2002

Auto Racing

 * Stock car racing:
 * Ward Burton wins the Daytona 500
 * NASCAR Championship - Tony Stewart
 * Indy Racing League - Sam Hornish Jr. wins the season championship.
 * Indianapolis 500 - Hélio Castroneves
 * |CART Racing - Cristiano da Matta wins the season championship.
 * Formula One Championship - Michael Schumacher of Germany
 * 24 hours of Le Mans won by the team of Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen, and Emanuele Pirro driving an Audi R8.
 * V8 Supercar
 * Bathurst 1000 won by Mark Skaife and Jim Richards.
 * Championship won by Mark Skaife, from Greg Murphy and Marcos Ambrose.
 * Rally racing:
 * the team of Tommi Mäkinen / Kaj Lindstrom wins the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Subaru Impreza WRC
 * Marcus Grönholm of Finland wins the World Rally Championship.
 * Drag racing - Larry Dixon Jr. wins the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.

Baseball

 * 2002 World Series: Anaheim Angels win 4 games to 3 over the San Francisco Giants


 * Books published:
 * Bill James, Win Shares: Presenting the sabermetrician's new system for evaluating player performance.

See also
 * 2002 in baseball

Basketball

 * NBA Finals:
 * Los Angeles Lakers sweep the New Jersey Nets to win their third straight NBA title. Shaquille O'Neal wins his third straight NBA Finals MVP award, and coach Phil Jackson wins his ninth title, and his third three-peat.


 * NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
 * Maryland Terrapins win 64-52 over the Indiana Hoosiers


 * January 20 - Michael Jordan, now of the Washington Wizards, plays his first game in Chicago since rejoining the NBA. The Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls, 77-69.


 * WNBA Finals
 * Los Angeles Sparks win 2 games to 0 over the New York Liberty


 * FIBA World Championship
 * Yugoslavia World Champion*

Chinese Basketball Association finals:
 * Yao Ming and his Shanghai Sharks teammates defeat Bayi Rockets, 3 games to 1, snapping a string of six consecutive Bayi championships.

Boxing

 * June 21- Lennox Lewis retains boxing's WBC world Heavyweight crown with an eight round knockout over Mike Tyson

Cricket

 * New Zealand are forced to abandon their tour of Pakistan after a bomb explodes outside their hotel in Karachi
 * Domestic competitions
 * County Championship (England and Wales) - Surrey

Cycling

 * Giro d'Italia won by Paolo Savoldelli of Italy
 * Tour de France - Lance Armstrong of the United States
 * World Cycling Championship: Mario Cipollini, of Italy

Dogsled racing

 * Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
 * Martin Buser wins with lead dog Bronson

World Competitions

 * Men's World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
 * Gold Medal: Germany
 * Silver Medal: Australia
 * Bronze Medal: The Netherlands


 * Commonwealth Games (Men's Competition) in Manchester, England
 * Gold Medal: Australia
 * Silver Medal: New Zealand
 * Bronze Medal: Pakistan


 * Men's Champions Trophy in Cologne, Germany
 * Gold Medal: The Netherlands
 * Silver Medal: Germany
 * Bronze Medal: Pakistan


 * Women's Champions Challenge in Johannesburg, South Africa
 * Gold Medal: England
 * Silver Medal: South Korea
 * Bronze Medal: India


 * Commonwealth Games (Women's Competition) in Manchester, England
 * Gold Medal: India
 * Silver Medal: England
 * Bronze Medal: Australia


 * Women's Champions Trophy in Macau, China
 * Gold Medal: China
 * Silver Medal: Argentina
 * Bronze Medal: The Netherlands


 * Women's World Cup in Perth, Australia
 * Gold Medal: Argentina
 * Silver Medal: The Netherlands
 * Bronze Medal: China

Regional Competitions

 * Asian Games (Men's Competition) in Busan, South Korea
 * Gold Medal: South Korea
 * Silver Medal: India
 * Bronze Medal: Malaysia


 * Asian Games (Women's Competition) in Busan, South Korea
 * Gold Medal: China
 * Silver Medal: South Korea
 * Bronze Medal: Japan

