2004 in sports

2004 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Years in sports: 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Centuries: 20th century · 21st century · 22nd century Decades: 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Contents [hide] 1 [All or Sports] 2 Association football 3 Athletics 4 Australian rules football 5 Baseball 6 Basketball 7 Boxing 8 Canadian football 9 Cricket 10 Curling 11 Cycle racing 12 Field hockey 13 Figure skating 14 Floorball 15 Gaelic Athletic Association 16 Gliding 17 Golf 18 Handball 19 Harness racing 20 Horse racing 21 Ice hockey 22 Kabaddi 23 Lacrosse 24 Mixed martial arts 25 Motor racing 26 Orienteering 27 Netball 28 Radiosport 29 Rugby league 30 Rugby union 31 Ski mountaineering 32 Snooker 33 Snowboarding 34 Speed skating 35 Swimming 36 Tennis 37 Volleyball 38 Water polo 39 Wrestling 40 Multi-sport events 41 Awards 42 References 43 Films

[All or Sports]
College football Bowl Championship Series (2003 season): January 1 – Rose Bowl – USC 28, Michigan 14 January 1 – Orange Bowl – Miami 16, Florida State 14 January 2 – Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State 35, Kansas State 28 January 4 – Sugar Bowl – LSU 21, Oklahoma 14 January 5 – LSU Tigers is awarded the 2003 BCS national championship; USC Trojans is awarded the 2003 Associated Press national championship

National Football League – February 1 – Super Bowl XXXVIII – New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29 at Houston, Texas August 8 – John Elway, Barry Sanders, Carl Eller and Bob Brown are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame September 19 – Jerry Rice's record of 274 consecutive games with a pass reception comes to an end, although his Oakland Raiders defeat the Buffalo Bills, 13-10. September 27 – Morten Andersen appears in his 341st NFL game, breaking the record set by George Blanda. December 26 – Peyton Manning threw his 49th touchdown pass of the season in a game against the San Diego Chargers breaking Dan Marino's single season touchdown record

Association football
Main article: 2004 in association football February 14 – Tunisia beat Morocco 2-1 to clinch the first Africa Cup of Nations in the country's history. May 26 – Porto defeat AS Monaco 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League final in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. April 28 – San Marino record their first international victory, defeating Liechtenstein 1-0. July 4 – Greece surprisingly win the UEFA Euro 2004 football tournament, defeating the host nation Portugal 1-0. July 25 – Brazil win the Copa América football tournament, defeating Argentina 4-2 on penalties. August 7 – Japan win the 2004 Asian Cup football tournament, defeating China 3-1. August 26 – United States win the Olympic women's football tournament, defeating Brazil 2-1 in extra time. August 28 – Argentina win the Olympic men's football tournament, defeating Paraguay 1-0. September 20 – death of Brian Clough, 69, English manager who won successive European Cups in 1979 and 1980 as manager of Nottingham Forest October 27 – death of Serginho, 30, Brazilian player wo suffered a fatal heart attack during a Campeonato Brasileiro match December 17 – Boca Juniors defeats Bolívar 2-1 on aggregate to win the Copa Sudamericana final in Buenos Aires

Athletics
Main article: 2004 in athletics (track and field) August – Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics held at Athens

Australian rules football
Australian Football League Port Adelaide wins the 108th AFL premiership (Port Adelaide 17.11 (113) d Brisbane Lions 10.13 (73)) Brownlow Medal awarded to Chris Judd (West Coast Eagles) See also 2004 AFL season

Baseball
Main article: 2004 in baseball 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. September 17 – At San Francisco, Barry Bonds becomes just the third player in MLB history to hit 700 home runs. Bonds joined the select company of Hall of Famers Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) with his historic blast off San Diego Padres Jake Peavy in the third inning. September 17 – At Seattle, Ichiro Suzuki hits his 199th single of the season, breaking the major league baseball record of 198, set by Lloyd Waner in 1927. September 29 – Major League Baseball announces that the Montreal Expos will be moved to the Washington, D.C. area for the 2005 season. October 1 – Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners gets two base hits to break the 83-year-old record for most hits in a single season. The previous record, held by George Sisler, was 257 hits in a season. October 25 – The Seibu Lions win the Japan Series with a 4–3 series win over the Chunichi Dragons. October 27 – The Boston Red Sox sweep the St. Louis Cardinals, four games to none, to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years.

