1981 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st century

yp1=1978
yp2=1979
yp3=1980
year=1981
ya1=1982
ya2=1983
ya3=1984
dp3=1950s
dp2=1960s
dp1=1970s
d=1980s
da=0
dn1=1990s
dn2=2000s
dn3=2010s|

Artistic Gymnastics

*World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
**Men's all-around champion: Yuri Korolev, USSR
**Women's all-around champion: Olga Bicherova, USSR
**Men's team competition champion: USSR
**Women's team competition champion: USSR

Athletics

:"For an extensive coverage see 1981 in athletics (track and field)"

Marathon

* May 9 — flagicon|NED Amsterdam Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Ferenc Szekeres (HUN) 2:18:11
**Women's Winner: Marja Wokke (NED) 2:43:38

* May 23 — flagicon|NED Rotterdam Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: John Graham (GBR) 2:09:28
**Women's Winner: Marja Wokke (NED) 2:43:23

* July 11 — flagicon|NED Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Cor Vriend (NED) 2:15:54
**Women's Winner: Jane Wipf (USA) 2:38:21

* December 6 — flagicon|JPN Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
**Men's Winner: Robert de Castella (AUS) 2:08:18

=Auto Racing=

*Stock car racing:
**NASCAR Championship - Darrell Waltrip
**Richard Petty won the Daytona 500
*CART Racing - Rick Mears won the season championship
**May 25 - Indianapolis 500 - Bobby Unser
*Formula One Champion - Nelson Piquet of Brazil
*24 hours of Le Mans:
**teammates Jacky Ickx / Derek Bell won, driving a Porsche 936
*Rally racing - Ari Vatanen in a Ford won the World Rally Championship
**the team of Jean Ragnotti / Jean-Marc Andrie won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Renault 5 Turbo
*Drag racing: Gary Beck won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals

Baseball

* For a Venezuelans baseball player's strike the Caribbean World Series of this year is cancelled.
* January 15 - In his first year of eligibility, former Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gibson won 20 games five times, struck out 3,117 batters, and captured the Cy Young Award and MVP in 1968 with a 1.12 ERA. Players falling short of the 301 votes needed for election include Don Drysdale (243), Gil Hodges (241), Harmon Killebrew (239), Hoyt Wilhelm (238), and Juan Marichal (233). All except Hodges would subsequently gain election.
* April 18 - An International League game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the visiting Rochester Red Wings set the record for the most innings ever played in a single professional baseball game, at 33 innings (24 extra innings). The game was suspended after 32 innings on the morning of April 19, and was concluded on June 23 with a 3-2 Pawtucket victory.
* June 12 - Major League Baseball players begin a 49 day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.
*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees. The Series MVP is a tie between Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager, Los Angeles

Basketball

*NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
**Indiana wins 63-50 over North Carolina

*NBA Finals:
**Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Houston Rockets

*National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
**Launceston Casino City defeated the Nunawading Spectres 75-54 in the final.

Boxing

*April 11: Larry Holmes defeats Trevor Berbick by a unanimous decision to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

*August 21: Salvador Sanchez defeats Wilfredo Gómez by knockout in round eight to retain boxing's WBC world Featherweight title.(see: The Battle of the Little Giants)

* September 16: Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Thomas Hearns by knockout in round 14 to unify boxing's world Welterweight title.

*October 3: Mike Weaver defeats James (Quick) Tillis by a unanimous decision to retain the WBA/World Boxing Association heavyweight title.

Cycling

*Giro d'Italia won by Giovanni Battaglin of Italy
*Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
*1981 - Freddy Maertens, (Belgium)

Dogsled racing

*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
**Rick Swenson won with lead dogs: "Andy" & "Slick"

Field Hockey

* Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
** Gold Medal: Soviet Union
** Silver Medal: Malaysia
** Bronze Medal: New Zealand

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

* Women's World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina
** Gold Medal: West Germany
** Silver Medal: The Netherlands
** Bronze Medal: Soviet Union

* March 21 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England beat Wales 2-1.

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, United States
**Ladies' champion: Denise Biellmann, Switzerland
**Pair skating champions: Irina Vorobeva & Igor Lisovski, Soviet Union
**Ice dancing champions: Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean, Great Britain

=Football (American)=

*January 25 - Super Bowl XV: Oakland Raiders won 27-10 over the Philadelphia Eagles
*October 11 - LeRoy Irvin sets NFL record for most punt return yards in a game (207).

