2003 in sports

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Years in sports

2003 in sports

2003 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiing[]

  • Alpine Skiing World Cup
    • Men's overall season championship: Stephan Eberharter, Austria
    • Women's overall season championship: Janica Kostelić, Croatia

American football[]

  • Super Bowl XXXVII – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFC) won 48–21 over the Oakland Raiders (AFC)
    • Location: San Diego Stadium
    • Attendance: 67,603
    • MVP: Dexter Jackson, S (Tampa Bay)
  • Fiesta Bowl (2002 season):
    • The Ohio State Buckeyes won 31-24 over the Miami Hurricanes (double overtime) to win BCS National Championship
  • September 14 – Jamal Lewis sets NFL single game record for rushing yards (295) helping Baltimore Ravens beat Cleveland Browns 33-13.

Artistic gymnastics[]

Association football[]

Main article: 2003 in association football
  • Confederations Cup – host nation France wins a tournament marred by tragedy after Cameroon player Marc-Vivien Foé collapsed and died during a semifinal match.
  • UEFA Champions League – AC Milan wins 3-2 on penalties over Juventus, after a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford. This was AC Milan’s 6th European Cup.
  • UEFA Cup – FC Porto wins 3-2 in the final against Celtic, after extra time, with a silver goal by Derlei. This is Porto’s first UEFA Cup title.
  • European Super Cup – AC Milan beats FC Porto 1-0, winning the cup for the fourth time.
  • Intercontinental Cup – Boca Juniors win 3-1 on penalties over AC Milan, after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time. This is Boca Juniors’ third cup.
  • Women's World Cup – Germany wins the final against Sweden 2-1 after extra time.

Athletics[]

Main article: 2003 in athletics (track and field)
  • 23–31 August – 2003 World Championships in Athletics held in Paris

Australian rules football[]

  • Australian Football League
    • The Brisbane Lions win the 107th AFL premiership by defeating Collingwood 20.14 (134) to 12.12 (84) in the 2003 AFL Grand Final. The Lions’ win gives them the first premiership “hat-trick” since Melbourne in 1955, 1956 and 1957.
    • Brownlow Medal awarded to Nathan Buckley (Collingwood), Adam Goodes (Sydney Swans) and Mark Ricciuto (Adelaide Crows)
    • Leigh Matthews Trophy awarded to Michael Voss (Brisbane Lions)
  • West Australian Football League:
    • August 10: On a rainswept Arena Joondalup, East Perth score only 0.9 (9) against deadly rivals West Perth. It is the first goalless score in WAFL/WANFL/Westar Rules football since West Perth themselves kicked 0.10 (10) against soon-to-be-defunct Midland Junction in May 1916.[1]

Baseball[]

Main article: 2003 in baseball
  • April 4 – Sammy Sosa hits his 500th career home run off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Scott Sullivan in the seventh inning at Great American Ball Park, becoming only the eighteenth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 or more home runs, as well as the first Hispanic to do so.
  • May 5 – Matt Stairs’ home run off Houston Astros pitcher Wade Miller was estimated at 461 feet, making it the longest home run in the history of Minute Maid Park.
  • May 11 – Rafael Palmeiro hit his 500th career home run off Cleveland Indians pitcher David Elder becoming only the 19th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 or more home runs.
  • June 11 – Houston Astro pitcher Roy Oswalt started a no-hitter against the New York Yankees on June 11. Oswalt left after one inning, and five more Astros continued to no-hit the Yankees. Peter Munro pitched 2? innings, Kirk Saarloos pitched 1? innings, Brad Lidge pitched two innings, Octavio Dotel pitched one inning in which he recorded four strikeouts and Billy Wagner pitched a perfect ninth to close out a six-pitcher no-hitter that resulted in 13 strikeouts and an 8-0 victory over the Yankees.
  • June 13 – New York Yankee Roger Clemens becomes the 21st pitcher in history to win 300 games and only the 3rd pitcher to record 4,000 career strikeouts as he defeats the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2.
  • July 29 – Bill Mueller becomes the only player in major league history to hit two grand slams in a single game from opposite sides of the plate. He in fact hit three home runs in that game, and the two grand slams were in consecutive at-bats.
  • 2003 World Series – The Florida Marlins win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees.

