2004 in sports

Events

On January 28, International Olympic Committee Vice-President Kim Un-yong is arrested on charges of corruption in Seoul. Prosecutors arrest Kim minutes after an arrest warrant is issued by the Seoul District Court, and the 72-year-old was put behind bars after his pre-trial detention was approved.

On April 27, the International Olympic Committee takes out insurance in case the Athens Olympic Games are canceled due to terrorism or natural disasters.

On May 18, the International Olympic Committee announced the list of cities accepted as candidates to host the 2012 Olympic Games. The five candidate cities are Paris, New York, Moscow, London and Madrid.

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Olympics opened in Athens, Greece on August 13. Template:2004 Summer Olympics medal count

Athletics

Cross-country running
- January 3 - Winners from the 2004 Great Winter Run X-country race at Newcastle, England:
  - Women's 6.3 km: Tirunesh Dibada, Ethiopia 21:01
  - Men's 8.0 km: Sileshi Sihine, Ethiopia 26:15
London Marathon
- Men's Evans Rutto, Kenya 2:06:18
- Women's Margaret Okayo, Kenya 2:22:35
Boston Marathon
- Men's Timothy Cherigat Kenya 2:10:37
- Women's Catherine Ndereba Kenya 2:24:27
United States Olympic Track and Field trials, Sacramento, California:
- July 10 - Marion Jones finishes fourth in the qualifying for the 100 meter dash, and therefore fails to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in that event. (Jones did qualify for the Olympics in the long jump.)
- July 11 - Tim Montgomery, current world record holder in the men's 100 meter run, fails to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing 7th out of 8 competitors in the trials finals.

Auto racing

Stock car racing (NASCAR):
- February 15 - Daytona 500: won by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Indy Racing League:
- May 30 - Indianapolis 500: won by Buddy Rice
Formula One:
- August 15 - Ferrari clinch Formula One constructors title
- August 29 - Michael Schumacher clinches seventh Formula One title

Baseball

February 15: Alex Rodriguez is traded to New York Yankees.

April 12: Barry Bonds ties his godfather Willie Mays for third on the all-time career homeruns list with his 660th homerun coming in the fifth inning off of Milwaukee starter Matt Kinney.

April 13: Pitchers Dennis Eckersley and Bruce Hurst, catcher-manager Bill Carrigan and infielders Wade Boggs, Billy Goodman and Pete Runnels have been selected for induction into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. The club's Hall of Fame selection committee conducted its voting at a meeting last fall.

April 27: Chad Moeller became the fifth Brewer to hit for the cycle, the first to do it at home, and the first since Paul Molitor did it on May 15, 1991 at Minnesota.

May 18: Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson became only the 17th person in Major League Baseball history to throw a perfect game, throwing 13 strikeouts on his way to a 2-0 defeat of the Atlanta Braves.

May 26: Pittsburgh Pirates Daryle Ward hit for the cycle in the Pirates' 11-8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. It's been done 23 times in Pittsburgh history and 243 times since 1882. Ward joined his father, Gary Ward, to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle. The senior Ward accomplished the feat on September 18, 1980, for the Minnesota Twins.

June 12: SF Giants Barry Bonds connects for a solo home run off Orioles' Rodrigo Lopez (his 400th victim). It is Bonds' 675th home run. Bonds' performance ruined a milestone afternoon by Rafael Palmeiro, who hit his 536th and 537th homers to move past Mickey Mantle into 11th place on the career list. It was only the third time in baseball history that two players with 500 homers connected in the same game. Willie Mays and Ernie Banks did it in 1970, and Mays and Hank Aaron both homered on May 8, 1971.

June 20: Cincinnati Reds Ken Griffey, Jr. hit a 2-2 fastball from St. Louis Cardinals Matt Morris, securing a spot in the record books as the 20th player with 500 career home runs.

June 27 College World Series: Cal State Fullerton wins the NCAA College World Series, defeating Texas 3-2 to win the best-of-three championship series 2-0.

June 28: David Bell hit for the cycle as the Phillies slugged their way to a 14-6 victory over the Expos. Bell went 4-for-4, scored two runs, and knocked a career-high six RBI. He became the third player to hit for the cycle this season, joining Pirates' Daryle Ward and Brewers' Chad Moeller. Coincidentally, Ward and his father Gary Ward accomplished the feat and when Bell achieved the honor, he joined his grandfather, Gus Bell, who did it on June 4, 1951.

June 29: At home, Yankees' Tony Clark hit a deep-center two-run homer off Derek Lowe, to help his team to a 113 win over the Red Sox. Clark joined Bernie Williams and Danny Tartabull as the only players to reach the center-field bleachers more than once since the remodeled Yankee Stadium opened in 1976.