Basketball
Main article: 2004 in basketball NBA Finals – The Detroit Pistons, in a major upset, defeat the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 1. It is the Pistons first NBA title in fourteen years, and the third in franchise history. WNBA Finals- The Seattle Storm defeat the Connecticut Sun in three games. NCAA Men's Basketball Championship The Connecticut Huskies win 82-73 over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. UConn's Emeka Okafor is named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

NCAA Women's Basketball Championship The following day, the UConn women follow suit, defeating the Tennessee Lady Volunteers 70-61, making UConn the first school to win both the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball championships in the same season. UConn's Diana Taurasi is named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.

Euroleague – Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel wins the final 118-74 over Fortitudo Bologna of Italy. Chinese Basketball Association finals: Guangdong Southern Tigers defeat Bayi Rockets, 3 games to 1. National Basketball League (Australia) – Sydney Kings defeated the West Sydney Razorbacks 3-2 in best-of-five final series.

Boxing
February 19 to February 29 – 35th European Amateur Boxing Championships held in Pula, Croatia March 13 – world junior middleweight championship unified as Shane Mosley lost to Winky Wright. May 15 – Antonio Tarver won the WBC light-heavyweight title with a 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. September 18 – Bernard Hopkins successfully defends his undisputed middleweight title with a ninth-round knockout of Oscar De La Hoya.

Canadian football
November 21 – the Toronto Argonauts win the 92nd Grey Cup game, defeating the BC Lions 27-19 at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa.

Cricket
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 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 – West Indies' Brian Lara regains the individual Test innings record from Matthew Hayden with 400 not out in the fourth Test against England in St. John's, Antigua 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. September 10 – September 25 – ICC Champions Trophy in England – West Indies beats England in the final.

Curling
2004 Ford World Curling Championship Women's Final: (April 24) Canada (Colleen Jones) 8-4 Norway (Dordi Nordby) Men's Final: (April 25) Sweden (Peja Lindholm) 7-6 Germany (Sebastian Stock)

Cycle racing
Road bicycle racing Giro d'Italia won by Damiano Cunego of Italy. Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi wins nine stages. See 2004 Giro d'Italia Tour de France won by Lance Armstrong, his record-setting sixth consecutive title.

Cyclo-cross UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships Men's Competition – Bart Wellens Women's Competition – Laurence Leboucher

Field hockey
Olympic Games (Men's Competition): Australia Olympic Games (Women's Competition): Germany Men's Champions Trophy: Spain Women's Champions Trophy: Netherlands

Figure skating
World Figure Skating Championships Men's champion: Evgeni Plushenko, Russia Ladies' champion: Shizuka Arakawa, Japan Pair skating champions: Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, Russia Ice dancing champions: Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, Russia

Floorball
Sweden captures the 2004 Men's World Floorball Championship by defeating the Czech Republic 6:4 in Zürich

Gaelic Athletic Association
Camogie All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Tipperary National Camogie League: Tipperary

Gaelic football All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Kerry 1-20 died Mayo 2-9 National Football League – Kerry 3-11 died Galway 1-16 Tommy Murphy Cup – Clare 1-11 died Sligo 0-11

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

Hurling All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Cork 0-17 died Kilkenny 0-9 National Hurling League –

Gliding
World Gliding Championships held at Elverum, Norway Club Class Winner: Sebastian Kawa, Poland; Glider: SZD-48-3M Brawo

Golf
Main article: 2004 in golf

Men's professional Major Championships Masters Tournament – Phil Mickelson wins the first major of his career. U.S. Open – Retief Goosen wins his second U.S. Open title British Open – Todd Hamilton, a virtual unknown, wins at Royal Troon in a playoff over Ernie Els PGA Championship – Vijay Singh wins in a three-hole playoff over Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard.

