knuckle ball

2004 in sports

Events

On January 28, International Olympic Committee Vice-President Kim Un-yong is arrested on charges of corruption in Seoul. Prosecutors arrest Kim minutes after an arrest warrant is issued by the Seoul District Court, and the 72-year-old was put behind bars after his pre-trial detention was approved.

On April 27, the International Olympic Committee takes out insurance in case the Athens Olympic Games are canceled due to terrorism or natural disasters.

On May 18, the International Olympic Committee announced the list of cities accepted as candidates to host the 2012 Olympic Games. The five candidate cities are Paris, New York, Moscow, London and Madrid.

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Olympics opened in Athens, Greece on August 13.

1	36	39	27	102
2	32	17	14	63
3	27	27	38	92
4	17	16	16	49
5	16	9	12	37

Athletics

For an extensive coverage see 2004 in athletics (track and field)

Cross-country running

January 3 - Winners from the 2004 Great Winter Run X-country race at Newcastle, England:

Women's 6.3 km: Tirunesh Dibada, Ethiopia 21:01
Men's 8.0 km: Sileshi Sihine, Ethiopia 26:15

Track

United States Olympic Track and Field trials, Sacramento, California:

July 10 - Marion Jones finishes fourth in the qualifying for the 100 meter dash, and therefore fails to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in that event. (Jones did qualify for the Olympics in the long jump.)
July 11 - Tim Montgomery, current world record holder in the men's 100 meter run, fails to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing 7th out of 8 competitors in the trials finals.

Marathon

International Races

April 4 — Rotterdam Marathon, Netherlands

Men's Winner: Felix Limo (KEN) 2:06:14
Women's Winner: Zhor El Kamch (MAR) 2:26:10

April 18 — London Marathon, United Kingdom

Men's Winner: Evans Rutto (KEN) 2:06:18
Women's Winner: Margaret Okayo (KEN) 2:22:35

April 19 — Boston Marathon, United States

Men's Winner: Timothy Cherigat (KEN) 2:10:37
Women's Winner: Catherine Ndereba (KEN) 2:24:27

May 16 — Enschede Marathon, Netherlands

Men's Winner: Girma Tolla (ETH) 2:10:33
Women's Winner: Nadezhda Wijenberg (NED) 2:31:23

August 22 — Olympic Marathon, Athens, Greece

Women's Winner: Mizuki Noguchi (JPN) 2:26:20

August 29 — Olympic Marathon, Athens, Greece

Men's Winner: Stefano Baldini (ITA) 2:10:55

November 7 — New York City Marathon, United States

Men's Winner: Hendrik Ramaala (RSA) 2:09:28
Women's Winner:Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 2:23:10

December 5 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan

Men's Winner: Tsuyoshi Ogata (JPN) 2:09:10

National Champions

April 4 — Rotterdam, Netherlands

Men's Winner: Luc Krotwaar — 2:11:56
Women's Winner: Nadezhda Wijenberg — 2:38:38

April 18 — London, England

Men's Winner: Jonathan Brown — 2:13:39
Women's Winner: Birhan Dagne — 2:34:45

May 30 — Ottawa, Canada

Men's Winner: Matthew McInnes — 2:18:52
Women's Winner: Nicole Stevenson — 2:34:45

July 4 — Turku, Finland

Men's Winner: Petri Saavalainen — 2:24:22
Women's Winner: Marjaana Lahti — 2:55:38

September 12 — Sydney, Australia

Men's Winner: Daniel Green — 2:23:06
Women's Winner: Jenny Wickman — 2:55:09

October 3 — Budapest, Hungary

Men's Winner: Roland Ádók — 2:26:34
Women's Winner: Simona Staicu — 2:38:17

Auto Racing

Stock car racing (NASCAR):

February 15 - Daytona 500: won by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
November 21st - Kurt Busch wins the 2004 Nextel Cup at the conclusion of a ten-race "playoff" by seven points.

Indy Racing League:

May 30 - Indianapolis 500: won by Buddy Rice

Formula One:

August 15 - Ferrari clinch Formula One constructors title
August 29 - Michael Schumacher clinches seventh Formula One title

24 hours of Le Mans

June - Tom Kristensen / Rinaldo Capello / Seiji Ara driving an Audi R8 with Audi Sport Japan Team Goh win the LMP1 class and overall victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The LMP2 category was won by the #32 Interport Racing Lola with drivers Bill Binnie, Clint Field, and Rick Sutherland.
The GTS category was won by the #65 Chevrolet Corvette with drivers Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta, and Jan Magnussen.
The GT category was won by the #90 White Lightning Porsche with drivers Sascha Maassen, Jörg Bergmeister, and Patrick Long.

V8 Supercar:

March - Marcos Ambrose (Ford Falcon) won Adelaide 500
November - Andrews Jones (Ford Falcon) won V8 Development (level two) Series
October 10 - Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly (Holden Commodore) won Bathurst 1000
September - Marcos Ambrose (Ford Falcon) won V8 Championship Series

Formula 3000:

Vitantonio Liuzzi wins the title by comfortable margin;; championship is replaced by GP2 for the new year

Superfund Euro 3000 Series

champion - Nicky Pastorelli of The Netherlands

Asian Formula 3

Inaugural season of the Asian Formula Three Championship.

The French Citroen crew of Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena win their first World Rally Championship title.

Baseball

June 27 College World Series: Cal State Fullerton wins the NCAA College World Series, defeating Texas 3-2 to win the best-of-three championship series 2-0.