Football (Australian rules football)

* Victorian Football League
** Carlton wins the 85th VFL Premiership (Carlton 12.20 (92) d Collingwood 10.12 (72))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Barry Round (South Melbourne) and Bernie Quinlan (Fitzroy)
** At the end of the season, South Melbourne relocates to Sydney and is renamed the Sydney Swans.

=Football (Canadian)=

* Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 26-23 over the Ottawa Rough Riders
* Vanier Cup: Acadia Axemen won 18-12 over the Alberta Golden Bears

Football (Soccer)

::"For an extensive coverage see 1981 in football (soccer)"
*UEFA Champions League: Liverpool FC 1-0 Real Madrid
*UEFA Cup: Two legs. 1st leg Ipswich Town F.C. 3-0 AZ '67 (Alkmaar); 2nd leg AZ '67 4-2 Ipswich Town. Ipswich Town won 5-4 on aggregate
*Cup Winners' Cup: Dynamo Tbilisi 2-1 Carl Zeiss Jena
*Copa Libertadores de América: Flamengo 2-0 Cobreloa
*World Club Championship: Flamengo 3-0 Liverpool FC
*League champions
**Argentina: Boca Juniors
**Brazil: Grêmio
**France: Saint-Étienne
**England: Aston Villa
**Italy: Juventus
**Netherlands: Ajax
**Portugal: Benfica
**Scotland: Celtic
**Spain: Real Sociedad
**West Germany: Bayern Munich
**United States/Canada: Chicago Sting
*England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 3-2 over Manchester City

Gaelic Athletic Association

*Camogie
**All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
**National Camogie League: Dublin

*Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 1-12 d. Offaly 0-8
**National Football League: Galway 1-11 d. Roscommon 1-3

*Ladies' Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry 1-12 d. Offaly 0-8
**National Football League: Galway 1-11 d. Roscommon 1-3

*Hurling
**All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Offaly 2-12 d. Galway 0-15
**National Hurling League: Cork 3-11 d. Offaly 2-8

Golf

Men's professional
*April 9-12 - Masters Tournament - Tom Watson
*June 18-21 - U.S. Open - David Graham
*July 16-19 - British Open - Bill Rogers
*August 6-9 - PGA Championship - Larry Nelson
*PGA Tour money leader - Tom Kite - $375,699
*Senior PGA Tour money leader - Miller Barber - $83,136
*Ryder Cup - United States won 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 over Europe in team golf.Men's amateur
*British Amateur - Phillipe Ploujoux
*U.S. Amateur - Nathaniel CrosbyWomen's professional
*LPGA Championship - Donna Caponi
*U.S. Women's Open - Pat Bradley
*Classique Peter Jackson Classic - Jan Stephenson
*LPGA Tour money leader - Beth Daniel - $206,998

=Thoroughbred Horse Racing=

*August 30 - John Henry becomes the first horse to win a million dollar race, the Inaugural Arlington Million, at Arlington Park in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois.

*Australia - Melbourne Cup - Just a Dash
*Canada - Queen's Plate - Fiddle Dancer Boy
*France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Gold River
*Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shergar

*English Triple Crown Races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - To-Agori-Mou
*#Epsom Derby - Shergar
*#St. Leger Stakes - Cut Above

*United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 2 - Kentucky Derby - Pleasant Colony
*#Preakness Stakes - Pleasant Colony
*#Belmont Stakes - Summing

=Harness Racing=

*United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace - Wildwood Jeb
*#Little Brown Jug - Fan Hanover (Filly)
*#Messenger Stakes - Seahawk Hanover

*United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian - Shiaway St. Pat
*#Yonkers Trot - Mo Bandy
*#Kentucky Futurity - Filet of Sole

*Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
**Pacers: San Simeon

Ice Hockey

*Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers

*Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers

*Stanley Cup - New York Islanders win 4 games to 1 over the Minnesota North Stars

*World Hockey Championship
** Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
** Junior Men's champion: Sweden defeated Finland

Rugby union

*The 1981 Springbok Tour caused major controversy and riots in New Zealand.