July 4: Eric Gagné's consecutive saves streak ended at 84 in a 6-5 Los Angeles Dodgers victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the last team to keep him from converting a save. Gagné had not blown a save chance since David Dellucci hit a tying double on Aug. 26, 2002. Those are his only blown saves in 75 attempts at Dodger Stadium. During the streak, Gagné blew the lead in the 2003 All-Star game when he allowed a home run to the Texas Rangers' Hank Blalock, but that exhibition game didn't count in the statistics.

July 10: Barry Bonds breaks his own record for intentional walks received in a season; amazingly, he broke the former full-season record of 68 set in 2002 before the All-Star break. After three intentional walks in a 3-1 San Francisco Giants win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, his total stood at 71.

July 16: With his solo home run in the eighth inning of Phillies 5-1 victory over the Mets, Bobby Abreu joined Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds by reaching the elite 20-homers/20-steal plateau for a sixth straight season. That quartet are the only players to have six straight 20-20 seasons in MLB history. Abreu also converted in the only member of the quartet with no family connection to Barry, his dad Bobby, or his godfather Willie.

July 23: At Fenway Park, Kevin Millar became the third player to hit three home runs in a Red Sox-Yankees game, joining Lou Gehrig (1927) and Mo Vaughn (1997). Despite Millar's effort, Yankees edge Sox 8-7.

July 29: Mets outfielder Eric Valent became the eighth player in Mets history to hit for the cycle to lead his team to a 10-1 victory over the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium. Valent went 4 for 4 with a walk and drove in three runs and scored three times in becoming the fourth player in the majors this season to hit a single, double, triple, and home run in a game -- joining Milwaukee's Chad Moeller, Pittsburgh's Daryle Ward, and Philadelphia's David Bell.

July 31: Boston Red Sox sent five-time All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs in a four-team deal that highlighted clubs beating baseball's trade deadline. Montreal Expos shortstop Orlando Cabrera, Cubs shortstop Alex S. Gonzalez and Minnesota Twins first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz also moved in the four-way trade. The Red Sox wound up with Cabrera and Mientkiewicz, both Gold Glovers; the Cubs got Garciaparra and minor league outfielder Matt Murton; Montreal acquired Gonzalez, pitcher Francis Beltran and infielder Brendan Harris, and the Twins got minor league pitcher Justin Jones.

August 3: St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols, at 24 age, became the first player ever to hit at least 30 home runs in each of his first four seasons. In 1936, Joe DiMaggio belted 29 home runs in his rookie season with the New York Yankees, and 30 or more in the following five seasons. Mark McGwire hit three homers in his 1986 first year with the Oakland Athletics, and 30 or more in the next four seasons. Pujols also became the first Cardinal in the franchise 112-year history to hit 30 or more home runs in four consecutive years.

August 7: Greg Maddux of the Chicago Cubs defeats the San Francisco Giants, 8-4, to earn his 300th career pitching victory.

August 8: At Comerica Park, Boston Red Sox outslugged the Detroit Tigers 11-9, despite knuckle baller Tim Wakefield gives up record six home runs. Wakefield became the sixth pitcher since 1900 to yield six homers in a game, but the first since George Caster of the Philadelphia Athletics against the Red Sox on Sept. 24, 1940. The others were Larry Benton (New York Giants, 1930), Hollis Thurston (Brooklyn Dodgers, 1932), Wayman Kerksieck (Philadelphia Phillies, 1939) and Al Thomas (St. Louis Browns, 1936). Both teams combined for 10 homers. For Boston, Kevin Youkilis homered twice and David Ortiz belted one. For Detroit, Ivan Rodriguez and Eric Munson each connected twice, and one each to Carlos Peña, Dmitri Young and Craig Monroe. In 1886, Charlie Sweeney of the St. Louis Maroons in the National League gave up seven homers in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

August 16: Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves hits the 300th home run of his career in a 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres.

August 17: Mark Teixeira became the second player in the Texas Rangers history -- and first in more than 19 years -- to hit for the cycle, leading Texas to a 16-4 rout of the visitors Cleveland Indians. He went 4-for-5 and drove in a career-high seven runs for the club's first cycle since Oddibe McDowell accomplished the feat on July 23, 1985, against the Indians at Arlington Stadium. Teixeira is the fifth player to hit for the cycle this season, joining Milwaukee's Chad Moeller, Pittsburgh's Daryle Ward, Philadelphia's David Bell and Eric Valent of the New York Mets.

August 26: At Safeco Field, Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki belted a leadoff home run in the ninth inning for his 200th hit in 2004, reaching the mark in fewer games than any player since 1930. With the hit, which snapped an 0--for-11 slide, Suzuki became the first player in major league history to record at least 200 hits in each of his first four seasons. He hit 242 in 2001, 208 in 2002, and 212 in 2003.