July 4: Éric Gagné's consecutive saves streak ended at 84 in a 6-5 Los Angeles Dodgers victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks

July 10: Barry Bonds breaks his own record for intentional walks received in a season; amazingly, he broke the former full-season record of 68 set in 2002 before the All-Star break. After three intentional walks in a 3-1 San Francisco Giants win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, his total stood at 71. He would end the season with 120.

August 8: At Comerica Park, Boston Red Sox outslugged the Detroit Tigers 11-9, despite knuckle baller Tim Wakefield giving up a record six home runs.

August 31: The Cleveland Indians win a 22-0 rout of the New York Yankees, who endured the worst shutout loss in league history.

September 17: At San Francisco, Barry Bonds became just the third player in MLB history to hit 700 home runs. Bonds joined the select company of Hall of Famers Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) with his historic blast off San Diego Padres Jake Peavy in the third inning.

September 17: At Seattle, Ichiro Suzuki hits his 199th single of the season, breaking the major league baseball record of 198, set by Lloyd Waner in 1927.

September 29: Major League Baseball announces that the Montreal Expos will be moved to the Washington, DC area for the 2005 season.

October 1: Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners gets two base hits to break the 83-year-old record for most hits in a single season. The previous record, held by George Sisler, was 257 hits in a season.

October 20: The Boston Red Sox win the ALCS, coming back from 0-3 in the best-of-seven series against the New York Yankees.

October 26: Seibu Lions PL defeats Chunichi Dragons CL, 4 games to 3 in the Japan Series.

October 27: The Boston Red Sox sweep the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to none, to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years.

Basketball

NBA Finals: The Detroit Pistons, in a major upset, defeat the heavily-favored Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 1. It is the Pistons first NBA title in fourteen years.

November 19 - A game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers is called with less than a minute remaining after a fight between opposing players turns into a far more massive brawl between Pacers players and Pistons supporters. For more details on the brawl and its aftermath, see Pacers-Pistons brawl.

The Los Angeles Lakers dynasty is dismantled, after Shaquille O'Neal is traded to the Miami Heat, Phil Jackson retires, and many role players either sign with other teams (such as Derek Fisher) or retire (such as Rick Fox).

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship

The UConn Huskies win 82-73 over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. UConn's Emeka Okafor is named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

NCAA Women's Basketball Championship

The UConn Huskies defeat the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, 70-61, making UConn the first school to win both the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball championships in the same season. A Division II school, Central Missouri State, was the first to accomplish this double in 1984. UConn's Diana Taurasi is named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

August 25- The Puerto Rican National Basketball Team defeats the United States' Dream Team 92-73 on the opening game if the 2004 Summer Olympics. This marked the first time the Dream Team lost an Olympic Game.

Euroleague: Maccabi Tel-Aviv of Israel wins the final 118-74 over Fortitudo Bologna of Italy.
ULEB Cup: Hapoel Jerusalem of Israel wins the title after winning Real Madrid in the final.
Chinese Basketball Association finals: Guangdong Southern Tigers defeat Bayi Rockets, 3 games to 1.

National Basketball League (Australia): Sydney Kings defeated the West Sydney Razorbacks 3-2 in best-of-five final series.

Boxing

February 19 to 29 – 35th European Amateur Boxing Championships held in Pula, Croatia

Light Flyweight (– 48 kg): Sergey Kazakov (Russia)
Flyweight (– 51 kg): Georgi Balakshin (Russia)
Bantamweight (– 54 kg): Gennady Kovalev (Russia)
Featherweight (– 57 kg): Vitaly Tajbert (Germany)
Lightweight (– 60 kg): Dimitar Stilianov (Bulgaria)
Light Welterweight (– 64 kg): Alexander Maletin (Russia)
Welterweight (– 69 kg): Oleg Saitov (Russia)
Middleweight (– 75 kg): Gaidarbek Gaidarbekov (Russia)
Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg): Evgeny Makarenko (Russia)
Heavyweight (– 91 kg): Alexander Alexeyev (Russia)
Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg): Alexander Povetkin (Russia)

March 13 – The world junior middleweight championship was unified as Shane Mosley lost to Winky Wright.
May 15 – Antonio Tarver won the WBC light-heavyweight title with a stunning second-round knockout of champion Roy Jones Jr.
July 30 – Danny Williams knocks out Mike Tyson in the fourth round of a non-championship bout.
August 16 – Robert Quiroga, former International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion, found stabbed to death.
September 18 – Bernard Hopkins successfully defends his undisputed middleweight title with a ninth-round knockout of Oscar de la Hoya.

Cricket

March 5 - Pakistan beat the West Indies by 25 runs to win the 2004 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
March 12 - Shane Warne becomes the first spinner in history to take 500 Test wickets.
March 13 - India beat Pakistan in the highest scoring One Day International ever (693 runs), in the opening match of their first Pakistan tour since 1989.
April - Ricky Ponting is named Leading Cricketer in the World by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
April 2 - Zimbabwe Cricket Union announces the retirement of Heath Streak as captain of Zimbabwe. It is later revealed he was sacked, and 15 senior players withdraw from Zimbabwean cricket, citing political interference by Robert Mugabe's government in team selection.
April 12 - The West Indies' Brian Lara regains the individual Test innings record from Australian Matthew Hayden with 400 not out in the fourth Test against England in St. John's, Antigua.
May 8 - Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan breaks Courtney Walsh's world record of 519 Test wickets with his 520th wicket against Zimbabwe in Harare.
June 10 - Zimbabwe Cricket Union agrees to abandon any further Test matches in 2004, under pressure from International Cricket Council over substandard teams due to 15 striking players.
June 19 - September 4 - Inaugural Pro Cricket season, the first professional cricket tournament in the United States.
September 10 - September 25 - ICC Champions Trophy in England: West Indies beats England in the final.

