1997 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiing

* Alpine Skiing World Cup ** Men's overall season champion: Luc Alphand, France ** Women's overall season champion: Pernilla Wiberg, Sweden

American football

Super Bowl XXXI Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

– the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

(NFC) won 35–21 over the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

(AFC) **Location: Superdome **Attendance: 72,301 **MVP: Desmond Howard, KR (Green Bay) *

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

(1996 season): ** The

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

won 52–20 over the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

to win the national championship * October 18 – Liz Heaston becomes the first woman to both play and score in a college football

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

Artistic gymnastics

* World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – ** Women's all–around champion: Svetlana Khorkina, Russian ** Women's team competition champion: Romania ** Women's vault champion: Simona Amânar, Romania ** Women's uneven bars champion: Svetlana Khorkina, Russian ** Women's balance beam champion: Gina Gogean, Romania ** Women's floor exercise champion: Gina Gogean, Romania ** Men's all-around champion: Ivan Ivankov, Belarus ** Men's team competition champion: China ** Men's vault champion: Sergei Fedorchenko, Kazakhstan ** Men's still rings champion: Yuri Chechi, Italy ** Men's floor exercise champion: Alexei Nemov, Russian ** Men's parallel bars champion: Zhang Jinjing, China ** Men's pommel horse champion: Valery Belenky, Germany ** Men's horizontal bar champion: Jani Tanskanen, Finland

Association football

* Champions League – Borussia Dortmund beat Juventus F.C. 3–1 * UEFA Cup –

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

beat

F.C. Internazionale Milano Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

– Cruzeiro Esporte Clube beat

Sporting Cristal Club Sporting Cristal S.A. is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its association football, football team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac District, Rímac district by engineer Richard Bentín Mujica ...

Athletics

* August –

1997 World Championships in Athletics The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 19 ...

held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece.

Australian football

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

join the league *** Adelaide Crows win Grand Final for the first time – downing St. Kilda on the last day in September *

Baseball

* June 12 – Interleague play begins in baseball, ending a 126-year tradition of separating the major leagues until the World Series. * World Series – Florida Marlins won 4 games to 3 over the Cleveland Indians. The Series MVP was Liván Hernández, Florida

Basketball

* NCAA Men's Basketball Championship – **

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

win 84–79 in overtime over the Kentucky Wildcats. This is Arizona's first NCAA title in men's basketball. *

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

– ** Chicago Bulls earn their second repeat of the decade as they beat the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 (see

Steve Kerr Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA champion, havi ...

). * WNBA Finals (inaugural WNBA season): **

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

defeat the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

in one game playoff series. *

National Basketball League (Australia) The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's Professional sports#Basketball, professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australasia, currently composed of 10 teams: 9 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand. It is the premier ...

Finals: **

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

defeated the South East Melbourne Magic 2–1 in the best–of–three final series.

Boxing

* January 18 – Oscar De La Hoya maintained his World Boxing Council super lightweight title in with a 12–round unanimous decision over Miguel Ángel González in Las Vegas, Nevada. * May 13 – death of

Eduard Zakharov Eduard Zakharov (russian: Эдуард Фёдорович Захаров; 10 January 1975 – 13 May 1997), with the full name Eduard Fyodorovich Zakharov, was a male boxer from Russia. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Oly ...

(22), Russian boxer * June 28 –

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...

bites off a piece of the ear of

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...

in the third round of their WBA Heavyweight title fight, getting disqualified by referee Mills Lane. * July 9 –

's boxing license is suspended for at least a year and he is fined $3 million for biting

's ear in a televised match. * October 18 to October 26 –

World Amateur Boxing Championships The IBA World Boxing Championships, and the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships (previously known as AIBA), are biennial amateur boxing competitions organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which is the sport governing body. A ...

held in

Budapest, Hungary Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...

Canadian football

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

– Toronto Argonauts won 47–23 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders * Vanier Cup – UBC Thunderbirds win 39–23 over the Ottawa Gee-Gees

Cricket

* The Ashes – Australia win the six test series 3–2 *

ICC Trophy The ICC World Cup Qualifier (previously called the ICC Trophy and officially known as the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier) is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that serves as the culmination of the Cricket World Cup qualifi ...