Basketball

April 5 - NCAA Men's Basketball Championship
- The UConn Huskies win 82-73 over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. UConn's Emeka Okafor is named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

April 6 - NCAA Women's Basketball Championship
- The UConn Huskies win 70-61 over the Tennessee Lady Vols. UConn's Diana Taurasi is named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

These results make UConn only the second school, and the first ever in Division I, to win NCAA men's and women's basketball titles in the same season. Central Missouri State accomplished the double in Division II in 1984.

NBA Finals: Detroit Pistons win 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boxing

March 13 - The world junior middleweight championship was unified as Shane Mosley lost to Winky Wright.
May 15 - Antonio Tarver won the WBC light-heavyweight title with a stunning second-round knockout of champion Roy Jones Jr.
July 30 - Danny Williams knocks out Mike Tyson in the fourth round of a non-championship bout.
August 16 - Robert Quiroga, former International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion, found stabbed to death.

Cricket

February 15 - March 5 - Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2004 in Dhaka, Bangladesh - Pakistan beat West Indies by 25 runs.
March 12 - Shane Warne becomes the first spinner in history to take 500 Test wickets.
March 13 - India beat Pakistan in the highest scoring one-day international ever (693 runs), in the opening match of their first Pakistan tour since 1989.
March 14 - West Indies collapse to their lowest ever total of 47 all out in the first Test against England in Jamaica. South Africa's Jacques Kallis becomes the second player in history to score a century in five successive Tests in Hamilton, New Zealand.
March 29 - Virender Sehwag sets a new Indian Test record innings with 309 in the historic first Test against Pakistan.
April - Ricky Ponting is named Leading Cricketer in the World by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
April 2 - Zimbabwe Cricket Union announces the retirement of Heath Streak as captain of Zimbabwe. It is later revealed he was sacked, and 15 senior players withdraw from Zimbabwean cricket, citing political interference by Robert Mugabe's government in team selection.
April 12 - The West Indies' Brian Lara regains the individual Test innings record from Australian Matthew Hayden with 400 not out in the fourth Test against England in St. John's, Antigua.
April 30 - University of Western Australia biomechanical study concludes Muttiah Muralitharan's doosra violates guidelines on allowable straightening of arm. Any further reports of him bowling it may result in a one-year ban from cricket.
May 8 - Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan breaks Courtney Walsh's world record of 519 Test wickets with his 520th wicket against Zimbabwe in Harare.
June 10 - Zimbabwe Cricket Union agrees to abandon any further Test matches in 2004, under pressure from International Cricket Council over substandard teams due to 15 striking players.
June 19 - September 4 - Inaugural Pro Cricket season, the first professional cricket tournament in the United States.
July 13 - Shane Warne equals Muttiah Muralitharan's world record of 527 Test wickets, against Sri Lanka in Cairns.
July 15 - August 1 - Asia Cup in Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka beat India by 25 runs.
September 10 - September 25 - ICC Champions Trophy in England

Curling

January 10- Canada Cup
- Women's Final: Colleen Jones 8-7 Sherry Anderson
January 11-
- Men's Final: Randy Ferbey 10-3 John Morris
January 18- 2004 Canadian mixed curling championship
- Final: Alberta (Shannon Kleibrink) 9-5 Ontario (Heath McCormick) Shannon Kleibrink becomes the first woman to skip and win the Canadian mixed curling championship. Last year, she was the first to skip and participate in the event, losing only in the final.

Cycling

Giro d'Italia - won by Damiano Cunego of Italy. Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi wins nine stages.
Tour de France -
- Overall (Yellow jersey) - Lance Armstrong, his sixth consecutive title.
- King of the Mountains (Polka dot jersey) - Richard Virenque, a record seventh title
- Points Classification ( Green jersey) - Robbie McEwen
- Young Rider (White jersey) - Vladimir Karpets
- Team - T-Mobile Team

Field Hockey

January 31 to February 5 - The 5th Asian women's hockey championship is held in New Delhi

Football (Soccer)