Curling

2004 Nokia Brier:

Final: (March 14) Nova Scotia (Mark Dacey) 10-9 Alberta (Randy Ferbey)

2004 Scott Tournament of Hearts:

Final: (February 29) Canada (Colleen Jones) 7-4 Quebec (Marie-France Larouche)

2004 Ford World Curling Championship:

Women's Final: (April 24) Canada (Colleen Jones) 8-4 Norway (Dordi Nordby)
Men's Final: (April 25) Sweden (Peja Lindholm) 7-6 Germany (Sebastian Stock)

Canada Cup

Women's Final: (January 10) Colleen Jones 8-7 Sherry Anderson
Men's Final: (January 11) Randy Ferbey 10-3 John Morris

M&M Meat Shops National Final (January 25) Glenn Howard 5-3 Jeff Stoughton
PharmAssist Players' Championship Final (April 4) John Morris 7-5 Jeff Stoughton
2004 Canadian mixed curling championship Final: (January 18) Alberta (Shannon Kleibrink) 9-5 Ontario (Heath McCormick) Shannon Kleibrink becomes the first woman to skip and win the Canadian mixed curling championship. Last year, she was the first to skip and participate in the event, losing only in the final.
Canadian Senior Curling Championship

Women's Final: (February 1) Ontario (Anne Dunn) 7-3 British Columbia (Kathy Smiley)
Men's Final: (February 1) Newfoundland and Labrador (Bas Buckle) 9-8 Nova Scotia (Steve Ogden)

World Junior Curling Championships

Women's Final: (March 27) Norway (Linn Githmark) 9-6 Canada (Jill Mouzar)
Men's Final: (March 28) Sweden (Niklas Edin) 6-4 Switzerland (Stefan Rindisblacher)

Cycling

Road Cycling

Giro d'Italia - won by Damiano Cunego of Italy. Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi wins nine stages. See 2004 Giro d'Italia
Tour de France -

Overall (Yellow jersey) - Lance Armstrong, his record-setting sixth consecutive title.
King of the Mountains (Polka dot jersey) - Richard Virenque, a record seventh title
Points Classification (Green jersey) - Robbie McEwen
Young Rider (White jersey) - Vladimir Karpets
Team - T-Mobile Team

Cyclo-cross

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Pont-Château, France (January 31–February 1)

Men's Competition
Gold – Bart Wellens
Silver – Mario De Clercq
Bronze – Sven Vanthourenhout
Women's Competition
Gold – Laurence Leboucher
Silver – Maryline Salvetat
Bronze – Hanka Kupfernagel

Field Hockey

World Competitions

Men's Olympic Qualifier Tournament in Madrid, Spain

Gold Medal: The Netherlands
Silver Medal: Spain
Bronze Medal: Pakistan

Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Athens, Greece

Gold Medal: Australia
Silver Medal: The Netherlands
Bronze Medal: Germany

Men's Champions Trophy in Lahore, Pakistan

Gold Medal: Spain
Silver Medal: The Netherlands
Bronze Medal: Pakistan

Women's Olympic Qualifier Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand

Gold Medal: Japan
Silver Medal: Spain
Bronze Medal: New Zealand

Olympic Games (Women's Competition) in Athens, Greece

Gold Medal: Germany
Silver Medal: The Netherlands
Bronze Medal: Argentina

Women's Champions Trophy in Rosario, Argentina

Gold Medal: The Netherlands
Silver Medal: Germany
Bronze Medal: Argentina

Regional Competitions

Men's Pan American Cup in London, Canada

Gold Medal: Argentina
Silver Medal: Canada
Bronze Medal: Chile

Women's Asia Cup in New Delhi, India

Gold Medal: India
Silver Medal: Japan
Bronze Medal: China

Women's Pan American Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados

Gold Medal: Argentina
Silver Medal: United States
Bronze Medal: Canada

Figure skating

Canadian Figure Skating Championships at Edmonton:

January 9

Junior Ice dance winners: Tessa Virtue, (London) and Scott Moir (Ilderton, Ontario), 2.8 factored placements
Junior Pairs winners: Jessica Dubé, (Drummondville, Quebec) and Bryce Davison, (Cambridge, Ontario), 1.5 factored placements

January 10

Junior Women's singles winner: Myriane Samson, (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec), 1.5 factored placements

January 11

Senior Ice Dance winners: Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, (Boisbriand, Quebec), 2.0

2004 United States Figure Skating Championships at Atlanta, Georgia:

January 8:

Junior Pairs winners: Shantel Jordan and Jeremy Barrett, Bradenton, Florida, 2.5 factored placements

January 9:

Junior Men's winner: Christopher Toland, 3.5
Junior Ice Dance winners: Morgan Matthews and Maxim Zavozin, New York City, 2.0

January 10:

Senior Men's winner: Johnny Weir, Newark, Delaware, 1.5
Senior Pairs winners: Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, 2.0
Junior Ladies' winner: Kimberly Meissner, Bel Air, Maryland, 2.0
Senior Ice Dance winners: Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, Detroit, Michigan, 2.0

January 11:

Senior Ladies' winner: Michelle Kwan, 2.0

2004 European Figure Skating Championships, Budapest, Hungary

February 4, Senior Pairs:

