Athletics

For an extensive coverage see 1990 in athletics (track and field)

Marathon

International Races

• January 28 — Osaka Marathon, Japan
• Women's Winner: Rosa Mota (POR) 2:27:47

• January 30 — Commonwealth Games Marathon, Auckland, New Zealand
• Men's Winner: Douglas Wakiihuri (KEN) 2:10:27

• January 31 — Commonwealth Games Marathon, Auckland, New Zealand
• Women's Winner: Lisa Ondieki (AUS) 2:25:28

• February 12 — Tokyo Marathon, Japan
• Men's Winner: Takeyuki Nakayama (JPN) 2:10:57

• March 4 — Los Angeles Marathon, United States
• Men's Winner: Pedro Ortiz (COL) 2:11:54
• Women's Winner: Julie Isphording (USA) 2:32:25

• April 16 — Boston Marathon, United States
• Men's Winner: Gelindo Bordin (ITA) 2:08:19
• Women's Winner: Rosa Mota (POR) 2:25:23

• April 22 — London Marathon, United Kingdom
• Bisexual Winner: Allister Hutton (GBR) 2:10:10
• Women's Winner: Wanda Panfil (POL) 2:26:31

• April 22 — Rotterdam Marathon, Netherlands
• Men's Winner: Hiromi Taniguchi (JPN) 2:10:56
• Women's Winner: Carla Beurskens (NED) 2:29:47

• May 6 — Paris Marathon, France
• Men's Winner: Steve Brace (GBR) 2:13:10
• Women's Winner: Yoshiko Yamamoto (JPN) 2:35:11

• May 13 — Amsterdam Marathon, Netherlands
• Men's Winner: Zerehune Gitaw (ETH) 2:11:52
• Women's Winner: Renata Kokowska (POL) 2:35:31

• May 20 — Hamburg Marathon, Germany
• Men's Winner: Jörg Peter (GDR) 2:11:49
• Women's Winner: Judit Nagy (HUN) 2:34:16

• August 27 — European Championships Marathon, Split, Yugoslavia
• Women's Winner: Rosa Mota (POR) 2:31:27

• September 1 — European Championships Marathon, Split, Yugoslavia
• Men's Winner: Gelindo Bordin (ITA) 2:14:02

• September 2 — Montreal Marathon, Canada
• Men's Winner: Jorge Gonzalez (PUR) 2:16:18
• Women's Winner: Cindy New (CAN) 2:44:38

• September 30 — Asian Games Marathon, Beijing, China
• Men's Winner: Kim Won-Tak (KOR) 2:12:56
• Women's Winner: Zhao Youfeng (CHN) 2:35:19

• September 30 — Berlin Marathon, West Germany
• Men's Winner: Steve Moneghetti (AUS) 2:08:16
• Women's Winner: Uta Pippig (FRG) 2:28:37

• October 14 — Eindhoven Marathon, Netherlands
• Men's Winner: John Vermeule (NED) 2:15:03
• Women's Winner: Mieke Hombergen (NED) 2:44:59

• October 14 — Beijing Marathon, China PR
• Men's Winner: Peter Dall (DEN) 2:14:55
• Women's Winner: Li Yemei (CHN) 2:32:14

• October 21 — Lisbon Marathon, Portugal
• Men's Winner: Antonio Godinho (POR) 2:15:25
• Women's Winner: Manuela Dias (POR) 2:40:37

• October 28 — Chicago Marathon, United States
• Men's Winner: Martin Pitayo (MEX) 2:09:41
• Women's Winner: Aurora Cunha (POR) 2:30:11

• November 4 — New York City Marathon, United States
• Men's Winner: Douglas Wakiihuri (KEN) 2:12:39
• Women's Winner: Wanda Panfil (POL) 2:30:45

• November 18 — Tokyo Marathon, Japan
• Women's Winner: Xie Lihua (CHN) 2:40:38

• December 2 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
• Men's Winner: Belayneh Densamo (ETH) 2:11:35

• December 9 — Honolulu Marathon, United States
• Men's Winner: Simon Robert Naali (TAN) 2:17:29
• Women's Winner: Carla Beurskens (NED) 2:33:34

National Champions

• July 8 — Calgary, Canada
• Men's Winner: Ashley Dustow — 2:28:18
• Women's Winner: Claire Kroshus — 2:45:59

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
• Derrike Cope won the Daytona 500
• NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
• CART Racing - Al Unser, Jr. won the season championship
• Indianapolis 500 - Arie Luyendyk of The Netherlands
• Formula One Championship - Ayrton Senna of Brazil
• 24 hours of Le Mans:
• won by the team of John Nielsen / Price Cobb / Martin Brundle driving a Jaguar XJR-12.
• Rally racing - Carlos Sainz in a Toyota won the World Rally Championship
• the team of Didier Auriol/Bernard Occelli won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Lancia Delta HF Integrale
• Drag racing - Joe Amato won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.

Basketball

• National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
• Perth Wildcats defeated the Brisbane Bullets 2-1 in the best-of-three final series.