Team Europe defeats Team USA 18½ – 9½ to retain the Ryder Cup.

Men's amateur British Amateur – Stuart Wilson U.S. Amateur – Ryan Moore European Amateur – Matthew Richardson

Women's professional Kraft Cereal Nabisco Championship – Grace Park wins the first major of the LPGA season, by one shot over 17-year-old Aree Song. Michelle Wie finished fourth, four shots behind Park. LPGA Championship – Annika Sörenstam U.S. Women's Open – Meg Mallon Women's British Open – Karen Stupples LPGA Tour money leader – Annika Sörenstam – $2,544,707

Handball
2004 European Men's Handball Championship: Germany 2004 European Women's Handball Championship: Norway

Harness racing
Windsong's Legacy becomes the seventh horse to win the North American Trotting Triple Crown.

Horse racing
Steeplechases Cheltenham Gold Cup – Best Mate wins a third consecutive time Grand National – Amberleigh House

Flat races Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Makybe Diva Canada – Queen's Plate won by Niigon Dubai – Dubai World Cup won by Pleasantly Perfect France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Bago Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Grey Swallow Japan – Japan Cup won by Zenno Rob Roy English Triple Crown Races: 1.2,000 Guineas Stakes – Haafhd 2.Epsom Derby – North Light 3.St. Leger Stakes – Rule of Law

United States Triple Crown Races: 1.Kentucky Derby – Smarty Jones 2.Preakness Stakes – Smarty Jones by a record margin of 11½ lengths 3.Belmont Stakes – Birdstone

Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships: 1.Breeders' Cup Classic – Ghostzapper 2.Breeders' Cup Distaff – Ashado 3.Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf – Ouija Board 4.Breeders' Cup Juvenile – Wilko 5.Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies – Sweet Catomine 6.Breeders' Cup Mile – Singletary 7.Breeders' Cup Sprint – Speightstown 8.Breeders' Cup Turf – Better Talk Now

Ice hockey
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." 2004 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships at Halifax, Nova Scotia – Canada defeats USA 2-0 in the final 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships held at Prague – Canada defeats Sweden 5-3 in the final Stanley Cup – Tampa Bay Lightning defeats Calgary Flames 4 games to 3 2004 World Cup of Hockey held at Toronto – Canada 3-2 Finland September 15 – NHL collective bargaining agreement expires. Commissioner Gary Bettman announces a lockout of NHLPA players.

Kabaddi
November 21 – India wins the first-ever World Cup kabaddi championship defeating Iran in the final held at Mumbai.

Lacrosse
February 22 – National Lacrosse League – The East Division All-Stars defeat the West Division All-Stars 19-15 in the All Star Game. May 7 – National Lacrosse League – Calgary Roughnecks defeat Buffalo Bandits 14-11 to win Champion's Cup May 30 – LeMoyne College defeats Limestone 11-10 (2OT) for first Division II National Championship. August – European Lacrosse Championships Men's – England defeats Germany Women's – Wales A defeats Scotland A

August 22 – Major League Lacrosse – Philadelphia Barrage defeat Boston Cannons 13-11 to win league championship at Boston Clarington Green Gaels win the Founders Cup Peterborough Lakers win the Mann Cup Burnaby Lakers win the Minto Cup

Mixed martial arts[
The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events during 2004 in chronological order.