Basketball[]

Main article: 2003 in basketball
  • NBA Finals – The San Antonio Spurs win their second NBA title, defeating the New Jersey Nets 4 games to 2. Tim Duncan, who nearly scores a quadruple-double in the deciding Game 6, is named Finals MVP.
  • NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
    • Syracuse Orange win 81-78 over the Kansas Jayhawks
  • December 13 – The largest crowd in the sport's history, 78,129, packed Ford Field in Detroit to watch Michigan State and Kentucky. Kentucky wins 79-74.*
  • NCAA Women's Basketball Championship –
    • UConn Huskies win 73-68 over the Tennessee Lady Vols
  • WNBA Finals – Detroit Shock win 2 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Sparks, winning the franchise's first title, and marking the first time an Eastern conference team is WNBA world champions.
  • Chinese Basketball Association finals: Bayi Rockets defeat Guangdong Southern Tigers, 3 games to 1.
  • National Basketball League (Australia) Finals: Sydney Kings defeated the Perth Wildcats 2-0 in best-of-three final series.

Boxing[]

Canadian football[]

Cricket[]

  • The Ashes – Australia defeats England 4-1
  • May – West Indies defeats Australia by scoring a world record 418 runs in the fourth innings
  • 2003 Cricket World Cup – Australia defeats India in the final by 125 runs
  • Domestic competitions
    • County Championship (England and Wales) – Sussex CCC
    • Sheffield Shield (Australia) – New South Wales
    • First Twenty20 Cup series held in England and won by Surrey CCC

Curling[]

  • 2003 Ford World Curling Championship
    • Women's Final: (April 12) United States (Debbie McCormick) 5-3 Canada (Colleen Jones)
    • Men's Final: (April 13) Canada (Randy Ferbey) 10-6 Switzerland (Ralph Stöckli)

Cycle racing[]

Road bicycle racing

Cyclo-cross

Dogsled racing[]

  • Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion

Field hockey[]

Figure skating[]

  • World Figure Skating Championships –
    • Men's champion: Evgeni Plushenko, Russia
    • Ladies’ champion: Michelle Kwan, United States
    • Pair skating champions: Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, China
    • Ice dancing champions: Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, Canada

Gaelic Athletic Association[]

Gliding[]

  • World Gliding Championships, Leszno, Poland
    • Open Class Winner: Holger Karow, Germany; Glider: Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4
    • 18-metre Class Winner: Wolfgang Janowitsch, Austria; Glider: Schempp-Hirth Ventus-2
    • 15-metre Class Winner: John Coutts, New Zealand; Glider: Alexander Schleicher ASW 27
    • Standard Class Winner: Andrew Davis, UK; Glider: Schempp-Hirth Discus 2
  • World Gliding Championships, Nitra, Slovakia
    • World Class Winner: Sebastian Kawa, Poland; Glider: PZL PW-5

Golf[]

Men's professional

  • Major championship results:
    • Masters Tournament – Mike Weir becomes the first Canadian and the first left-handed golfer to win The Masters. He defeats Len Mattiace on the first playoff hole.
    • U.S. Open – Jim Furyk. Tournament takes place at Olympia Fields, and Furyk wins his first major by 3 shots.
    • British Open – Ben Curtis, an outsider, wins by a single shot from Thomas Björn and Vijay Singh at Royal St. George's.
    • PGA Championship – Shaun Micheel, another outside, wins by 2 shots at Oak Hill Country Club.

Men's amateur

Women's professional

Handball[]

Harness racing[]

Horse racing[]

Steeplechases

  • Cheltenham Gold Cup – Best Mate
  • Grand National – Monty's Pass

Hurdle races

Flat races

Ice hockey[]

Lacrosse[]

Mixed martial arts[]

The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events during 2003 in chronological order.