African Cup of Nations - Tunisia beat Morocco 2-1
Carling Cup (League Cup, England) - Middlesbrough F.C. beat Bolton Wanderers F.C. 2-1, to win the first cup in their 128 year history
April 25 - Premier League - Arsenal clinch the Premier League title, their second in three years, with four games still to play.
April 29 - San Marino record their first ever win, a 1-0 victory over Liechtenstein in a friendly.
May 2 - AC Milan clinch the Italian Serie A title.
May 8 - Werder Bremen win the German Bundesliga
May 8 - Valencia win the Spanish Primera División
May 8 - Ajax win the Dutch Eredivisie
May 15 - Arsenal complete their last game of the Premier League season with a victory, becoming the first team to go unbeaten for a whole season in the top division of English football since 1889.
May 19 - Valencia win the UEFA Cup 2-0 over Marseille.
May 22 - Manchester United win their record 11th FA Cup, defeating Millwall 3-0.
May 26 - Porto defeat AS Monaco 3-0 in the Champions League final in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
July 1 - Once Caldas (Colombia) defeats Boca Juniors (Argentina) 1-1 on aggregate, 2-0 on penalties to win the Copa Libertadores.
July 4 - Greece win the UEFA Euro 2004 football tournament, defeating the host nation Portugal 1-0.
July 25 - Brazil win the Copa America football tournament, defeating Argentina 4-2 on penalties.

Football (American)

College football Bowl Championship Series:
- January 1 - Rose Bowl: University of Southern California 28, University of Michigan 14
- January 1 - Orange Bowl: University of Miami 16, Florida State University 14
- January 2 - Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State University 35, Kansas State University 28
- January 4 - Sugar Bowl: Louisiana State University 21, University of Oklahoma 14
- January 5 - LSU and USC are awarded a share of the national championship.
National Football League:
- February 1 - Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29 at Houston, Texas
NFL Europe:
- June 12 - World Bowl: Berlin Thunder 30, Frankfurt Galaxy 24

Football (Rugby Union)

Hong Kong Sevens - England beat Argentina 22-12
Super 12 - ACT Brumbies defeated Crusaders 47-38
Six Nations Championship - France (Grand Slam). Ireland win the Triple Crown.
Heineken Cup - London Wasps defeated Toulouse 27-20

Football (Rugby League)

May 15 - St Helens defeat Wigan Warriors 32-16 to win the Challenge Cup.
June 17 - Martin Gleeson and Sean Long are banned for four and three months respectively after placing bets on their side, St Helens, to lose a Super League match against the Bradford Bulls.

Golf

January 11 - Mercedes Championships winner: Stuart Appleby, $1,060,000 (66-67-66-71--270)
January 15-16 - At the age of 14, golf prodigy Michelle Wie becomes the youngest woman (and only the fourth overall) to play at a PGA TOUR event, shooting 72-68 (even par) at the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in her hometown of Honolulu. She missed the cut by one stroke.
January 18- South African Airways Open at Somerset West, South Africa winner: Trevor Immelman (71-69-69-67--276)
January 25 - Golfer Phil Mickelson wins for the first time in 19 months, beating Skip Kendall on the first extra hole at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
February 1 - Jonathan Kaye breaks from the pack on the final day in the FBR Open, winning by shooting five birdies in seven holes.
February 8 - Vijay Singh claims his first victory of 2004 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
February 15 - John Daly ends an eight-year winless drought by beating Chris Riley and Luke Donald in the Buick Invitational.
February 22 - Mike Weir wins his second Nissan Open.
February 29 - Tiger Woods defeats Davis Love III to win the Accenture Match Play Championship.
February 29 - Annika Sörenstam wins her third ANZ Ladies Masters.
March 28 - Grace Park wins the first major of the LPGA season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, by one shot over 17-year-old Aree Song. Michelle Wie finished fourth, four shots behind Park.
March 28 - Adam Scott wins THE PLAYERS Championship by one shot over Padraig Harrington. Scott is the tournament's youngest winner ever.
April 11 - Phil Mickelson wins The Masters, the first major of his career.
May 9 - Se Ri Pak wins the LPGA Michelob ULTRA Championship, qualifying her for the World Golf Hall of Fame. She will not be eligible for induction, however, until she completes her 10th year on tour in 2007.
June 13 - Annika Sörenstam successfully defends her title in the second major of the LPGA season, the LPGA Championship.
July 18 - Todd Hamilton wins the The Open at Royal Troon
August 15 - Vijay Singh wins the PGA Championship in a three-hole playoff with Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard.

Handball

January 22 to February 1 - The European Men's Handball Championship in Slovenia held.

Horse Racing

English Triple Crown

May 1 - Haafhd wins the 2000 Guineas.
June 5 - North Light wins the Epsom Derby.
September 11 - The St. Leger Stakes takes place at Doncaster.

Other English races

March 18 - Best Mate wins a third consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cup.
April 3 - Amberleigh House wins the Grand National at Aintree.
May 2 - Attraction wins the 1000 Guineas.
June 4 - Ouija Board wins the Oaks.