Figure Skating

 * World Figure Skating Championships:
 * Men's champion: Alexei Yagudin, Russia
 * Women's champion: Irina Slutskaya, Russia
 * Pairs champions: Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao, China
 * Ice Dance champions: Irina Lobacheva & Ilia Averbukh, Russia

Football (American)

 * Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots win 20-17 over the St. Louis Rams


 * Arena Bowl XVI: San Jose SaberCats win 52-14 over the Arizona Rattlers

Football (Australian Rules)

 * Australian Football League
 * The Brisbane Lions win the 106th AFL premiership (Brisbane Lions 10.15 (75) d Collingwood 9.12 (66))
 * Brownlow Medal awarded to Simon Black (Brisbane Lions)
 * See also Australian Football League season 2002

Football (Canadian)

 * Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes win 25-16 over the Edmonton Eskimos
 * Vanier Cup: Saint Mary's Huskies win 39-23 over the Saskatchewan Huskies

Football (Soccer)

 * The Football World Cup 2002 is held from May 31 to June 30 in South Korea and Japan. Brazil wins its fifth title, defeating Germany 2 - 0 in the final. Surprisingly, Turkey and host nation South Korea take 3rd and 4th. This is the first time a World Cup is held in Asia and by two countries simultaneously.
 * Champions' League: Real Madrid beats Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in the final. This was Real Madrid's 9th European Cup.
 * UEFA Cup: Feyenoord wins 3-2 in the final against Borussia Dortmund, winning the cup for the second time.
 * European Super Cup: Real Madrid wins 3-1 over Feyenoord, winning the cup for the first time.
 * Intercontinental Cup: Real Madrid beats Olimpia Asunción 2-0, winning the cup for the third time.

For fuller coverage, see: 2002 in football (soccer)

Gaelic Athletic Association

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


 * Gaelic football
 * All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Armagh 1-12 d. Kerry 0-14
 * National Football League: Tyrone 0-15 d. Cavan 0-7


 * Ladies' Gaelic football
 * All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Mayo
 * National Football League: Waterford


 * Hurling
 * All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Kilkenny 2-20 d. Clare 0-19
 * National Hurling League:

Golf
Men's Golf
 * Major Championship results:
 * May: The Masters - Tiger Woods
 * June: US Open - Tiger Woods
 * July: British Open - Ernie Els
 * August: PGA Championship - Rich Beem


 * Tiger Woods is the PGA TOUR's leading money winner for the year with earnings of $6,912,625 in 18 events.
 * Hale Irwin is the leading money winner on the PGA Champions Tour with earnings of $$3,028,304 in 27 events.
 * At the Belfry golf course in Sutton Coldfield, England, the European team defeats the United States team 15.5-12.5 to win the Ryder Cup.

Women's Golf
 * Kraft Nabisco Championship -
 * US Women's Open - Juli Inkster
 * LPGA Championship - Pak Se Ri
 * Women's British Open - Karrie Webb
 * Annika Sörenstam: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $2,863,904

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

 * Australia - Melbourne Cup won by Media Puzzle
 * Canada - Queen's Plate won by T J's Lucky Moon
 * France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Marienbard
 * Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - High Chaparral


 * English Triple Crown Races:
 * Two Thousand Guineas Stakes won by Rock of Gibraltar
 * Epsom Derby won by High Chaparral
 * St. Leger Stakes won by Bollin Eric


 * United States Triple Crown Races:
 * Kentucky Derby won by War Emblem
 * Preakness Stakes won by War Emblem
 * Belmont Stakes won by Sarav


 * Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships:
 * Breeders' Cup Classic won by Volponi
 * Breeders' Cup Distaff won by Azeri
 * Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf won by Starine
 * Breeders' Cup Juvenile won by Vindication
 * Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies won by Storm Flag Flying
 * Breeders' Cup Mile won by Domedriver
 * Breeders' Cup Sprint won by Oriente
 * Breeders' Cup Turf won by High Chaparral

Harness Racing

 * North America Cup - Red River Hanover


 * United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
 * Cane Pace won by Art Major
 * Little Brown Jug won by Million Dollar Cam
 * Messenger Stakes won by Allamerican Ingot


 * United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
 * Hambletonian won by Chip Chip Hooray
 * Yonkers Trot won by Bubba Dunn
 * Kentucky Futurity won by Like a Prayer


 * Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
 * Pacers: Smooth Satin
 * Trotters: Game Bid

Ice Hockey

 * Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames


 * Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player:
 * Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens


 * Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings win 4 games to 1 over the Carolina Hurricanes


 * World Hockey Championship
 * Men's champion: Slovakia defeats Russia
 * Junior Men's champion: Russia defeats Canada
 * Women's champion: no tournament


 * Canada defeats the United States 5-2 to win the men's Olympic Gold Medal.