– Bangladesh * Women's Cricket World Cup – Australia beat New Zealand by five wickets * County Championship (England and Wales) won by

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

Cycling

* Giro d'Italia won by Ivan Gotti of Italy * Tour de France – Jan Ullrich of Germany * UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Laurent Brochard of France

Dogsled racing

* Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion ** Martin Buser won with lead dogs: ''Blondie'' & ''Fearless''

Field hockey

* Men's Champions Trophy: Germany * Women's Champions Trophy: Australia

Figure skating

* World Figure Skating Championships – ** Men's champion: Elvis Stojko, Canada ** Ladies' champion:

Tara Lipinski Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the 1998 Olympic champion, the 1997 World ...

, United States ** Pairs' champions: Mandy Wötzel & Ingo Steuer, Germany ** Ice dancing champions: Oksana Grishuk / Evgeny Platov, Russia

Floorball Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...

* Women's World Floorball Championships ** Champion:

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

** Men's champion: Fornudden IB ** Women's champion: Högdalens AIS

Gaelic Athletic Association

Camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

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

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

** All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Kerry 0–13 died Mayo 1–7 ** National Football League – Kerry 3–7 died Cork 1–8 * Ladies' Gaelic football ** All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Monaghan ** National Football League: Waterford *

Hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

–

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

0–20 died Tipperary 2–13 **

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

– Limerick 1–12 beat Galway 1–9

Golf

Men's professional *

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

– Tiger Woods * U.S. Open – Ernie Els * British Open – Justin Leonard * PGA Championship – Davis Love III * PGA Tour money leader – Tiger Woods – $2,066,833 * PGA Tour Player of the Year – Tiger Woods * PGA Tour Rookie of the Year –

Stewart Cink Stewart may refer to: People * Stewart (name), Scottish surname and given name *Clan Stewart, a Scottish clan *Clan Stewart of Appin, a Scottish clan Places Canada * Stewart, British Columbia *Stewart Township, Nipissing District, Ontario (hist ...

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

money leader – Hale Irwin – $2,343,364 *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

– Europe won 14½–13½ over the United States in team golf. * Tiger Woods creates an uproar with his record 12-shot victory at the Masters, and becomes the first Masters winner of African-American descent. He set the record for the lowest to-par score of −18, and the lowest 72-hole score of 272. He also rises to the No. 1 ranking on June 15, in only his 42nd week as a professional – the fastest ascent to the No. 1 ranking. Men's amateur * British Amateur – Craig Watson * U.S. Amateur – Matt Kuchar *

European Amateur The European Amateur Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament played at various locations throughout Europe. It is organized by the European Golf Association and was one of the "Elite" tournaments recognized by the World Amateur Golf ...

–

Didier de Voogt __NOTOC__ Didier is a French masculine given name and surname common throughout the Romance languages. It comes from the Ancient Roman names Didius and Desiderius. During the 5th century AD, with the Christianisation of ancient pagan names, it has ...

Women's professional * Nabisco Dinah Shore – Betsy King * LPGA Championship – Christa Johnson * U.S. Women's Open –

Alison Nicholas Alison Nicholas, (born 6 March 1962) is an English professional golfer. Amateur career Nicholas was born in Gibraltar. She was educated at the School of St Mary and St Anne (now Abbots Bromley School for Girls). She enjoyed a very successful a ...

* Classique du Maurier –

Colleen Walker Colleen Walker (August 16, 1956 – December 11, 2012) was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. Amateur career Walker was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She started playing golf at the age of 14. At the age of 18, she w ...

* LPGA Tour money leader – Annika Sörenstam – $1,236,789

Handball

* World Men's Handball Championship – won by Russia * World Women's Handball Championship – won by Denmark

Harness racing

* North America Cup – Gothic Dream *

Western Dreamer Western Dreamer (foaled April 25, 1994 in Georgetown, Kentucky) is an American Standardbred racehorse who won the U. S. Pacing Triple Crown in 1997. Driven by Michel Lachance, his winning time of 1:51 1/5 in the Little Brown Jug was the then fa ...

won the

United States Pacing Triple Crown races The Pacing Triple Crown is a series of three major harness races for three-year-old Standardbred pacers. It consists of the Cane Pace, the Messenger Stakes, and the Little Brown Jug. It was inaugurated in 1956, one year after the Trotting Tri ...