United States Triple Crown

May 1 - Smarty Jones wins the Kentucky Derby.
May 15 - Smarty Jones wins the Preakness Stakes by a record margin of 11½ lengths.
June 5 - Birdstone wins the Belmont Stakes.

Ice Hockey

January 4 - Under 17 World Championship at St. John's
- Gold Medal Game: Ontario 5, Pacific 2
- Bronze Medal Game: Team Quebec 3, United States 2
January 5 - World Junior Hockey Championship at Helsinki, Finland
- Gold Medal Game: United States 4, Canada 3
- Bronze Medal Game: Finland 2, Czech Republic 1
February 12 - An independent audit by Arthur Levitt reveals that National Hockey League teams lost a collective US$273 million in 2003, and suggests the league is "on the road to oblivion."
April 10 - National Women's Hockey League championship at Brampton, Ontario
- Championship Final: Calgary X-Treme 6, Brampton Thunder 5 (OT)
April 18 - IIHF World Under-18 Championship at Minsk, Belarus
- Gold Medal Game: Russia 3, United States 2
- Bronze Medal Game: Czech Republic 3, Canada 2
April 25 - Allan Cup at Saint-Georges, Quebec
- Allan Cup Final: Saint-Georges Garaga 5, Ministlkwan Islanders 0
April 25 - Canadian National Midget Championship at Kenora, Ontario
- Gold Medal Game: Brandon Wheat Kings 2, College Charles-Lemoyne 1 (OT)
- Bronze Medal Game: Red Deer Optimist Chiefs 5, Kenora Stars 2
May 9 - IIHF World Hockey Championship at Prague, Czech Republic
- Gold Medal Game: Canada 5, Sweden 3
- Bronze Medal Game: USA 1, Slovakia 0 (SO)
May 23 - Memorial Cup at Kelowna, British Columbia
- Memorial Cup Final: Kelowna Rockets 2, Gatineau Olympques 1
June 7 - Stanley Cup - Tampa Bay Lightning defeat Calgary Flames 4 games to 3 to win the Stanley Cup.
September 15 - NHL collective bargaining agreement expires. If a new one is not negotiated by this date, then a strike or lockout will occur.

Lacrosse

August 22- Major League Lacrosse Philadelphia Barrage defeat Boston Cannons 13-11 to win league championship at Boston

Luge

January 4 - European Luge Championships at Oberhof, Germany
- Men's Doubles winner: Steffen Skel and Steffen Woeller, Germany, 1:22.633
- Women's Singles winner: Silke Kraushaar, Germany, 1:22.995
January 17 - World Cup event at Winterberg, Germany
- Men's Singles winner: Georg Hackl, Germany 1:51.211

Ice skating

Netball

5 July- World champions, New Zealand's Silver Ferns, complete 3-0 test series win over Australia with 53-46 win at Hamilton, New Zealand.