 * Canada defeats the United States 3-2 to win the women's Olympic Gold Medal.

Lacrosse

 * Baltimore Bayhawks win the Major League Lacrosse championship over Long Island Lizards
 * The 9th World Lacrosse Championship is held in Perth, Australia. The United States win and Canada is the runner-up.

Orienteering

 * First Mountain Bike Orienteering World Championships are held July 2-7 in Fontainebleau, France.

Radiosport

 * The fourth World Radiosport Team Championship held in Helsinki, Finland. Gold medals go to Jeff Steinman N5TJ and Dan Street K1TO of the United States, the team's third victory in a row.
 * Eleventh Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in Tatranske Matliare, Slovakia.

Rugby Union

 * Six Nations - France (Grand Slam)
 * Tri Nations - New Zealand
 * Heineken Cup - Leicester Tigers beat Munster 15-9

Skiing

 * Alpine Skiing
 * The men's overall season champion: Stephan Eberharter, Austria
 * The women's overall season champion: Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria

Snooker

 * World Snooker Championship: Peter Ebdon beats Stephen Hendry 18-17
 * World rankings: Ronnie O'Sullivan becomes world number one for 2002/03

Tennis

 * Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
 * Australian Open - Thomas Johansson
 * French Open - Albert Costa
 * Wimbledon championships - Lleyton Hewitt
 * US Open - Pete Sampras


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


 * At the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, in Paris, France, Russia defeats France 3-2 to win the Davis Cup of world tennis.

General sporting events

 * 2002 Winter Olympics takes place in Salt Lake City, United States
 * Norway wins the most medals (25), and the most gold medals (13)
 * Top performers include Janica Kostelic, Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Simon Ammann
 * A scandal in figure skating dominates the news


 * Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea


 * Sixth Gay Games held in Sydney, Australia

Deaths

 * January 16 &mdash; Bobo Olson, American boxer
 * March 23 &mdash; Ben Hollioake, English cricket player
 * April 16 &mdash; Franz Krienbühl, Swiss speed skater
 * April 21 &mdash; Verné Lesche (84), Finnish ice speed skater (b. 1917)
 * May 13 &mdash; Valeri Lobanovsky, Ukrainian football (soccer) player and manager
 * May 23 &mdash; Sam Snead, U.S. golf player
 * May 26 &mdash; Mamo Wolde (69), Ethiopian runner (b. 1932)
 * June 1 &mdash; Hansie Cronje, South African cricket player
 * June 17 &mdash; Willie Davenport, U.S. hurdler
 * June 20 &mdash; Tinus Osendarp, Dutch sprinter
 * June 22 &mdash; Pedro Alcazar, Panamanian boxer
 * June 22 &mdash; Darryl Kile, Major League Baseball pitcher
 * July 5 &mdash; Ted Williams, U.S. baseball player (1939-1960)
 * August 5 &mdash; Darrell Porter, U.S. baseball player (1971-1987)
 * August 12 &mdash; Enos Slaughter, Major League Baseball player (1938-1959)
 * August 23 &mdash; Hoyt Wilhelm, Major League Baseball knuckleballer (1952-1972)
 * September 11 &mdash; Johnny Unitas, U.S. American football player
 * September 18 &mdash; Bob Hayes, U.S. sprinter and American football player
 * October 12 &mdash; Audrey Mestre, Free-diving world record holder
 * October 17 &mdash; Aileen Riggin (96), American swimmer and diver
 * October 20 &mdash; Mel Harder, Major League Baseball player
 * November 18 &mdash; Kim Gallagher (38), American athlete (b. 1964)
 * December 1 &mdash; Dave McNally, Major League Baseball pitcher