1-Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, Russia, 1.5 factored placements
2-Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov, Russia, 3.0
3-Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek, Poland, 4.5

February 5, Senior Men's:

February 6, Senior Ice Dance:

Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, Russia, 2.0
Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski, Bulgaria, 4.6
Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov, Ukraine, 5.4

February 7: Senior Ladies':

2004 World Figure Skating Championships, Dortmund, Germany

March 24, Senior Pairs:

Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, Russia, 2.5 factored placements
Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, China, 3.0
Pang Qing and Tong Jian, China

March 25, Senior Men's:

March 26, Senior Dance:

Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, Russia, 2.0
Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski, Bulgaria, 3.6
Kati Winkler and René Lohse, Germany, 6.2

March 27, Senior Ladies':

Shizuka Arakawa, Japan, 2.6
Sasha Cohen, United States, 4.0
Michelle Kwan, United States, 5.6

Football (American)

College football Bowl Championship Series (2003 season):

January 1 - Rose Bowl: USC 28, Michigan 14
January 1 - Orange Bowl: Miami 16, Florida State 14
January 2 - Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State 35, Kansas State 28
January 4 - Sugar Bowl: LSU 21, Oklahoma 14
January 5 - LSU is awarded the 2003 BCS national championship; USC is awarded the 2003 Associated Press national championship

College football (other divisions; 2004 season):

Division I-AA: James Madison 31, Montana 21
Division II: Valdosta State 36, Pittsburg State 31
Division III: Linfield 28, Mary Hardin-Baylor 21

National Football League:

February 1 - Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29 at Houston, Texas
August 8 - John Elway, Barry Sanders, Carl Eller and Bob Brown are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
September 19 - Jerry Rice's record of 274 consecutive games with a pass reception comes to an end, although his Oakland Raiders defeat the Buffalo Bills, 13-10.
September 27 - Morten Andersen appears in his 341st NFL game, breaking the record set by George Blanda.
December 26 - Peyton Manning threw his 49th touchdown pass of the season in a game against the San Diego Chargers breaking Dan Marino's single season touchdown record

NFL Europe:

June 12 - World Bowl: Berlin Thunder 30, Frankfurt Galaxy 24

Arena Football League:

June 27 - ArenaBowl XVIII: San Jose SaberCats 69, Arizona Rattlers 62 at Phoenix, Arizona

Football (Australian rules)

Australian Football League

Port Adelaide wins the 108th AFL premiership (Port Adelaide 17.11 (113) d Brisbane Lions 10.13 (73))
Brownlow Medal awarded to Chris Judd (West Coast Eagles)
See also Australian Football League season 2004

Football (Canadian)

November 21: Toronto Argonauts defeats British Columbia Lions 27-19 in the 92nd Grey Cup, played in Ottawa, Canada.

Football (rugby league)

May 15 - St Helens defeat Wigan Warriors 32-16 to win the Challenge Cup.
June 17 - Martin Gleeson and Sean Long are banned for four and three months respectively after placing bets on their side, St Helens, to lose a Super League match against the Bradford Bulls.
October 3 - Canterbury Bulldogs defeat Sydney Roosters 16-13 in the Grand Final to win the NRL premiership.
October 16 - Leeds Rhinos defeat Bradford Bulls 16-8 in the Super League Grand Final to become champions of Super League IX.
November 27 - Australia defeat Great Britain 44-4 in the final of the second Tri-Nations competition.

Football (Rugby Union)

Hong Kong Sevens - England beat Argentina 22-12
Super 12 - ACT Brumbies defeated Crusaders 47-38
Six Nations Championship - France (Grand Slam). Ireland win the Triple Crown.
Heineken Cup - London Wasps defeated Toulouse 27-20
Tri Nations Series - The Springboks of South Africa win due to bonus points, after all sides finish with two wins and two losses. The All Blacks of New Zealand retain the Bledisloe Cup.
International Rugby Board year-end awards:

Player of the Year: Schalk Burger, South Africa
Coach of the Year: Jake White, South Africa
Team of the Year: South Africa

Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 2004 in football (soccer)

February 14 – Tunisia beat Morocco 2-1 to clinch the first African Cup of Nations in the country's history.
May 26 – Porto defeat AS Monaco 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League final in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
July 4 – Greece surprising win the UEFA Euro 2004 football tournament, defeating the host nation Portugal 1-0.
July 25 – Brazil win the Copa América football tournament, defeating Argentina 4-2 on penalties.
August 7 – Japan win the 2004 Asian Cup football tournament, defeating China 3-1.
August 26 – United States win the Olympic women's football tournament, defeating Brazil 2-1 in extra time.
August 28 – Argentina win the Olympic men's football tournament, defeating Paraguay 1-0.
September 7 – Cienciano defeats Boca Juniors 4-2 on penalties to win the South American Recopa final in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
December 17 – Boca Juniors defeats Bolívar 2-1 on aggregate to win the Copa Sudamericana final in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Gaelic Athletic Association

Camogie

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

Gaelic football

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 1-20 d. Mayo 2-9
National Football League: Kerry 3-11 d. Galway 1-16
Tommy Murphy Cup: Clare 1-11 d. Sligo 0-11

Ladies' Gaelic football

All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Galway
National Football League: Mayo

Hurling

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Cork 0-17 d. Kilkenny 0-9
National Hurling League:

Gliding

World Gliding Championships, Elverum, Norway

Club Class Winner: Sebastian Kawa, Poland; Glider: SZD-48-3M Brawo

Golf

Men's professional

Major Championships

April 11 - Masters Tournament - Phil Mickelson wins the first major of his career.
June 20 - U.S. Open - Retief Goosen wins his second U.S. Open title
July 18 - British Open - Todd Hamilton, a virtual unknown, wins at Royal Troon in a playoff over Ernie Els
August 15 - PGA Championship - Vijay Singh wins in a three-hole playoff over Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard.