Skiing & Snowboarding

Biathlon
- January 10- World Cup Biathalon event at Pokljuka, Slovenia winner, men's 12.5 km pursuit: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Norway, 36:18.8
- January 14- World Cup Biathalon event at Ruhpolding, Germany winner, Women's 4x6K Relay winner: Germany, 1:18:37
- January 15- Men's 4x7.5K Relay winner: Belarus, 1:43:43.71
- January 17- World Cup Biathalon competition Men's 10 km Sprint winner: Halvard Hanevold, Norway 25:01.5
Cross-country skiing
- January 10- World Cup men's cross-country skiing competition at Otepaa, Finland winner, 30 km mass start: Frode Estil, Norway, 1:15:18.1
- January 17- World Cup cross-country ski meet at Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic
  - Men's 15 km classical style winner: Andrus Veerpalu, Estonia 42:27.6
  - Women's 10 km classical style winner: Gabriella Paruzzi, Italy 31:17.6
Downhill skiing
- January 4 - Men's World Cup Slalom Competition at Flachau, Austria winner: Kalle Palander, Finland, 1:42.24
- January 4 - Women's World Cip Giant Slalom Competition at Megeve, France winner: Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austria 1:24.98
- January 10 - Men's World Cup downhill race at Chamonix, France winner: Stephane Eberharter, Austria 1:59.08
- January 10- Women's World Cup downhill ski race at Veysonnaz, Switzerland winner: Renate Goetschl, Austria 1:38.58
- January 11- Men's World Cup slalom at Chamonix, France winner: Giorgio Rocca, Italy 1:29.09
- January 17- Women's World Cup downhill race at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy winner: Hilde Gerg, Germany 1:17.57
Freestyle skiing
- January 10- Ericsson World Freestyle skiing competition at Mont Tremblant, Quebec
  - Women's Moguls winner: Stephanie St. Pierre, Canada 24.25 points
  - Men's Moguls winner: Marc-Andre Moreau, Canada 25.14 points
- January 16- Freesyle FIS World Cup at Lake Placid, New York
  - Women's aerials winner: Jiao Wang, China 183.61
  - Men's aerials winner: Steve Omischl, Canada 246.01
- January 17
  - Women's Moguls winner: Jennifer Heil, Canada 26.77
  - Men's Moguls winner: Janne Lahtela, Finland 26.29
Giant slalom
- January 3 - Men's World Cup Giant Slalom Competition at Flachau, Austria winner: Benjamin Raich, Austria, 2:22.54
Nordic skiing
- January 4 - Nordic combined World Cup event at Schonach, Germany winner: Todd Lodwick, United States, 34:29.5
Ski jumping
- January 1 - The traditional New Year's Ski Jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The Large Hill event was won by Sigurd Pettersen of Norway with 253.8 points.
- January 4 - Four Hills ski jumping tournament at Innsbruck, Austria. K120 winner: Peter Zonta, Slovenia, 265.2 points
Super-G
- January 11 - Women's World Cup super-G at Veysonnaz, Switzerland winner: Hilde Gerg, Germany, 1:21.34
- January 14 - Women's World Cup super-G at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy winner: Genevieve Simard, Canada, 13.05
- January 16 - Women's World Cup super-G at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy winner: Renate Goetschl, Austria 1:10.59
Snowboarding
- January 3 - World Cup men's "big air" snowboarding competition at Klagenfurt, Austria winner: Aleksi Vanninen, Finland, 1,000 points
- January 6 - World Cup snowboard parallel slalom at Bad Gastein, Austria
  - Men's winner: Dejan Josir, Slovenia, 1,000
  - Women's winner: Jagna Kolasinska-Marczulajtis, Poland, 1,000
- January 10 - World Cup giant slalom race at L'Alpe d'Huez, France
  - Men's Parallel Giant Slalom winner: Urs Eiselin, Switzerland, 1,000
  - Women's Parallel Giant Slalom winner: Daniela Meuli, Switzerland, 1,000
- January 16 - World Cup cross at Arosa, Switzerland
  - Men's winner: Stefano Pozzolini, Italy 1,000
  - Women's winner: Karine Ruby, France 1,000
- January 17 -
  - Men's winner: Simone Malusa, Italy 1,000
  - Women's winner: Karine Ruby, France 1,000

Snooker

World Snooker Championship: Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Graeme Dott 18-8
World rankings: Ronnie O'Sullivan becomes world number one for 2004/05

Swimming

January 13- World Cup sort-course swimming competition at Stockholm, Sweden winners:
- Men's 50 m butterfly: Mike Mintenko, Canada 23.75
- Men's 100 m freestyle: Jason Lezak, United States 47.24
- Men's 100 m IM: Kosuke Kitajima, Japan 53.71
- Men's 400 m freestyle: Yuri Prilokov, Russia 3:41.10
- Men's 400 m IM: Brian Johns, Canada 4:09.92
- Men's 50 m breaststroke: Ed Moses, United States 27.10
- Men's 200 m breaststroke: Ed Moses, United States 2:04.54
- Men's 200 m butterfly: Takeshi Matsuda, Japan 1:52.67
- Women's 50 m backstroke: Chang Gao, China 27.61
January 14-
- Men's 200 m backstroke: Evgeny Aleshin, Russia 1:53.21
- Men's 100 m butterfly: Andriy Serdinov, Ukraine 51.66
- Men's 200 m freestyle: Ryk Neethling, South Africa 1:23.85
- Men's 1,500 m freestyle: Yuri Prilukov, Russia 14:46.59
- Men's 200 m IM: Kosuke Kitajima, Japan 1:56.68