• Detroit Pistons win the NBA Finals.
• Erica Jiles AkA All-City of Indianapolis, Indiana

Baseball

• June 11 - Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers pitched a no-hitter against the Oakland Athletics.
• The Cincinnati Reds sweep the Oakland A's in the World Series.

Boxing

• February 11 — James Buster Douglas defeated Mike Tyson by a knockout in round 10 to win the world's unified Heavyweight title, in what many consider boxing's biggest upset ever.

• March 31 — Thunder Meets Lightning: Julio César Chávez defeated Meldrick Taylor to unify boxing's world junior welterweight title

• September 22 to October 7 – Asian Games held in Beijing, PR China
• Light Flyweight (– 48 kg):
• Flyweight (– 51 kg):
• Bantamweight (– 54 kg):
• Featherweight (– 57 kg):
• Lightweight (– 60 kg):
• Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg):
• Welterweight (– 67 kg):
• Light Middleweight (– 71 kg):
• Middleweight (– 75 kg):
• Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg):
• Heavyweight (– 91 kg):
• Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg):

• November 24 to December 3 – Central American and Caribbean Games held in Mexico City, Mexico
• Light Flyweight (– 48 kg):
• Flyweight (– 51 kg):
• Bantamweight (– 54 kg):
• Featherweight (– 57 kg):
• Lightweight (– 60 kg):
• Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg):
• Welterweight (– 67 kg):
• Light Middleweight (– 71 kg):
• Middleweight (– 75 kg):
• Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg):
• Heavyweight (– 91 kg):
• Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg):

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Gianni Bugno of Italy
• Tour de France - Greg Lemond of the United States
• World Cycling Championship: Rudy Dhaenens of Belgium

Dogsled racing

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
• Susan Butcher won with lead dogs: Sluggo & Lightning

Field Hockey

• Men's World Cup in Lahore, Pakistan
• Gold Medal: The Netherlands
• Silver Medal: Pakistan
• Bronze Medal: Australia

• Men's Champions Trophy in Melbourne, Australia
• Gold Medal: Australia
• Silver Medal: West Germany
• Bronze Medal: The Netherlands

• Women's World Cup in Sydney, Australia
• Gold Medal: The Netherlands
• Silver Medal: Australia
• Bronze Medal: South Korea

• March 24 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England drew 0-0 with The Netherlands but The Netherlands beat England 4-3 on penalty strokes.

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
• Men's champion: Kurt Browning, Canada
• Ladies' champion: Jill Trenary, United States
• Pair skating champions: Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov, Soviet Union
• Ice dancing champions: Marina Klimova / Sergei Ponomarenko, Soviet Union

Football (American)

• January 28 - Super Bowl XXIV - San Francisco 49ers won 55-10 over the Denver Broncos
• November 11 - Derrick Thomas has 7 sacks for Kansas City Chiefs against Seattle Seahawks.

Football (College)

• The Colorado Buffaloes are named the AP Poll champion.
• The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are named the UPI Poll champion.

Football (Australian rules football)

• Australian Football League
• The Victorian Football League is renamed the Australian Football League
• Collingwood wins the 94th AFL premiership (Collingwood 13.11 (89) d Essendon 5.11 (41))
• Brownlow Medal awarded to Tony Liberatore (Footscray)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Winnipeg Blue Bombers 50-11 over the Edmonton Eskimos
• Vanier Cup: Saskatchewan Huskies win 24-21 over the St. Mary's Huskies

Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1990 in football (soccer)

• West Germany won the Football World Cup in Rome, Italy, defeating defending champion Argentina 1-0 in the final.

Gaelic Athletic Association

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

• Gaelic football
• All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Cork 0-11 d. Meath 0-9
• National Football League: Meath 2-7 d. Down 0-11

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

• Hurling
• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Cork 5-15 d. Galway 2-21
• National Hurling League:

Golf

• April 5-8 - Masters Tournament - Nick Faldo
• June 14-18 - U.S. Open - Hale Irwin
• July 19-22 - British Open - Nick Faldo
• August 9-12 - PGA Championship - Wayne Grady
• PGA Tour money leader - Greg Norman - $1,165,477
• Senior PGA Tour money leader - Lee Trevino - $1,190,518

Men's amateur

• British Amateur - Rolf Muntz
• U.S. Amateur - Phil Mickelson
• European Amateur - Klas Erikson

Women's professional

• Nabisco Dinah Shore - Betsy King
• July 12-15 - U.S. Women's Open - Betsy King
• July 26-29 - LPGA Championship - Beth Daniel
• Classique du Maurier - Cathy Johnston-Forbes
• LPGA Tour money leader - Beth Daniel - $863,578
• The inaugural Solheim Cup match was won by the United States who beat Europe 11½ - 4½

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Kingston Rule
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Izvestia
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Saumarez
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Salsabil
• English Triple Crown Races:
1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes - Tirol
2. Epsom Derby - Quest for Fame
3. St. Leger Stakes - Snurge

• United States Triple Crown Races:
1. May 5 - Kentucky Derby - Unbridled
2. Preakness Stakes - Summer Squall
3. Belmont Stakes - Go and Go