Date Event Alternate Name/s Location Attendance PPV Buyrate Notes January 16 WEC 9: Cold Blooded N/A United States Lemoore, California, United States N/A N/A N/A January 31 UFC 46: Supernatural N/A United States Las Vegas, United States 10,700 80,000 N/A February 1 Pride 27: Inferno N/A Japan Osaka, Japan 13,366 N/A N/A February 15 Pride Bushido 2 N/A Japan Yokohama, Japan N/A N/A N/A March 14 K-1 Beast 2004 in Niigata N/A Japan Niigata, Japan N/A N/A Event featured five K-1 kickboxing bouts, and four K-1 MMA bouts. April 2 UFC 47: It's On! N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 11,437 105,000 This event featured a highly anticipated fight between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. April 25 Pride Total Elimination 2004 N/A Japan Saitama, Japan 42,110 N/A Opening round to Pride GP 2004 heavyweight tournament. May 21 WEC 10: Bragging Rights N/A United States Lemoore, California, United States N/A N/A N/A May 22 K-1 MMA ROMANEX N/A Japan Saitama, Japan 14,918 N/A N/A May 23 Pride Bushido 3 N/A Japan Yokohama, Japan N/A N/A This event was highlighted by three fights between Team Gracie and Team Japan. June 19 UFC 48: Payback N/A United States Las Vegas, Nevada, United States 10,000 110,000 N/A June 20 Pride Critical Countdown 2004 N/A Japan Saitama, Japan 43,711 N/A Quarterfinals to Pride GP 2004 heavyweight tournament. July 19 Pride Bushido 4 N/A Japan Nagoya, Japan N/A N/A This event was highlighted by three fights between Brazilian Top Team and Team Japan. August 15 Pride Final Conflict 2004 N/A Japan Saitama, Japan 47,629 N/A Semifinals and final to Pride GP 2004 heavyweight tournament. The final between, Fedor Emelianenko and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira ended in a no contest. A rematch for the final was rescheduled for Pride Shockwave 2004. August 21 UFC 49: Unfinished Business N/A United States Paradise, Nevada, United States 12,100 80,000 N/A October 14 Pride Bushido 5 N/A Japan Osaka, Japan N/A N/A N/A October 21 WEC 12: Halloween Fury 3 N/A United States Lemoore, California, United States N/A N/A N/A October 22 UFC 50: The War of '04 N/A United States Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States 9,000 40,000 N/A October 31 Pride 28: High Octane N/A Japan Saitama, Japan 24,028 N/A N/A November 20 K-1 Fighting Network Rumble on the Rock 2004 N/A United States Honolulu, Hawaii, United States 13,000 N/A N/A December 31 Pride Shockwave 2004 N/A Japan Saitama, Japan 48,398 N/A Fedor Emelianenko becomes the Pride 2004 heavyweight Grand Prix champion. December 31 K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!! N/A Japan Osaka, Japan 52,918 N/A Event featured seven K-1 MMA bouts, three K-1 kickboxing bouts, and one special mixed rules bout.

Motor racing
Formula One – Ferrari clinch Formula One constructors title Michael Schumacher clinches seventh Formula One title

World Rally Championship won by Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena for the Citroën Total World Rally Team Stock car racing (NASCAR): Daytona 500 – won by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. October 24 – death of Ricky Hendrick, 24, NASCAR driver, in a plane crash with nine other people Kurt Busch wins the 2004 Nextel Cup by seven points at the conclusion of a ten-race "playoff" * Indy Racing League – Indianapolis 500 – won by Buddy Rice Tony Kanaan clinches the driver's title

24 Hours of Le Mans Tom Kristensen / Rinaldo Capello / Seiji Ara driving an Audi R8 with Audi Sport Japan Team Goh win the LMP1 class and overall victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

V8 Supercar – Marcos Ambrose (Ford Falcon) won V8 Championship Series

Formula 3000 – Vitantonio Liuzzi wins the Formula 3000 title by comfortable margin; championship is replaced by GP2 for the new year

Orienteering
First ever World Championship in Trail Orienteering held September 15–18 in Västerås, Sweden

Netball
5 July – the reigning world champions, New Zealand's Silver Ferns, complete 3-0 Test series win over Australia with 53-46 win at Hamilton, New Zealand.