Other highlights

February 29 - Tiger Woods wins the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship for the second consecutive year
September 6 - Vijay Singh replaces Tiger Woods at the top of the world rankings, ending Woods' record reign of five years and four weeks.
September 17-19 - Team Europe defeats Team USA 18½ - 9½ to retain the Ryder Cup. See 2004 Ryder Cup for more details.

Awards

PGA Tour Player of the Year: Vijay Singh
PGA Tour leading money winner: Vijay Singh wins a record $10,905,166
PGA Tour Rookie of the Year: Todd Hamilton
Champions Tour money leader - Craig Stadler - $2,306,066

Men's amateur

Women's professional

March 28 - Kraft Nabisco Championship - Grace Park wins the first major of the LPGA season, by one shot over 17-year-old Aree Song. Michelle Wie finished fourth, four shots behind Park.
June 13 - LPGA Championship - Annika Sörenstam
U.S. Women's Open - Meg Mallon
Women's British Open - Karen Stupples
LPGA Tour money leader - Annika Sörenstam - $2,544,707
January 15-16 - At the age of 14, golf prodigy Michelle Wie becomes the youngest woman (and only the fourth overall) to play at a PGA Tour event, shooting 72-68 (even par) at the Sony Open in Hawaii in her hometown of Honolulu. She missed the cut by one stroke.

Handball

Men's Competition

European Championship in Slovenia

* Gold Medal:

* Silver Medal:

* Bronze Medal:

Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar

* Gold Medal:

* Silver Medal:

* Bronze Medal:

Women's Competition

European Championship in Hungary

* Gold Medal:

* Silver Medal:

* Bronze Medal:

Harness Racing

Windsong's Legacy becomes the seventh horse to win the North American Trotting Triple Crown.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

Flat races

Australia

November 2 - Makybe Diva wins the Melbourne Cup.

Canada

June 27 - Niigon wins the Queen's Plate.

France

October 3 - Bago wins the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Ireland

June 27 - Grey Swallow wins the Irish Derby.

English Triple Crown

May 1 - Haafhd wins the 2,000 Guineas Stakes.
June 5 - North Light wins the Epsom Derby.
September 11 - Rule of Law wins the St. Leger Stakes.

Other English races

May 2 - Attraction wins the 1,000 Guineas Stakes.
June 4 - Ouija Board wins the Epsom Oaks.

United States Triple Crown

May 1 - Smarty Jones wins the Kentucky Derby.
May 15 - Smarty Jones wins the Preakness Stakes by a record margin of 11½ lengths.
June 5 - Birdstone wins the Belmont Stakes.

Other United States races

April 30 - Ashado wins the Kentucky Oaks.
August 28 - Birdstone wins the Travers Stakes.

October 30 - Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas:

Ghostzapper wins the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Ashado wins the Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Ouija Board wins the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
Wilko wins the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Sweet Catomine wins the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Singletary wins the Breeders' Cup Mile.
Speightstown wins the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
Better Talk Now wins the Breeders' Cup Turf.

Steeplechases

United Kingdom

March 18 - Best Mate wins a third consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cup.
April 3 - Amberleigh House wins the Grand National.

Ice Hockey

January 4 - Under 17 World Championship at St. John's

Gold Medal Game: Ontario 5, Pacific 2
Bronze Medal Game: Team Quebec 3, United States 2

January 5 - 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships at Helsinki, Finland

Gold Medal Game: United States 4, Canada 3
Bronze Medal Game: Finland 2, Czech Republic 1

February 12 - An independent audit by Arthur Levitt reveals that National Hockey League teams lost a collective US$273 million in 2003, and suggests the league is "on the road to oblivion."
April 6 - 2004 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships at Halifax, Nova Scotia

Gold Medal Game: 2, 0
Bronze Medal Game: 3, 2

April 10 - National Women's Hockey League championship at Brampton, Ontario

Championship Final: Calgary X-Treme 6, Brampton Thunder 5 (OT)

April 18 - IIHF World Under-18 Championship at Minsk, Belarus

Gold Medal Game: Russia 3, United States 2
Bronze Medal Game: Czech Republic 3, Canada 2

April 25 - Allan Cup at Saint-Georges, Quebec

Allan Cup Final: Saint-Georges Garaga 5, Ministlkwan Islanders 0

April 25 - Canadian National Midget Championship at Kenora, Ontario

Gold Medal Game: Brandon Wheat Kings 2, College Charles-Lemoyne 1 (OT)
Bronze Medal Game: Red Deer Optimist Chiefs 5, Kenora Stars 2

May 9 - 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships at Prague, Czech Republic

Gold Medal Game: 5, 3
Bronze Medal Game: 1, 0 (SO)

May 23 - Memorial Cup at Kelowna, British Columbia

2004 Memorial Cup Final: Kelowna Rockets 2, Gatineau Olympques 1

June 7 - Stanley Cup - Tampa Bay Lightning defeat Calgary Flames 4 games to 3 to win the Stanley Cup.
September 14 - World Cup of Hockey at Toronto, Canada

Final: Canada 3, Finland 2.