Date Event Alternate Name/s Location Attendance PPV Buyrate Notes
February 28 UFC 41: Onslaught N/A United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, US 13,401 60,000 This event marked the return of Tank Abbott to the UFC. This was Abbott's first fight since October 1998.
March 16 Pride 25: Body Blow N/A Japan Yokohama, Japan N/A N/A N/A
March 27 WEC 6: Return of a Legend N/A United States Lemoore, California, US N/A N/A This event is noted for the return of Frank Shamrock in his first fight since retiring. Shamrock had not fought since December 2000.
April 25 UFC 42: Sudden Impact N/A United States Miami, Florida, US 6,700 35,000 N/A
June 6 UFC 43: Meltdown N/A United States Paradise, Nevada, US 9,800 49,000 UFC rule change, in the event of a stoppage fights restart in the position the fight was stopped.
June 8 Pride 26: Bad to the Bone Pride 26: Reborn Japan Yokohama, Japan N/A N/A N/A
August 10 Pride Total Elimination 2003 N/A Japan Saitama, Japan 40,316 N/A Quarterfinals to Pride GP 2003 middleweight tournament.
September 26 UFC 44: Undisputed N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, US 10,400 94,000 N/A
October 5 Pride Bushido 1 N/A Japan Saitama, Japan N/A N/A N/A
October 10 N/A United States Honolulu, Hawaii, US N/A N/A N/A
November 9 Pride Final Conflict 2003 N/A Japan Tokyo, Japan 67,450 N/A Present record holder for the highest attendance of a strictly MMA event.
Semifinals and final to Pride GP 2003 middleweight tournament.
Wanderlei Silva becomes the Pride 2003 middleweight Grand Prix champion.
November 21 UFC 45: Revolution N/A United States Uncasville, Connecticut, US 9,200 40,000 N/A
December 31 Pride Shockwave 2003 N/A Japan Saitama, Japan 39,716 N/A Gary Goodridge announced he would retire from Pride FC at this event.
December 31 K-1 PREMIUM 2003 Dynamite!! N/A Japan Nagoya, Japan 43,560 N/A Event featured six K-1 MMA bouts and four K-1 kickboxing bouts.

Motorsport[]

Main articles: 2003 in motorsport and List of 2003 motorsport champions

Radiosport[]

  • Fifth High Speed Telegraphy World Championship held in Minsk, Belarus.

Rugby league[]

Main article:

Rugby union[]

Main article:
  • 109th Six Nations Championship series is won by England who complete the Grand Slam
  • Bledisloe Cup – New Zealand All Blacks defeats the Wallabies 2 matches to 0 in a two-match series
  • Heineken Cup – Toulouse defeats Perpignan 22–17
  • Rugby World Cup – England defeats Australia 20–17 after extra time
  • Tri Nations Series – New Zealand

Show jumping[]

Snooker[]

  • World Snooker Championship – Mark Williams beats Ken Doherty 18-16
  • World rankings – Mark Williams becomes world number one for 2003/04

Swimming[]

Tennis[]

Main article: 2003 in tennis
  • Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
    • Australian Open – Andre Agassi defeats Rainer Schüttler, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.
    • French Open – Juan Carlos Ferrero defeats Martin Verkerk, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
    • Wimbledon championships – Roger Federer defeats Mark Philippoussis, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6.
    • US Open – Andy Roddick defeats Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.
  • Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
    • Australian Open – Serena Williams defeats Venus Williams, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4.
    • French Open – Justine Henin-Hardenne defeats Kim Clijsters, 6-0, 6-4.
    • Wimbledon championships – Serena Williams defeats Venus Williams, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
    • US Open – Justine Henin-Hardenne defeats Kim Clijsters, 7-5, 6-1.
  • Pete Sampras retires, aged 32 on August 25

Volleyball[]

Water polo[]

Weightlifting[]

Yacht racing[]

  • Switzerland becomes the first landlocked country to win the America's Cup as Alinghi, from the Société Nautique de Genève, beats defender Team New Zealand, of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, 5 races to 0

Multi-sport events[]

  • 14th Pan American Games held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
    • United States tops the medal table with a total number of 270 medals, including 117 golds.
  • 8th All-Africa Games held in Abuja, Nigeria
    • Egypt tops the medal table with a total number of 214 medals, including 80 golds.
  • Fifth Winter Asian Games held in Aomori, Japan
    • Japan tops the medal table with a total number of 67 medals, including 24 golds.
  • First Afro-Asian Games held in Hyderabad, India
    • China tops the medal table with a total number of 41 medals, including 25 golds.
  • XXII Summer Universiade held in Daegu, South Korea
    • China tops the medal table with a total number of 80 medals, including 41 golds.
  • 21st Winter Universiade held in Tarvisio, Italy
    • Russia tops the medal table with a total number of 31 medals, including 11 golds.
  • 12th South Pacific Games held in Suva, Fiji

Awards[]

  • Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Lance Armstrong, Cycling
  • Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Annika Sörenstam, LPGA golf

References[]

  1. ^ See AFL: Round 19, 2003 Archived 2013-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
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