Radiosport
Twelfth Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in Brno, Czech Republic

Rugby league
Main article: 2004 in rugby league February 13 at Huddersfield, England – 2004 World Club Challenge match is won by the Bradford Bulls 22-4 against Penrith Panthers at Alfred McAlpine Stadium before 18,962 April 23 at Newcastle, Australia – 2004 ANZAC Test match is won by Australia 37-10 over New Zealand at EnergyAustralia Stadium before 21,537 May 15 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff – 2004 Challenge Cup tournament won by St. Helens with a 32-16 win over Wigan Warriors in the final before 73,734. 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 October 3 – Canterbury Bulldogs defeats Sydney Roosters 16-13 in the Grand Final to win the NRL premiership October 16 – Leeds Rhinos defeats Bradford Bulls 16-8 in the Super League Grand Final to become champions of Super League IX November 27 – Australia defeats Great Britain 44-4 in the final of the second Tri-Nations competition

Rugby union
Main article: 2004 in rugby union 110th Six Nations Championship series is won by France who complete the Grand Slam Super 12 final – ACT Brumbies defeated Crusaders 47-38 Heineken Cup final – London Wasps defeated Toulouse 27-20 Tri Nations Series – South Africa win due to bonus points, after all sides finish with two wins and two losses New Zealand retain the Bledisloe Cup

Ski mountaineering
March – 2004 World Championship of Skimountaineering held at Aran Valley, Spain

Snooker
World Snooker Championship – Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Graeme Dott 18-8 World rankings – Ronnie O'Sullivan becomes world number one for 2004-05 October 16 – in a qualifying match for the UK Championship, Jamie Burnett makes a break of 148 against Leo Fernandez and becomes the first player to achieve a break higher than the nominal maximum of 147 in a professional match.

Snowboarding
September 19 – death of Line Oestvold, 26, Norwegian snowboarder, after a crash in training in Chile.

Speed skating
February 7–9 – 2004 World Allround Speed Skating Championships held at Hamar, Norway Men's all-around champion: Chad Hedrick (USA) 150.478 Ladies' all-around champion: Renate Groenewold (Netherlands) 162.573

Swimming
January 13–14 – World Cup (short course) held at Stockholm January 18 – Yang Yu sets a world record in the women's 200m butterfly (short course) in Berlin with a time of 2:04.04, exactly four years after the previous record was set. March 25 – Frédérick Bousquet breaks the world record in the men's 50m freestyle (short course) at New York City, clocking 21.10 May 5–16 – 27th European LC Championships held at Madrid Russia wins the most medals (16) and Ukraine the most gold medals (9) August 14–22 – Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics held at Athens USA wins the most medals (28) and the most gold medals (12) (October 7-1) – 7th World Short Course Championships held at Indianapolis USA wins the most medals (41) and the most gold medals (21) December 9–12 – 8th European SC Championships held at Vienna Germany wins the most medals (22) and the most gold medals (9)

Tennis
Main article: 2004 in tennis 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

US Open Men's Final: Roger Federer defeats Lleyton Hewitt 6-0 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 Women's Final: Svetlana Kuznetsova defeats Elena Dementieva 6-3 7-5

2004 Summer Olympics Men's Singles Competition: Nicolás Massú Women's Singles Competition: Justine Henin-Hardenne Men's Doubles Competition: Fernando González & Nicolás Massú Women's Doubles Competition: Li Ting & Sun Tiantian

Volleyball
Volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's volleyball: Brazil Volleyball at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's volleyball: China Men's World League: Brazil Women's World Grand Prix: Brazil

Water polo
2004 FINA Men's Water Polo World League: Hungary 2004 FINA Women's Water Polo World League: USA

Wrestling
WWE March 14, 2004 – At WrestleMania XX, Chris Benoit defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels to capture the World Heavyweight Championship when he submitted Triple H to the Crippler Crossface submission hold

Multi-sport events
2004 Summer Olympics held from August 13 to August 29 in Athens. Leading medal winners:

Rank

Nation

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

1 USA 36 39 27 102 2 China 32 17 14 63 3 Russia 27 27 38 92 4 Australia 17 16 16 49 5 Japan 16 9 12 37 2004 Summer Paralympics held from September 17 to September 28 in Athens 10th Pan Arab Games held in Algiers

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

Films

 * Million Dollar Baby