat Stade Français 34-30

Skiing

*Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria
**The women's overall season champion: Janica Kostelić, Croatia

Skydiving

* The World FreeFall Convention was moved from Quincy, Illinois to Rantoul, Illinois.

Snooker

*World Snooker Championship: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats John Higgins 18-14
*World rankings: Mark Williams remains world number one for 2001/02

Swimming

International tournaments

*Ninth World LC Championships, held in Fukuoka, Japan (July 22 – 29)
**United States wins the most medals (26), Australia the most gold medals (13)
*Fifth European SC Championships, held in Antwerp, Belgium (December 13 – 16)
**Germany wins the most medals (17), and the most gold medals (6)

Records

* January 28 — Mark Foster regains the world record in the men's 50m freestyle (short course) at a swimming meet in Paris, France, clocking 21.13.

Taekwondo

*World Championships held in Jeju, South Korea

Tennis

*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open - Andre Agassi
*#French Open - Gustavo Kuerten
*#Wimbledon championships - Goran Ivanišević
*#US Open - Lleyton Hewitt

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open - Jennifer Capriati
*#French Open - Jennifer Capriati
*#Wimbledon championships - Venus Williams
*#US Open - Venus Williams

*Davis Cup: France won 3-2 over Australia in world tennis.
*Elena Dementieva finishes in the WTA top 20 for the second successive year, becomes the no. 1 Russian tennis player, a position held by Anna Kournikova since December 1997.

Volleyball

Men's Competition

* FIVB World League – Final Round in Katowice, Poland
** Gold Medal: vb|BRA
** Silver Medal: vb|ITA
** Bronze Medal: vb|RUS
*Asian Championship in Changwon, South Korea
**Gold Medal: vb|KOR
**Silver Medal: vb|AUS
**Bronze Medal: vb|JPN
*European Championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic
**Gold Medal: vb|YUG
**Silver Medal: vb|ITA
**Bronze Medal: vb|RUS
* America's Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina
** Gold Medal: vb|BRA
** Silver Medal: vb|CUB
** Bronze Medal: vb|ARG

Women's Competition

* FIVB World Grand Prix – Final Round in Macau
** Gold Medal: vbw|USA
** Silver Medal: vbw|CHN
** Bronze Medal: vbw|RUS
* World Championship Qualification Tournament in several cities
** Africa: vbw|KEN and vbw|EGY
** Asia/Oceania: vbw|AUS, vbw|CHN, vbw|JPN, vbw|KOR and vbw|THA
** Europe: vbw|BUL, vbw|CZE, vbw|GRE, vbw|ITA, vbw|NED, vbw|POL, vbw|ROM, and vbw|RUS
** Norceca: vbw|DOM, vbw|CAN, vbw|PUR, and vbw|USA
** South America: vbw|ARG, vbw|BRA and vbw|MEX
*Asian Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
**Gold Medal: vbw|CHN
**Silver Medal: vbw|KOR
**Bronze Medal: vbw|THA
*European Championship in Varna, Bulgaria
**Gold Medal: vbw|RUS
**Silver Medal: vbw|ITA
**Bronze Medal: vbw|BUL
*NORCECA Championship in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
**Gold Medal: vbw|USA
**Silver Medal: vbw|CUB
**Bronze Medal: vbw|DOM

Beach Volleyball

* III. Beach Volleyball World Championship in Klagenfurt, Austria
**Men's Competition
*** Gold Medal: flagathlete|Mariano Baracetti and Martin Conde|ARG
*** Silver Medal: flagathlete|José Loiola and Ricardo Santos|BRA
*** Bronze Medal: flagathlete|Vegard Høidalen and Jørre Kjemperud|NOR
**Women's Competition
*** Gold Medal: flagathlete|Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar|BRA
*** Silver Medal: flagathlete|Tatiana Minello and Sandra Pires|BRA
*** Bronze Medal: flagathlete|Eva Celbová and Sona Novaková|CZE

Water polo

Men's Competition

* World Championship in Fukuoka, Japan
** Gold Medal: wp|ESP
** Silver Medal: wp|SCG|name=Yugoslavia
** Bronze Medal: wp|RUS

* European Championship in Budapest, Hungary
** Gold Medal: wp|SCG|name=Yugoslavia
** Silver Medal: wp|ITA
** Bronze Medal: wp|HUN

Women's Competition

* World Championship in Fukuoka, Japan
** Gold Medal: wpw|ITA
** Silver Medal: wpw|HUN
** Bronze Medal: wpw|CAN

* European Championship in Budapest, Hungary
** Gold Medal: wpw|HUN
** Silver Medal: wpw|ITA
** Bronze Medal: wpw|RUS

* Holiday Cup in Los Alamitos, United States
** Gold Medal: wpw|USA
** Silver Medal: wpw|CAN
** Bronze Medal: wpw|ITA

Multi-sport events

* Third East Asian Games held in Osaka, Japan
* Summer Goodwill Games held in Brisbane, Australia
* Sixth World Games held in Akita, Japan
* 14th Mediterranean Games held in Tunis, Tunisia
* 21st Summer Universiade held in Beijing, China
* 20th Winter Universiade held in Zakopane, Poland

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Jennifer Capriati, Tennis

Deaths

*Cam Fella — harness racing horse
* January 12 — Affirmed (25), Thoroughbred racehorse
* January 27 — Pedro Carrasco (57), Spanish boxer (b. 1943)
* February 12 — Tiberio Mitri (74), Italian boxer (b. 1926)
*February 18 — Dale Earnhardt, American NASCAR race car driver (see also Death of Dale Earnhardt)
* February 18 — Eddie Mathews, American baseball player, Baseball Hall of Famer
*February 25 — Donald Bradman, Australian cricketer, highest test match batting average; 99.94.
*February 26 — Marc Vallot, Belgian judoka
*March 1 — Hannie Termeulen (72), Dutch freestyle swimmer (b. 1929)
*April 10 — Willie Stargell, American baseball player, Baseball Hall of Famer.
*May 12 — Didi, Brazilian soccer player
*June 2 — Joey Maxim, American boxer
* July 22 — Maria Gorokhovskaya (79), Soviet gymnast (b. 1921)
*August 15 — Richard Chelimo, Kenyan athlete
*September 11 — Garnet Bailey, Canadian Boston Bruins ice hockey player and a pro scout for the Los Angeles Kings died in the crash of United Airlines Flight 175 in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack
*October 18 — Micheline Ostermeyer (78), French athlete and pianist (b. 1922)
*October 23 — Daniel Wildenstein (84), French Thoroughbred racehorse breeder and owner (b. 1917)
*December 5 — Dharam Singh (82), Indian field hockey player (b. 1919)