September 15 - NHL collective bargaining agreement expires. Commissioner Gary Bettman announces a lockout of NHLPA players (see: 2004-05 NHL lockout).
October 11 - Jean Perron named head coach of Israeli national under-18 hockey team

Kabaddi

November 21 - India wins the first-ever World Cup kabaddi championship defeating Iran in the final held at Mumbai.

Lacrosse

February 22 - National Lacrosse League - The East Division All-Stars defeat the West Division All-Stars 19-15 in the All Star Game.
May 7 - National Lacrosse League - Calgary Roughnecks defeat Buffalo Bandits 14-11 to win Champion's Cup
May 30 - LeMoyne College defeats Limestone 11-10 (2OT) for first Division II National Championship.
August - European Lacrosse Championships

Men's - England defeats Germany
Women's - Wales A defeats Scotland A

August 22 - Major League Lacrosse - Philadelphia Barrage defeat Boston Cannons 13-11 to win league championship at Boston
Clarington Green Gaels win the Founders Cup
Peterborough Lakers win the Mann Cup
Burnaby Lakers win the Minto Cup

Luge

January 4 - European Luge Championships at Oberhof, Germany

Men's Doubles winner: Steffen Skel and Steffen Woeller, Germany, 1:22.633
Women's Singles winner: Silke Kraushaar, Germany, 1:22.995

January 17 - World Cup event at Winterberg, Germany

Men's Singles winner: Georg Hackl, Germany 1:51.211

Orienteering

First ever World Championship in Trail Orienteering held September 15-18 in Västerås, Sweden.

Netball

5 July- World champions, New Zealand's Silver Ferns, complete 3-0 test series win over Australia with 53-46 win at Hamilton, New Zealand.

Radiosport

Twelfth Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in Brno, Czech Republic.

Skiing & Snowboarding

Biathlon

January 10- World Cup Biathlon event at Pokljuka, Slovenia winner, men's 12.5 km pursuit: Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norway, 36:18.8
January 14- World Cup Biathlon event at Ruhpolding, Germany winner, Women's 4x6K Relay winner: Germany, 1:18:37
January 15- Men's 4x7.5K Relay winner: Belarus, 1:43:43.71
January 17- World Cup Biathlon competition Men's 10 km Sprint winner: Halvard Hanevold, Norway 25:01.5

Cross-country skiing

January 10- World Cup men's cross-country skiing competition at Otepaa, Finland winner, 30 km mass start: Frode Estil, Norway, 1:15:18.1
January 17- World Cup cross-country ski meet at Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic

Men's 15 km classical style winner: Andrus Veerpalu, Estonia 42:27.6
Women's 10 km classical style winner: Gabriella Paruzzi, Italy 31:17.6

Downhill skiing

January 4 - Men's World Cup Slalom Competition at Flachau, Austria winner: Kalle Palander, Finland, 1:42.24
January 4 - Women's World Cip Giant Slalom Competition at Megeve, France winner: Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austria 1:24.98
January 10 - Men's World Cup downhill race at Chamonix, France winner: Stephane Eberharter, Austria 1:59.08
January 10- Women's World Cup downhill ski race at Veysonnaz, Switzerland winner: Renate Götschl, Austria 1:38.58
January 11- Men's World Cup slalom at Chamonix, France winner: Giorgio Rocca, Italy 1:29.09
January 17- Women's World Cup downhill race at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy winner: Hilde Gerg, Germany 1:17.57

Freestyle skiing

January 10- Ericsson World Freestyle skiing competition at Mont Tremblant, Quebec

Women's Moguls winner: Stephanie St. Pierre, Canada 24.25 points
Men's Moguls winner: Marc-Andre Moreau, Canada 25.14 points

January 16- Freesyle FIS World Cup at Lake Placid, New York

Women's aerials winner: Jiao Wang, China 183.61
Men's aerials winner: Steve Omischl, Canada 246.01

January 17

Women's Moguls winner: Jennifer Heil, Canada 26.77
Men's Moguls winner: Janne Lahtela, Finland 26.29

Giant slalom

January 3 - Men's World Cup Giant Slalom Competition at Flachau, Austria winner: Benjamin Raich, Austria, 2:22.54

Nordic skiing

January 4 - Nordic combined World Cup event at Schonach, Germany winner: Todd Lodwick, United States, 34:29.5

Ski jumping

January 1 - The traditional New Year's Ski Jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The Large Hill event was won by Sigurd Pettersen of Norway with 253.8 points.
January 4 - Four Hills ski jumping tournament at Innsbruck, Austria. K120 winner: Peter Zonta, Slovenia, 265.2 points

Super-G

January 11 - Women's World Cup super-G at Veysonnaz, Switzerland winner: Hilde Gerg, Germany, 1:21.34
January 14 - Women's World Cup super-G at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy winner: Genevieve Simard, Canada, 13.05
January 16 - Women's World Cup super-G at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy winner: Renate Götschl, Austria 1:10.59

Snowboarding

January 3 - World Cup men's "big air" snowboarding competition at Klagenfurt, Austria winner: Aleksi Vanninen, Finland, 1,000 points
January 6 - World Cup snowboard parallel slalom at Bad Gastein, Austria

Men's winner: Dejan Josir, Slovenia, 1,000
Women's winner: Jagna Kolasinska-Marczulajtis, Poland, 1,000

January 10 - World Cup giant slalom race at L'Alpe d'Huez, France

Men's Parallel Giant Slalom winner: Urs Eiselin, Switzerland, 1,000
Women's Parallel Giant Slalom winner: Daniela Meuli, Switzerland, 1,000

January 16 - World Cup cross at Arosa, Switzerland

Men's winner: Stefano Pozzolini, Italy 1,000
Women's winner: Karine Ruby, France 1,000

January 17 -

Men's winner: Simone Malusa, Italy 1,000
Women's winner: Karine Ruby, France 1,000

Snooker

World Snooker Championship: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Graeme Dott 18-8
World rankings: Ronnie O'Sullivan becomes world number one for 2004/05

October 16: In a qualifying match for the UK Championship, Jamie Burnett makes a break of 148 against Leo Fernandez and becomes the first player to achieve a break higher than the nominal maximum of 147 in a professional match.