Skiing

*Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, USA
**The women's overall season champion: Marie-Theres Nadig, Switzerland

Snooker

*World Snooker Championship: Steve Davis beats Doug Mountjoy 18-12
*World rankings: Cliff Thorburn becomes world number one for 1981/82

Swimming

Records

* August 15 — USA's Robin Leamy of UCLA sets a world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, shaving off 0.17 of the previous record (22.71) set by Joseph Bottom exactly one year ago in Honolulu, Hawaii: 22.54.

Tennis

*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open - Johan Kriek
*#French Open - Björn Borg
*#Wimbledon championships - John McEnroe
*#US Open - John McEnroe

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open - Martina Navratilova
*#French Open - Hana Mandlikova
*#Wimbledon championships - Chris Evert
*#US Open - Tracy Austin

*Davis Cup: United States wins 3-1 over Argentina in world tennis.

Volleyball

*European Championship in Bulgaria
**Men's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vb|URS
***Silver Medal: vb|POL
***Bronze Medal: vb|BUL|1971
**Women's Tournament
***Gold Medal: vbw|BUL|1971
***Silver Medal: vbw|URS
***Bronze Medal: vbw|HUN|1957

Water polo

Men's Competition

* FINA World Cup in Long Beach, United States
** Gold Medal: wp|URS
** Silver Medal: wp|YUG
** Bronze Medal: wp|CUB

Women's Competition

* FINA World Cup in Brisbane, Australia
** Gold Medal: wpw|CAN
** Silver Medal: wpw|NED
** Bronze Medal: wpw|AUS

Multi-sport events

* First World Games held in Santa Clara, United States

* Eleventh Summer Universiade held in Bucharest, Romania

* Tenth Winter Universiade held in Jaca, Spain

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: John McEnroe, Tennis
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Tracy Austin, Tennis

Births

January

* January 2 — Maximiliano Rodriguez, Argentinian football player
* January 3 — Sanggai Chanu, Indian female field hockey player
* January 3 — Eli Manning, American football player
* January 4 — Davor Mizerit, Slovenian rower
* January 5 — Vugar Alakparov, Azerbaijani boxer
* January 6 — Eduardo Tubau, Spanish field hockey striker
* January 9 — Erik Vendt, US swimmer
* January 11 — Jonathan Mandick, Canadian rower
* January 15 — El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football player
* January 15 — Graham Moodie, Scottish field hockey player
* January 18 — Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player
* January 24 — Andrea Berg, German volleyball player
* January 27 — Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
* January 27 — Yaniv Katan, Israely football player

February

* February 1 — Angie Skirving, Australian field hockey player
* February 2 — Dmitry Lobkov, Russian speed skater
* February 6 — Niall Stott, Scottish field hockey player
* February 7 — LeJuan Simon, Trinidad and Tobago triple jumper
* February 8 — Semen Poltavskiy, Russian volleyball player
* February 10 — Fränzi Aufdenblatten, Swiss alpine skier
* February 13 — Flávia Fernandes, Brazilian water polo player
* February 15 — Nicolas Rostoucher, French freestyle and medley swimmer
* February 17 — Bernhard Eisel, Austrian road bicycling racer
* February 18 — Andrei Kirilenko, Russian NBA player
* February 19 — Thomas Buffel, Belgian football player
* February 19 — Tina Pisnik, Slovenian tennis player
* February 19 — Andreas Vinciguerra, Swedish tennis player
* February 22 — Assan Bazayev, Khazakstan cyclist
* February 24 — Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
* February 24 — Mauro Rosales, Argentinian football player
* February 25 — Ulrich Bubolz, German field hockey goalkeeper
* February 25 — Marek Plawgo, Polish athlete
* February 26 — Daniel Geale, Australian boxer

March

* March 10 — Samuel Eto'o, Cameroon football player
* March 10 — Akira Ito, Japanese field hockey player
* March 12 — Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenian tennis player
* March 14 — Isabelle Pearson, Canadian judoka
* March 15 — Brice Guyart, French foil fencer
* March 16 — Andrew Bree, Irish breaststroke swimmer
* March 20 — Tibor Weißenborn, German field hockey player
* March 28 — Yuniel Hernández, Cuban hurdling athlete
* March 30 — Tulashboy Doniyorov, Uzbek boxer
* March 31 — Eileen Coparropa, Panamanian swimmer
* March 31 — Lourdes Dominguez Lino, Spanish tennis player
* March 31 — Maarten van der Weijden, Dutch long distance swimmer