May 5 - May 16 - European LC Championships in Madrid. Winners are:
- Mens 50 m butterfly stroke: Sergiy Breus, Ukraine 24.02
- Mens 50 m backstroke: Stev Theloke, Germany 25.61
- Mens 50 m breaststroke: Oleg Lisogor, Ukraine 27.55
- Mens 100 m backstroke: Laszlo Cseh, Hungary 55.26
- Mens 100 m breaststroke: Oleg Lisogor, Ukraine 1:01.23
- Mens 100 m freestyle: Filippo Magnini, Italy 48.87
- Mens 100 m butterfly stroke: Andriy Serdinov, Ukraine 52.31
- Mens 200 m freestyle: Pieter van den Hoogenband, Netherlands 1:47.05
- Mens 200 m backstroke: Paolo Bossini, Italy 2:11.73
- Mens 200 m breaststroke: Markus Rogan, Austria 2:57.58
- Mens 200 m butterfly stroke: Denis Sylantyev, Ukraine 1:56.71
- Mens 200 m IM: Markus Rogan, Austria 1:59.79
- Mens 400 m freestyle: Emiliano Brembilla, Italy 3:49.14
- Mens 1500 m freestyle: Yuri Prilukov, Russia 15:04.35
- Mens 4 x 100 m freestyle relay: Italy 3:15.66
- Mens 4 x 200 m freestyle relay: Italy 7:11.93
- Womens 50 m butterfly stroke: Natalia Sutiagina, Russia 27.04
- Womens 50 m breaststroke: Maria Ostling, Sweden 31.68
- Womens 100 m butterfly stroke: Martina Moravcova, Slovakia 58.05
- Womens 100 m freestyle: Malia Metella, France 54.46
- Womens 100 m backstroke: Laure Manaudou, France 1:00.93
- Womens 100 m breastroke: Svitlana Bondarenko, Ukraine 1:09.23
- Womens 200 m backstroke: Stanislava Komarova, Russia 2:10.97
- Womens 200 m freestyle: Camelia Potec, Romania 1:58.20
- Womens 200 m breaststroke: Mirna Jukic, Austria 2:27.25
- Womens 200 m IM: Yana Klochkova, Ukraine 2:12.56
- Womens 400 m IM: Yana Klochkova, Ukraine 4:38.52
- Womens 800 m freestyle: Erika Villaecija, Spain 8:31.26
- Womens 4 x 100 m freestyle relay: France 3:40.67
- Womens 4 x 200 m freestyle relay: Spain 8:03.41

August 14 - August ? - Swimming at the Olympic Summergames 2004 in Athens, Greece. Winners are:
- Mens 400 m freestyle: Ian Thorpe, Australia
- Mens 400 m IM: Michael Phelps, United States
- Womens 400 m IM: Yana Klochkova, Ukraine
- Womens 4 x 100 m freestyle relay: Australia

Tennis

January 9th- Qatar ExxonMobil Open at Doha, Qatar
- Doubles Final: Martin Damm and Cyril Suk, (Czech Republic) defeats Andy Roddick (United States) and Stefan Koubek (Austria) 6-2, 6-4
January 10
- Singles Final: Nicolas Escude, France defeats Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia 6-3, 7-6
January 10- WTA Uncle Tobys at Gold Coast, Australia
- Singles Final: Ai Sugiyama, Japan defeats Nadia Petrova, Russia 1-6, 6-1, 6-4
- Doubles Final: Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva (Russia) def. Liezel Huber (South Africa) and Magdalena Maleeva (Bulgaria) 6-3, 6-4
January 10- Hopman Cup indoor tournament at Perth, Australia results:
- United States def. Slovakia, 2-1
  - Lindsay Davenport, United States defeats Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia 6-3, 6-1
  - Karol Kucera, Slovakia def. James Blake, United States 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
  - Lindsay Davenport and James Blake, United States defeat Daniela Hantuchova and Karol Kucera, Slovakia 6-2, 6-3
January 10- WTA Tour ASB Classic at Auckland, New Zealand
- Singles Final: Eleni Daniilidou, Greece defeats Ashley Harkleroad, United States 6-3, 6-2
- Doubles Final: Mervana Jugic-Salkic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Jelena Kostanic (Croatia) def. Paola Suarez (Argentina) and Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spain) 7-6, 3-6, 6-1
January 11- ATP TATA Open at Chennai, India
- Singles Final: Carlos Moya, Spain defeats Paradorn Srichaphan, Thailand 6-4, 3-6, 7-6
- Doubles Final: Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo (Spain) defeat Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram (Israel) 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
January 11- ATP AAPT Championship at Adelaide, Australia
- Singles Final: Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia defeats Michael Llodra, France 6-4, 6-0
- Doubles Final: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (United States) defeat Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra (France) 7-5, 6-3
January 16- Moorilla International tournament at Hobart, Australia
- Singles Final: Amy Frazier, United States defeats Shinobu Asagoe, Japan 6-3, 6-3
January 17- Adidas International at Sydney, Australia
- Men's Singles Final: Lleyton Hewitt, Australia defeats Carlos Moya, Spain 4-3, retired
- Women's Singles Final: Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium defeats Amelie Mauresmo, France 6-4, 6-4
- Men's Doubles Final: Todd Woodbridge (Australia) and Jonas Bjor kman (Sweden) defeat Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (United States) 7-6, 7-5
- Women's Doubles Final: Cara Black (Zimbabwe) and Rennae Stubbs (Australia) defeat Meghann Shaughnessy (United States) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
January 17- Commonwealth Bank International at Melbourne, Australia
- Singles Final: David Nalbandian, Argentina defeats Andre Agassi, United States 6-2, 6-3
January 17- ATP Heineken Open at Auckland, New Zealand
- Singles Final: Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia defeats Rafael Nadal, Spain 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
- Doubles Final: Mahesh Bhupathi (India) and Fabrice Santoro (France) defeat Jiri Novak and Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
January 17- WTA Tour's Canberra Classic at Canberra, Australia
- Singles Final: Paola Suarez, Argentina defeats Silvia Farina Elia, Italy 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
- Doubles Final: Jelena Kostanic (Croatia) and Claudine Schaul (Luxembourg) defeat Lisa McShea (Australia) and Caroline Dhenin (France) 6-4, 7-6