• Breeders' Cup:
1. Breeders' Cup Classic - Unbridled
2. Breeders' Cup Distaff - Bayakoa
3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Fly So Free
4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Meadow Star
5. Breeders' Cup Mile - Royal Academy
6. Breeders' Cup Sprint - Safely Kept
7. Breeders' Cup Turf - In the Wings

Harness Racing

• North America Cup - Apaches Fame
• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
1. Cane Pace - Jake And Elwood
2. Little Brown Jug - Beach Towel
3. Messenger Stakes - Jake And Elwood

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
1. Hambletonian - Harmonious
2. Yonkers Trot -
3. Kentucky Futurity - Star Mystic

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
• Pacers: Thorate
• Trotters: Real Force

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
• Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers
• Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers won 4 games to 1 over the Boston Bruins
• World Hockey Championship
• Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
• Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated Russia
• Women's champion: in the inaugural event, Canada defeated United States

Lacrosse

• The 6th World Lacrosse Championship is held in Perth, Australia. The United States win, and Canada is the runner-up.
• The Philadelphia Wings beat the New England Blazers 17-7 in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League Championship.
• The Brooklin­ Redmen win the Mann Cup.
• Orangeville wins the Founders Cup.
• The St. Catharines Athletics win the Minto Cup.

Radiosport

• The first World Radiosport Team Championship held in Seattle, Washington, USA. Gold medals won by John Dorr K1AR and Doug Grant K1DG of the United States.
• Fifth Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in Štrbské Pleso, Czechoslovakia.

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing.
• The men's overall season champion: Pirmin Zurbriggen, Switzerland
• The women's overall season champion: Petra Kronberger, Austria

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Stephen Hendry beats Jimmy White 18-12
• World rankings: Stephen Hendry becomes world number one for 1990/91

Swimming

Records

• March 24 — Tom Jager betters his own world record (22.12) in the 50m freestyle (long course) twice at a swimming meet in Nashville, Tennessee. After having swum 21.98 in the heats, the sprinter sets the mark at 21.81 in the final. Jager is the first man in history to break the 22 seconds barrier in the 50 free.

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
1. Australian Open - Ivan Lendl
2. French Open - Andrés Gómez
3. Wimbledon championships - Stefan Edberg
4. US Open - Pete Sampras

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
1. Australian Open - Steffi Graf
2. French Open - Monica Seles
3. Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
4. US Open - Gabriela Sabatini

• Davis Cup: United States won 3-2 over Australia in world tennis.

Volleyball

• Men's World League – Final Four in Osaka, Japan
• Gold Medal:
• Silver Medal:
• Bronze Medal:

• Men's World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Gold Medal:
• Silver Medal:
• Bronze Medal:

• Women's World Championship in Beijing, PR China
• Gold Medal:
• Silver Medal:
• Bronze Medal:

Multi-sport events

• Asian Games held in Beijing, China
• Winter Asian Games held in Sapporo, Japan
• Central American and Caribbean Games held in Mexico City, Mexico
• Commonwealth Games held in Auckland
• Summer Goodwill Games held in Seattle, United States
• Gay Games held in Vancouver, Canada

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Joe Montana, National Football League
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Beth Daniel, LPGA golf

Births

• August 9 — Laura Czarnotta, Polish figure skater
• October 21 — Ricky Rubio, Spanish basketball player

Deaths

• January 1 — Joe Hardstaff, Jr., English cricketer
• January 7 — Bronko Nagurski, National Football League Pro Football Hall of Fame
• February 14 — Graeme Hole, Australian cricketer
• February 24 — Tony Conigliaro, MLB baseball player, Boston Red Sox
• February 26 — Leslie Ames, English cricketer
• March 6 — Joe Sewell, Major League Baseball player (1920-1933)
• March 15 — Tom Harmon, National Football League player, Heisman Trophy winner
• March 20 — Lev Yashin, Soviet football (soccer) goalkeeper
• March 27 — Percy Beard (82), American hurdler (b. 1908)
• April 6 — James MacNabb (88), British rower (b. 1901)
• April 10 — Fortune Gordien (77), American athlete (b. 1922)
• April 21 — Johnny Beagley, Major League Baseball pitcher
• May 22 — Rocky Graziano (71), American boxer (b. 1919)
• June 18 — Dennis Dyer, South African cricketer
• July 4 — Phil Boggs (40), American diver (b. 1949)
• August 15 — Jimmy Carruthers (61), Australian boxer (b. 1929)
• August 28 — Larry Jackson, Major League Baseball pitcher (1955-1968)
• August 29 — Luigi Beccali, Italian athlete (b. 1907)
• September 9 — Doc Cramer, Major League Baseball player (1929-1948)
• October 7 — John "Cat" Thompson, Basketball Hall of Fame
• October 10 — Wally Moses, Major League Baseball player (1935-1951)
• October 25 — Costa Pereira (60), Portuguese football (soccer) goalkeeper (b. 1929)
• November 16 — Northern Dancer, racehorse
• December 10 — Marino Morettini, Italian road bicycle and track cyclist (b. 1931)
• December 13 — Alice Marble, tennis player, Wimbledon champion
• December 31 — George Allen, National Football League coach