1997 in sports explained
1997 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
Alpine skiing
American football
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
See main article: 1997 in association football.
Athletics
Australian football
Baseball
See main article: 1997 in baseball.
Basketball
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 (22), Russian boxer
- June 28 – Mike Tyson bites off a piece of the ear of Evander Holyfield in the third round of their WBA Heavyweight title fight, getting disqualified by referee Mills Lane.
- July 9 – Mike Tyson's boxing license is suspended for at least a year and he is fined $3 million for biting Evander Holyfield's ear in a televised match.
- October 18 to October 26 – World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Budapest, Hungary
Canadian football
Cricket
Cycling
Dogsled racing
Figure skating
Gaelic Athletic Association
Golf
Men's professional
Men's amateur
Women's professional
Handball
Harness racing
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
Flat races
Ice hockey
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, United States||||-align=center|December 21|UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan|UFC 15.5| Yokohama, Japan|5,000|||-align=center
See also: 1997 in Pancrase.
See main article: 1997 in motorsport and List of 1997 motorsport champions.
Radiosport
Rowing
Rugby league
See main article: 1997 in 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 club plays its inaugural game, a 20–16 loss to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Topper Stadium before a crowd of 6,579.
- 18 May – Auckland, New Zealand: In the 1997 Oceania Cup'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 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 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'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, Australia: The 1997 ARL season's grand final is won by the Newcastle Knights who defeated the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22–16 at the Sydney Football Stadium 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's final, the Brisbane Broncos defeat the Hunter Mariners 36–12 at Ericsson Stadium before a crowd of 12,000.
- In the Super League II, 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 defeat Great Britain 37–20 at Elland Road before a crowd of 39,337.
Rugby union
Snooker
Swimming
Taekwondo
Tennis
Volleyball
Awards
Notes and References
- Web site: Epsom Derby History, Winners, & Facts Britannica . www.britannica.com . 4 January 2022 . en.