April

* April 2 — Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer
* April 3 — Heath Ramsay, Australian butterfly swimmer
* April 4 — Lucas Cammareri, Argentine field hockey forward
* April 5 — Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist
* April 6 — Ceferino Labarda, Argentine bantamweight boxer
* April 7 — Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
* April 7 — Kenya Moreta, Dominican volleyball player
* April 8 — Frédérick Bousquet, French freestyle swimmer
* April 21 — Kim Lammers, Dutch field hockey forward
* April 23 — Jenny McDonough, Irish field hockey forward
* April 24 — Taylor Dent, US tennis player

May

* May 1 — Niklas Meinert, German field hockey midfielder
* May 6 — Robert Hammond, Australian field hockey midfielder
* May 8 — Yasuko Tajima, Japanese medley swimmer
* May 10 — Lloyd Stephenson, New Zealand field hockey player
* May 10 — Ignace Tirkey, Indian field hockey player
* May 11 — Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
* May 12 — Rob Bontje, Dutch volleyball player
* May 13 — Jean-Philippe Brulé, Belgian field hockey player
* May 14 — Ramón Alegre, Spanish field hockey player
* May 19 — Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
* May 20 — Morgan Knabe, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
* May 20 — Daniel McPherson, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
* May 21 — Beth Botsford, American backstroke swimmer
* May 21 — Rob Moore, English field hockey midfielder and forward
* May 21 — Anna Rogowska, Polish track and field athlete
* May 22 — Jürgen Melzer, Austrian tennis player
* May 26 — Anthony Ervin, American swimmer
* May 28 — Gábor Talmácsi, Hungarian motorcycle racer

June

* June 2 — Nikolay Davydenko, Russian tennis player
* June 7 — Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
* June 8 — Miguel Albarracin, Argentine judoka
* June 9 — Dean Couzins, New Zealand field hockey player
* June 9 — Irakli Labadze, Georgian tennis player
* June 9 — Bastiaan Tamminga, Dutch swimmer
* June 13 — Wieteke Cramer, Dutch speed skater
* June 14 — Hope Munro, Australian field hockey player
* June 19 — Moss Burmester, New Zealand swimmer
* June 23 — Rachele Sangiuliano, Italian volleyball player
* June 25 — Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper

July

* July 2 — Manuel Sevillano, Spanish volleyball player
* July 2 — Luis Villarroel, Venezuelan diver
* July 2 — Zurab Zviadauri, Georgian judoka
* July 7 — Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian cricketer
* July 8 — Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
* July 9 — Rutger Smith, Dutch athlete
* July 12 — Fabiane Hukuda, Brazilian judoka
* July 14 — Matti Hautamäki, Finnish ski jumper
* July 15 — Albert Sala, Spanish field hockey player
* July 16 — Vicente Rodríguez, Spanish football player
* July 21 — Joaquín Sánchez, Spanish football player
* July 23 — Dmitriy Karpov, Kazakhstani athlete
* July 23 — Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
* July 25 — Cristian Bejarano, Mexican boxer
* July 27 — Juan Carlos Blanco, Venezuelan volleyball player
* July 29 — Fernando Alonso, Spanish Formula 1-driver
* July 31 — Paula Baracho, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
* July 31 — Mireia García, Spanish butterfly swimmer

August

* August 5 — Jim Piper, Australian breaststroke swimmer
* August 8 — Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
* August 9 — Li Jiawei, Singaporean table tennis player
* August 10 — Guillaume Elmont, Dutch judoka
* August 12 — Djibril Cissé, French football player
* August 15 — Brendan Hansen, American breaststroke swimmer
* August 15 — Hong Moo-Won, South Korean boxer
* August 17 — Richard Mantell, English field hockey full back
* August 21 — David Guest, Australian field hockey player
* August 29 — Hugues Duboscq, French breaststroke swimmer
* August 29 — Rob Reckers, Dutch field hockey player
* August 31 — Örn Arnarson, Icelandic swimmer