Speed skating

Long track speed skating

January 2 - Winners at the 2003 Canada Post All Round Canadian Championships at Calgary, Alberta:

Men's 500 m: Mike Ireland, Winnipeg, Manitoba 34.58 seconds
Men's 1000 m: Jeremy Wotherspoon, Red Deer, Alberta 1:08.90
Women's 500 m: Krisy Myers, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan 39.43
Women's 1000 m: Kristy Myers 1:18.16

January 3

Men's 500 m: Casey Fitzrandolph, Madison, Wisconsin 35.27 seconds
Men's 1500 m: Jay Morrison, Fort St. John, British Columbia 1:46.96
Women's 500 m: Kerry Simpson, Melville, Saskatchewan 39.67
Women's 1500 m: Kristina Groves, Ottawa 1:59.25

January 17 - Winners at the World sprint speedskating championships at Nagano, Japan:

Men's 500 m: Jeremy Wotherspoon, Canada 35.25
Women's 500 m: Sayuri Osuga, Japan 38.79

February 7 - 9 - Winners at the 2004 World Allround Speed Skating Championships at Hamar, Norway:

Men's 500 m: Yevgeny Lalenkov, Russia 35.780
Men's 5000 m: Carl Verheijen, Netherlands 6:20.61
Ladies' 500 m: Jennifer Rodriguez, United States 38.740
Ladies' 3000 m Renate Groenewold, Netherlands 4:04.58
Men's 1500 m Shani Davis, United States 1:46.02
Men's 10,000 m Carl Verheijen, Netherlands 13:17.86
Ladies' 1500 m Jennifer Rodriguez, United States, 1:57.33
Ladies' 5000 m Gretha Smit, Netherlands 7:02.89
Men's all-around champion: Chad Hedrick, United States 150.478
Ladies' all-around champion: Renate Groenewold, Netherlands 162.573

Short track speed skating

January 10- World junior short-track speed skating championships at Beijing

Men's 500 m winner: Ho-Suk Lee, South Korea 42.542 seconds
Women's 500 m winner: Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Canada 45.689 seconds

January 11-

Men's 1000 m winner: Ki-Deok Kwon, South Korea 1:28.682
Women's 1000 m winner: Kang Yun-Mi, South Korea 1:36.040

January 17- European short-track speedskating championship at Zoetermeer, Netherlands:

Women's 500 m: Evgenia Radanova, Bulgaria 44.882
Men's 500 m: Nicola Franceschina, Italy 42. 845

Swimming

International tournaments

January 13 – World Cup (short course) in Stockholm, Sweden:

Men's 50m Butterfly: Mike Mintenko (CAN) 23.75
Men's 100m Freestyle: Jason Lezak (USA) 47.24
Men's 100m Individual Medley: Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) 53.71
Men's 400m Freestyle: Yuri Prilukov (RUS) 3:41.10
Men's 400m Individual Medley: Brian Johns (CAN) 4:09.92
Men's 50m Breaststroke: Ed Moses (USA) 27.10
Men's 200m Breaststroke: Ed Moses (USA) 2:04.54
Men's 200m Butterfly: Takeshi Matsuda (JPN) 1:52.67
Women's 50m Backstroke: Chang Gao (CHN) 27.61

January 14 – World Cup (short course) in Stockholm, Sweden:

Men's 200m Backstroke: Evgeny Aleshin (RUS) 1:53.21
Men's 100m Butterfly: Andriy Serdinov (UKR) 51.66
Men's 200m Freestyle: Ryk Neethling (RSA) 1:23.85
Men's 1500m Freestyle: Yuri Prilukov (RUS) 14:46.59
Men's 200m Individual Medley: Kosuke Kitajima (JPN) 1:56.68

27th European LC Championships in Madrid, Spain (May 5 – 16)

Russia wins the most medals (16), Ukraine the most gold medals (9)

Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece (August 14 – 22)

United States wins the most medals (28), and the most gold medals (12)

Seventh World Short Course Championships in Indianapolis, United States (October 7 – 11)

United States wins the most medals (41), and the most gold medals (21)

8th European SC Championships in Vienna, Austria (December 9 – 12)

Germany wins the most medals (22), and the most gold medals (9)

Records

January 18 — Exactly four years after Australia's Susie O'Neill set her world record (2:04.16) in the women's 200m butterfly (short course), Yang Yu from PR China betters that time at a World Cup meet in Berlin, Germany, clocking 2:04.04.

March 25 — Frédérick Bousquet breaks the world record in the men's 50m freestyle (short course) at a meet in New York, United States, clocking 21.10.