– *# Cane Pace –

*# Little Brown Jug –

Messenger Stakes The Messenger Stakes is an American harness racing event for 3-year-old pacing horses. It was organized in 1956 at Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York (on suburban Long Island) to join with the Cane Pace and the Little Brown Jug to create th ...

–

* United States Trotting Triple Crown races – *# Hambletonian –

Malabar Man Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline ...

*# Yonkers Trot –

Lord Stormont Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

*# Kentucky Futurity –

Take Chances A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship :''for winners of the Inter Dominion see: Inter Dominion Pacing Championship and Inter Dominion Trotting Championship'' The Inter Dominion is a harness racing competition that has been contested since 1936 in Australia and New Zealand. It is of ...

– ** Pacers: Our Sir Vancelot ** Trotters:

Pride Of Petite Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

Horse racing

* The Grand National Saturday meeting was abandoned after two coded bomb threats were received, causing evacuation of the course. The race was eventually run on the following Monday. Steeplechases * Cheltenham Gold Cup – Mr Mulligan * Grand National –

Lord Gyllene Lord Gyllene (10 November 1988 – 12 December 2016) was a New Zealand-bred racehorse whose greatest victory came in the 1997 Grand National at Aintree. He was trained by Steve Brookshaw for owner Stanley Clarke (businessman), Sir Stanley ...

Flat races * Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Might And Power * Canada – Queen's Plate won by Awesome Again * Dubai – Dubai World Cup won by

Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...

* France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Peintre Célèbre * Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Desert King * Japan – Japan Cup won by Pilsudski * English Triple Crown races: *#

2,000 Guineas Stakes The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

– Entrepreneur *# The Derby – Benny the Dip *# St. Leger Stakes –

Silver Patriarch Silver Patriarch (foaled 1994) was a racehorse, winner of the 1997 St Leger and of seven other races. He was ridden by Pat Eddery in all but three of his races. The horse was bred in Ireland, by Saddlers' Hall and out of the American horse Ear ...

* United States Triple Crown races: *#

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

– Silver Charm *# Preakness Stakes – Silver Charm *#

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

– Touch Gold * Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships: *# Breeders' Cup Classic – Skip Away *#

Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or ...

–

Ajina {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Ajina , image = , caption = , sire = Strawberry Road , grandsire = Whiskey Road , dam = Winglet , damsire = Alydar , sex = Mare , foaled = 1994 , country = United States , colour = Dark Bay , breede ...

*# Breeders' Cup Juvenile – Favorite Trick *#

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a -mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the Uni ...

–

Countess Diana Countess Diana (March 22, 1995June 2006) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. As a two-year-old in 1997, she dominated the juvenile fillies division in North America, winning five of her six races including the Schuylerville St ...

*# Breeders' Cup Mile – Spinning World *# Breeders' Cup Sprint – Elmhurst *#

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

–

Chief Bearhart Chief Bearhart (February 1, 1993 – September 18, 2012) was a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A turf specialist, he won six Sovereign Awards and was voted American Champion Male Turf Horse for 1997. Background Chief Bearheart was b ...

Ice hockey

* Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins * Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Dominik Hašek of the Buffalo Sabres *

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

–

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

win 4 games to 0 over the Philadelphia Flyers * World Hockey Championship ** Men's champion: Canada defeated Sweden ** Junior Men's champion: Finland defeated Russia ** Women's champion: Canada defeated the United States

Lacrosse

* The Rochester Knighthawks defeat the Buffalo Bandits 15–12 to win the Major Indoor Lacrosse League championship ** The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is formed from the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL), with the decision to move from league ownership of all teams to individual team ownership. * Mann Cup for the Canadian box lacrosse championship:

Victoria Shamrocks The Victoria Shamrocks are a Senior A box lacrosse team, based in Victoria, British Columbia. The team competes in the 7-team Western Lacrosse Association (WLA). The Shamrocks entered the former Inter-City Lacrosse League, which is now the WL ...

of the Western Lacrosse Association * European Lacrosse Championships – ** Men's champion: England defeats the Czech Republic ** Women's champion: England defeats Wales

Mixed martial arts

The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events during 1997 in chronological order. , - , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Event , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Alternate Name/s , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Attendance , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", PPV Buyrate , align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , February 7 , UFC 12: Judgement Day , , Dothan, Alabama, United States , 3,100 , , , -align=center , May 30 , UFC 13: Ultimate Force , , Augusta, Georgia, United States , 5,100 , , , -align=center , July 27 , UFC 14: Showdown , , Birmingham, Alabama, United States , 5,000 , , , -align=center , October 11 , Pride 1 , , Tokyo, Japan , 47,860 , , , -align=center , October 17 , UFC 15: Collision Course , ,

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Bay St. Louis is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Mississippi, in the United States. Located on the Gulf Coast on the west side of the Bay of St. Louis, it is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of ...

, United States , , , , -align=center , December 21 , UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan , UFC 15.5 , Yokohama, Japan , 5,000 , , , -align=center

Motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

Radiosport

* Eighth Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in

Sankt Englmar Sankt Englmar (''English'': Saint Englmar) is a municipality in the district of Straubing-Bogen in Bavaria, Germany. History A hermit named Engelmarus, who was born in 1060 in Lüftlhof, Passau. He was a hermit, very popular and highly esteem ...

, Germany. * Second High Speed Telegraphy World Championship held in

Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

Rowing

* McGill University Rowing Club wins the inaugural McGill-Queen's Challenge Boat Race.

Rugby league

*1 March – Townsville, Australia: The Adelaide Rams play their inaugural game, a loss to the North Queensland Cowboys 24–16 at Dairy Farmers Stadium before a crowd of 17,738. *2 March – Newcastle, Australia: The

Hunter Mariners The Hunter Mariners were an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Hunter Region's largest city, Newcastle. Hunter was formed in mid-1995 and was later disbanded at the end of 1997. The club was formed because of the Super Leagu ...

club plays its inaugural game, a 20–16 loss to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at

Topper Stadium The Gardens Greyhound & Sporting Complex is an Australian stadium located in Newcastle, New South Wales. The complex is known as Newcastle Greyhounds when it was used as a greyhound racing venue. It was the former home of the Newcastle Breakers, ...

before a crowd of 6,579. *18 May – Auckland, New Zealand: In the

1997 Oceania Cup The 1997 Oceania Cup was an international Rugby league, rugby league football tournament played in the Pacific region. The tournament was operated and contested by Super League-aligned countries during the Super League war as an alternative to the ...

's final New Zealand XIII defeat New Zealand Māori 20 – 15 at Carlaw Park. *19 May – Brisbane, Australia: In the final of the only

Super League Tri-series The Super League Tri-series was an international rugby league football tournament contested in 1997 between Queensland, New South Wales, and New Zealand representative rugby league teams. It was run by the breakaway Super League organisation as an a ...

to be played, New South Wales defeat Queensland 23–22 at ANZ Stadium before a crowd of 35,570. It sets a new record as the longest game of rugby league ever played before being decided by a field goal during extra time. *11 June – Melbourne, Australia: The 1997 State of Origin series is wrapped up in Game II by New South Wales who defeat Queensland 15–14 at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

before a crowd of 25,105. *The 1997–98 French Championship season finishes with the Villeneuve Leopards on top of the league table. *20 September – Brisbane, Australia: The

1997 Super League (Australia) season The 1997 Super League season (also known as the Telstra Cup due to sponsorship by Telstra Corporation) was a breakaway professional rugby league football competition in Australia and the only one to be run by the News Limited-controlled Super ...

's Grand Final is won by the Brisbane Broncos who defeated the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 26–8 at ANZ Stadium before a crowd of 58,912. *28 September –

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia: The

1997 ARL season The 1997 Australian Rugby League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the third season run by the Australian Rugby League. While several clubs had left the League to compete in the 1997 Super Leagu ...