eptember

* September 1 — Jaime Hipp, American water polo goalkeeper
* September 6 — Brandon Simpson, Jamaican athlete
* September 12 — Staciana Stitts, American breaststroke swimmer
* September 12 — Sabina Wojtala, Polish figure skater
* September 16 — Sebastian Biederlack, German field hockey midfielder
* September 17 — Marina Tumas, Belarusian volleyball player
* September 18 — Helen Richardson, British field hockey player
* September 18 — Rodrigo dos Santos, Brazilian water polo player
* September 19 — Damiano Cunego, Italian cyclist
* September 20 — Oreidis Despaigne, Cuban judoka
* September 20 — Feliciano Lopez, Spanish tennis player
* September 23 — Robert Doornbos, Dutch Formula 1-driver
* September 26 — Serena Williams, US tennis player
* September 26 — Klaas Veering, Dutch field hockey player

October

* October 3 — Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish football (soccer) player
* October 3 — Ronald Rauhe, German canoer
* October 5 — Enrico Fabris, Italian long track speed skater
* October 5 — Juan Camilo Novoa, Colombian boxer
* October 11 — Kate Hector, South African field hockey player
* October 12 — Sun Tiantian, Chinese tennis player
* October 15 — Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
* October 15 — Guo Jingjing, Chinese diver
* October 19 — Sarah Taylor, Australian field hockey player
* October 20 — Elka Graham, Australian swimmer
* October 20 — Stefan Nystrand, Swedish swimmer
* October 22 — Clementine Stoney, Australian backstroke swimmer
* October 23 — Rodrigo Vila, Argentine field hockey striker
* October 25 — Carlos Valcarcel, Puerto Rican boxer
* October 28 — Milan Baroš, Czech football (soccer) player
* October 29 — Amanda Beard, American swimmer

November

* November 2 — Tatiana Totmianina, Russian figure skater
* November 6 — Sylwia Gruchała, Polish fencer
* November 7 — Nicole Arrold, Australian field hockey player
* November 7 — Ana Vasconcelos, Brazilian water polo player
* November 11 — Johan Röjler, Swedish ice speed skater
* November 13 — Charlee Minkin, American judoka
* November 15 — Lorena Ochoa, Mexican golfer
* November 21 — Werknesh Kidane, Ethiopian long distance track and field athlete
* November 21 — Simona Păduraru, Romanian freestyle swimmer
* November 21 — Ainars Kovals, Latvian javelin thrower
* November 25 — Xabi Alonso, Spanish football (soccer) player
* November 27 — Vikram Pillay, Indian field hockey midfieler
* November 29 — Silvia Bonastre, Spanish field hockey player
* November 30 — Steffen Driesen, German backstroke swimmer

December

* December 7 — Frédérique Ankoné, Dutch ice speed skater
* December 9 — Mardy Fish, American tennis player
* December 10 — Liam de Young, Australian field hockey player
* December 10 — Anett Györe, Hungarian water polo player
* December 10 — Ryan Pini, Papua New Guinean swimmer
* December 11 — Javier Saviola, Argentinian football (soccer) player
* December 12 — Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer
* December 14 — Émilie Heymans, Belgium-born Canadian diver
* December 15 — Hossam Ghaly, Egyptian football player
* December 17 — Miek van Geenhuizen, Dutch field hockey player
* December 18 — Nick Brunelli, American freestyle swimmer
* December 18 — Bekzod Khidirov, Uzbek boxer
* December 19 — Najai Turpin, American boxer (d. 2005)
* December 21 — Justin Kane, Australian boxer
* December 22 — Nico Freriks, Dutch volleyball player
* December 22 — Marina Kuptsova, Russian high jumper
* December 26 — Robert Horstink, Dutch volleyball player
* December 28 — Ramón Fumadó, Venezuelan diver
* December 28 — Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch football (soccer) player
* December 28 — Mika Väyrynen, Finnish football (soccer) player
* December 29 — Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese figure skater

Deaths

*Canonero II — champion thoroughbred race horse
* January 20 — Vittorio Tamagnini (70), Italian boxer (b. 1910)
*August 27 — Mike Marino, British wrestler (b. 1930)
*August 27 — Valery Kharlamov (33), Russian ice hockey player
*October 3 — Fidel La Barba, US boxer and sportswriter (b. 1905)
* August 2 — Delfo Cabrera (62), Argentine long-distance runner (b. 1919)