2002 in sports
See also: 2001 in sports, other events of 2002, 2003 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.
Auto Racing
- Stock car racing:
- Ward Burton won the Daytona 500
- NASCAR Championship - Tony Stewart
- Indy Racing League - Sam Hornish Jr won the season championship.
- Indianapolis 500 - Hélio Castroneves
- CART Racing - Cristiano da Matta won 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.
- Rally racing:
- the team of Tommi Mäkinen / Risto Mannisenmaki won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
- Marcus Grönholm of Finland won the World Rally Championship.
- Drag racing - Larry Dixon Jr won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.
Baseball
- World Series: Anaheim Angels won 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.
- Bill James, Win Shares: Presenting the sabermetrician's new system for evaluating player performance.
Basketball
- 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.
- NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
- Maryland Terrapins win 64-52 over the Indiana Hoosiers
- Maryland Terrapins win 64-52 over the Indiana Hoosiers
- NBA Finals:
- Los Angeles Lakers win 4 games to 0 over the New Jersey Nets
- Los Angeles Lakers win 4 games to 0 over the New Jersey Nets
- WNBA Finals
- Los Angeles Sparks win 2 games to 0 over the New York Liberty
- Los Angeles Sparks win 2 games to 0 over the New York Liberty
Boxing
- June 21- Lennox Lewis retains boxing's WBC world Heavyweight crown with an eight round knockout over Mike Tyson
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
Figure Skating
Football (Soccer)
- England - FA Cup: Arsenal won 2-0 over Chelsea
- Real Madrid wins the Champions League
- May - Arsenal wins The Double
- June 30 - 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. Surprising Turkey and host-nation South Korea take 3rd and 4th. This is the first time a World Cup is held in two countries simultaneously.
Football (American)
- Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots won 20-17 over the St. Louis Rams
- Arena Bowl XVI: San Jose SaberCats won 52-14 over the Arizona Rattlers
Canadian Football League
- Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes won 25-16 over the Edmonton Eskimos
- Vanier Cup: Saint Mary's Huskies won 39-23 over the Saskatchewan Huskies
Golf
- Grand Slam of golf results:
- May: The Masters - Tiger Woods
- June: US Open - Tiger Woods
- July: British Open - Ernie Els
- August: PGA Championship - Rich Beem
- Tiger Woods was the PGA tour's leading money winner for the year with earnings of $6,912,625 in 18 events.
- Hale Irwin was 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 defeated the United States team 15.5-12.5 to win the Ryder Cup of world 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
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:
- Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings won 4 games to 1 over the Carolina Hurricanes
- World Hockey Championship
- Canada defeated the United States 5-2 to win the men's Olympic Gold Medal.
- Canada defeated the United States 3-2 to win the women's Olympic Gold Medal.
Skiing
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:
- At the Palais Omnisports Paris Bercy, in Paris, France, Russia defeated France 3-2 to win the Davis Cup of world tennis.
General sporting events
- The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, United States from February 8 to February 24. Top performers include Janica Kostelic, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Simon Ammann. A scandal in figure skating also dominated the news.
- Embassy World Snooker Championship:
- Peter Ebdon won 18-17 over Stephen Hendry
- Peter Ebdon won 18-17 over Stephen Hendry
- Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Martin Buser won with lead dog Bronson
- Martin Buser won with lead dog Bronson
Births
Deaths
- March 23 - Ben Hollioake, English cricket player
- April 16 - Franz Krienbühl, Swiss speed skater
- May 23 - Sam Snead, US golf player
- June 1 - Hansie Cronje, South African cricket player
- June 17 - Willie Davenport, US hurdler
- June 20 - Tinus Osendarp, Dutch sprinter
- June 22 - Pedro Alcazar, Panamanian boxer
- July 5 - Ted Williams, great US baseball player (1939-1960)
- August 5 - Darrell Porter, US baseball player (1971-1987)
- August 12 - Enos Slaughter, Major League Baseball player (1938-1959)
- August 23 - Hoyt Wilhelm, Major League Baseball knuckleballer (1952-1972)
- September 11 - Johnny Unitas, US American football player
- September 18 - Bob Hayes, US sprinter and American football player
- October 20 - Mel Harder, Major League Baseball player, (1928-1947)
- December 1 - Dave McNally, Major League Baseball pitcher, (1962-1975)