's grand final is won by the Newcastle Knights who defeated the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22–16 at the

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...

before a crowd of 42,482. *12 October – Christchurch, New Zealand: The 1997 New Zealand season culminates in the Waikato Cougars 34–18 victory over the Canterbury Reds at Rugby League Park, Waikato defeated Canterbury 34–18 to win both the Challenge Cup and the Rugby League Cup. *18 October – Auckland, New Zealand: In the

1997 World Club Championship The 1997 World Club Championship was an expansion of the World Club Challenge concept by Super League. The rugby competition was restructured to include all 22 clubs from the Australasian Super League (Australia), Super League and the Super Leag ...

's final, the Brisbane Broncos defeat the

36–12 at Ericsson Stadium before a crowd of 12,000. *In the

Super League II Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer. Teams Twelve teams were ...

, on Sunday 28 September, with the final of the Premiership was won by Wigan Warriors who defeated St. Helens 33–20. At the end of the season Bradford Bulls were crowned League champions by virtue of finishing the season at the top of the table. *16 November – Leeds, England: In the third and deciding test match of the Super League Test series,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

defeat Great Britain 37–20 at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

before a crowd of 39,337.

Rugby union

* 103rd Five Nations Championship series is won by France who complete the Grand Slam

Snooker

* World Snooker Championship – Ken Doherty beats Stephen Hendry 18–12 *

World rankings A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...

– Stephen Hendry remains world number one for 1997/98

Swimming

* March 28 – Japan's Ayari Aoyama breaks

Misty Hyman Misty Dawn Marie Hyman (born March 23, 1979) is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. Hyman won the gold medal in the women's 200-meter butterfly at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. I ...

's world record in the Women's 100m Butterfly (short course): 58:24 * Third World Short Course Championships, held in

Gothenburg, Sweden Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a ...

(April 17 – 20) ** April 19 – U.S.–swimmer Jenny Thompson breaks Ayari Aoyama's world record in the Women's 100m Butterfly (short course): 57:79 ** April 20 – Australia wins the most medals (17), and the most gold medals (9) * 23rd European LC Championships, held in Seville, Spain (August 19 – 24) ** Germany wins the most medals (19), and the most gold medals (8) * XIX Summer Universiade, held on Sicily, Italy (August 24 – 30)

Taekwondo

* World Championships held in Hong Kong

Tennis

* Grand Slam in tennis men's results: *#

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

–

Pete Sampras Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

– Gustavo Kuerten *# Wimbledon championships –

*# U.S. Open – Patrick Rafter * Grand Slam in tennis women's results: *#

– Martina Hingis *#

– Iva Majoli *# Wimbledon championships – Martina Hingis *# U.S. Open – Martina Hingis *

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

– Sweden won 5–0 over the United States in world tennis.

Volleyball

* Men's World League: Italy * Women's World Grand Prix: Russia * Men's European Championship: Netherlands * Women's European Championship: Russia

Water polo

* Men's World Cup: USA * Men's European Championship: Hungary * Women's European Championship: Italy

Multi-sport events

* Second East Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea *

8th Pan Arab Games The 8th Arab Games were held in Beirut, Lebanon between July 12 and July 27, 1997. 3253 athletes from 18 countries participated in events in 22 sports. Over 50,000 people gathered in the Sports City in Beirut for the opening ceremony of the eig ...

held in

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of ...

* Fifth World Games held in Lahti, Finland * 13th

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

held in Bari, Italy * 19th Summer Universiade held on Sicily, Italy * 19th SEA Games held on

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, Indonesia * 18th Winter Universiade held in Muju County, South Korea

Awards

* Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Tiger Woods,

PGA golf PGA is an acronym or initialism that may stand for: Aviation * IATA code for Page Municipal Airport, Coconino County, Arizona * ICAO designator for Portugália, regional airline based in Lisbon, Portugal * Abbreviation for Prince George Airpo ...

Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award ...

– Martina Hingis, Tennis

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997 In Sports Sports by year