Australian Open
- Men's Final: Roger Federer defeats Marat Safin, 7-6(7-3) 6-4 6-2
- Women's Final: Justine Henin-Hardenne defeats Kim Clijsters, 6-3 4-6 6-3

French Open
- Men's Final: Gastón Gaudio defeats Guillermo Coria 0-6 3-6 6-4 6-1 8-6
- Women's Final: Anastasia Myskina defeats Elena Dementieva 6-1 6-2

Wimbledon Championships
- Men's Final: Roger Federer defeats Andy Roddick, 4-6 7-5 7-6(7-3) 6-3
- Ladies' Final: Maria Sharapova defeats Serena Williams, 6-1 6-4

Floorball (Unihockey)

May 16 to May 23 - The Men's World Unihockey Championship in Switzerland were won by Sweden [1].

Scheduled Events

August 28 - The 135th Travers Stakes will be run at Saratoga Race Course.
August 13 to August 29 - The 2004 Summer Olympics are expected to take place in Athens, Greece this year; see their website.
September 14 to September 19 - The 35th Ryder Cup Matches are scheduled to take place in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA; see their website.
September 17 to September 28 - The 2004 Summer Paralympics are expected to take place in Athens, Greece this year; see their website.

General sporting events

Births

Deaths

January-February

January 2: Paul Hopkins, 99, reported to be the oldest living former Major League Baseball player
January 5 - TG Jones - Footballer (Soccer) Wales and Everton
January 14: Mike Goliat, 78, member of the famous Phillies' "Whiz Kids" team that won the 1950 NL pennant
January 17: Harry "The Cat" Brecheen, 89, former MLB pitcher
January 19: David Hookes - Australian cricketer
January 25: Fanny Blankers-Koen, 85 - legendary Dutch athlete
January 25: Miklos Feher - Hungarian Footballer (Soccer)
February 1: Ally McLeod - Footballer (soccer) and former Scottish national team manager
February 14: Marco Pantani, 34 - Italian cyclist, winner of 1998 Tour de France
February 17: Shirley Strickland de la Hunty - Australian Athlete
February 21: John Charles - Welsh Footballer (soccer) for Leeds, Juventus, Roma, Cardiff and Wales
February 22: Andy Seminick, 83, former MLB catcher who played for the 1950 Phillies' "Whiz Kids" team

March-April

March 18: Gene Bearden, 83, former MLB pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians
March 22: Peter Jackson - England and Lions winger
April 4 - George Bamberger, 80, former MLB pitcher and manager
April 10: Lou Berberet, 74, former MLB catcher who played for the Yankees, Senators, Red Sox and Tigers
April 12: Frankie Narvaez, 65, Puerto Rican boxer
April 20: Ronnie Simpson - Newcastle, Celtic and Scotland goalkeeper
April 22: Pat Tillman, 27 - American football player who left the NFL to enlist in the United States Army; killed in action in Afghanistan

May-June

May 2: Moe Burtschy, 82, former MLB pitcher for the Philadelphia & Kansas City Athletics
May 3: Darrell Johnson, 75, former MLB catcher who was manager for the Boston Red Sox in the 1975 World Series
May 17 Buster Narum, 63, former MLB pitcher for the Orioles and Senators
June 4 Wilmer Fields, 81, former Negro League Baseball All-Star
June 8: Mack Jones, 65, former MLB outfielder, who played for the Milwaukee & Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos

July-August

July 5: Rodger Ward, 83, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner

July 9: Tony Lupien, 87, former MLB first baseman, who also was baseball and basketball coach for Dartmouth College

July 26: Rubén Gómez, 77, Puerto Rico, former MLB right-handed pitcher who played for the Giants, Phillies, Indians and Twins. Gómez won baseball's first regular season game on the West Coast. He started the first game in San Francisco history, beating Don Drysdale and the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers in a 8-0 shutout on April 15, 1958. The two teams moved from New York after the 1957 season

August 23: Hank Borowy, 88, former MLB pitcher, who played for the Yankees, Cubs, Phillies, Pirates and Tigers