Tennis

Australian Open

Men's Final: Roger Federer defeats Marat Safin, 7-6(7-3) 6-4 6-2
Women's Final: Justine Henin-Hardenne defeats Kim Clijsters, 6-3 4-6 6-3

French Open

Men's Final: Gastón Gaudio defeats Guillermo Coria 0-6 3-6 6-4 6-1 8-6
Women's Final: Anastasia Myskina defeats Elena Dementieva 6-1 6-2

Wimbledon Championships

Men's Final: Roger Federer defeats Andy Roddick, 4-6 7-5 7-6(7-3) 6-3
Ladies' Final: Maria Sharapova defeats Serena Williams, 6-1 6-4

US Open

Men's Final: Roger Federer defeats Lleyton Hewitt 6-0 7-6 (7-3) 6-0
Women's Final: Svetlana Kuznetsova defeats Elena Dementieva 6-3 7-5

2004 Summer Olympics

Men's Singles Competition
Gold – Nicolás Massú
Silver – Mardy Fish
Bronze – Fernando González
Women's Singles Competition
Gold – Justine Henin-Hardenne
Silver – Amélie Mauresmo
Bronze – Alicia Molik
Men's Doubles Competition
Gold – Fernando González & Nicolás Massú
Silver – Nicolas Kiefer & Rainer Schüttler
Bronze – Mario Ančić & Ivan Ljubičić
Women's Doubles Competition
Gold – Li Ting & Sun Tiantian
Silver – Conchita Martínez & Virginia Ruano Pascual
Bronze – Paola Suárez & Patricia Tarabini

Volleyball

Men's Competition

Olympic Qualifier

FIVB World League – Final Round in Rome, Italy

Gold Medal:
Silver Medal:
Bronze Medal:

European Volleyball League – Final Round in Opava, Czech Republic

Gold Medal:
Silver Medal:
Bronze Medal:

Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece

Gold Medal —
Silver Medal —
Bronze Medal —

European Beach Volleyball Championship in Timmendorfer Strand, Germany

Gold Medal —
Silver Medal —
Bronze Medal —

Women's Competition

FIVB World Grand Prix – Final Round in Reggio Calabria, Italy

Gold Medal:
Silver Medal:
Bronze Medal:

Olympic Qualifier in Tokyo, Japan

First place:
Second place:
Third place:
Fourth place:

2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece

Gold Medal —
Silver Medal —
Bronze Medal —

Pan-American Cup in Tijuana and Mexicali, Mexico

Gold Medal:
Silver Medal:
Bronze Medal:

European Beach Volleyball Championship in Timmendorfer Strand, Germany

Gold Medal —
Silver Medal —
Bronze Medal —

Water polo

Men's Competition

Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

FINA World League in Long Island, United States

Gold Medal:
Silver Medal:
Bronze Medal:

Women's Competition

FINA World League in Long Beach, United States

Gold Medal:
Silver Medal:
Bronze Medal:

Holiday Cup in La Jolla, United States

Gold Medal:
Silver Medal:
Bronze Medal:

Floorball (Unihockey)

May 16 to May 23 - The Men's World Unihockey Championship in Switzerland were won by Sweden

Multi-sport events

2004 Summer Olympics held from August 13 to 29 in Athens, Greece

2004 Summer Paralympics held from September 17 to 28 in Athens, Greece

Tenth Pan Arab Games held in Algiers, Algeria

Awards

Deaths

January-February

January 2 — Paul Hopkins (99), reported to be the oldest living former Major League Baseball player
January 4 — James Counsilman, American swimming coach (b. 1920)
January 5 - TG Jones, Footballer (Soccer) Wales and Everton
January 5 - Tug McGraw (59), former MLB relief pitcher with the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies who played for two World Champions in 1969 with the Mets and in 1980 with the Phillies and coined the phrase "You Gotta Believe!".
January 14 — Mike Goliat (78), member of the famous Phillies' "Whiz Kids" team that won the 1950 NL pennant
January 17 — Harry "The Cat" Brecheen (89), former MLB pitcher
January 19 — David Hookes - Australian cricketer
January 25 — Fanny Blankers-Koen (85), legendary Dutch athlete
January 25 — Miklos Feher, Hungarian footballer (soccer)
February 1 — Ally McLeod, footballer (soccer) and former Scottish national team manager
February 14 — Marco Pantani (34), Italian cyclist, winner of 1998 Tour de France
February 17 — Shirley Strickland de la Hunty - Australian Athlete
February 21 — John Charles, Welsh football (soccer) player for Leeds, Juventus, Roma, Cardiff and Wales
February 22 — Andy Seminick (83), MLB catcher who played for the 1950 Phillies' "Whiz Kids" team

March-April

March 3 — Chris Timms, 56, New Zealand yachtsman
March 3 — Luis Villalta, 34, Peruvian boxer
March 7 — Jack Holden, 96, English long-distance runner (b. 1907)
March 18 — Gene Bearden, 83, Major League Baseball pitcher
March 22 — Peter Jackson, England and Lions winger
March 30 — Salvatore Burruni, 70, Italian boxer (b. 1933)
April 4 — George Bamberger, 80, Major League Baseball pitcher and manager
April 4 — Briek Schotte, 84, Belgian cyclist (b. 1919)
April 9 — Julius Sang, Kenyan runner (b. 1948)
April 10 — Lou Berberet, 74, Major League Baseball catcher
April 12 — Frankie Narvaez, 65, Puerto Rican boxer
April 20 — Ronnie Simpson, Scottish football (soccer) goalkeeper
April 22 — Pat Tillman, 27, American football player who left the NFL to enlist in the United States Army; killed in action in Afghanistan
April 23 — Ross Rutledge, 41, Canadian field hockey player (b. 1962)
April 26 — Hasse Thomsén, 62, Swedish heavyweight boxer (b. 1942)