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2008: The year in sport
2008-12-31 08:43
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As a fine way to welcome in 2009, Sport24 recommends a look back at the great sporting events of 2008. It’s no three minute read, mind you, so either take it in month by month, or grab yourself a cup of coffee or something cold, and ease into a review that we hope will stir up a few amazing memories …
January
Jan. 4 - The Dakar Rally, the epic motorcycle, car and truck race across the Sahara desert, was cancelled by organisers citing "direct" threats of terrorism from al-Qaida-linked militants.
Jan. 9 - Peter de Villiers became the first black coach of South Africa's rugby team, with his race a deciding factor for the selectors.
Jan. 9 - Golf Channel suspended anchor Kelly Tilghman for two weeks for saying last week that young players who wanted to challenge Tiger Woods should "lynch him in a back alley."
Jan. 10 - Russian winger Alex Ovechkin signed a $124 million, 13-year contract extension with the Washington Capitals, the first $100 million deal in NHL history.
Jan. 11 - Marion Jones, the former U.S. Olympic track gold medallist, was sentenced to six months in prison for lying to investigators about doping and her role in a check-fraud scam.
Jan. 18 - Golfweek magazine replaced Dave Seanor, the vice president and editor of Golfweek, for illustrating the current cover with a noose and apologized for its depiction of a Golf Channel anchor's use of "lynch" in a comment about Tiger Woods.
Jan. 19 - Australia's world record-equalling run of 16 successive test cricket victories since December 2005 is ended by India's 72-run in the third test at Perth. Australia had equalled its own record streak from 1999-2001.
Jan. 23 - French Open winner Michael Chang was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and IMG creator Mark McCormack and Tennis Week magazine founder Eugene Scott were selected posthumously.
Jan. 26 - Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open, beating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3 for her third Grand Slam singles title. Sharapova won the title without dropping a set, including wins over three of the top four ranked players.
Jan. 27 - Novak Djokovic fended off unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the Australian Open final, earning his first Grand Slam title.
Jan. 28 - India drew the fourth test in Adelaide and Australia finished with a 2-1 series victory in the 96th and last test for wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who retired with a world record 416 dismissals.
February
Feb. 6 - The Phoenix Suns acquired Shaquille O'Neal in a stunning, blockbuster deal that sent four-time NBA All-Star Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat.
Feb. 10 - Egypt won a record fifth African Cup of Nations by beating Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties after a goal-less final after extra time in Cairo.
Feb. 10 - Yelena Soboleva broke her own indoor world record in the 1,500 meters at the Russian indoor championships. Soboleva finished in 3:58.05, shaving 0.23 seconds off the mark she set at the Russian nationals on Feb. 12, 2006.
Feb. 10 - Susanna Kallur broke the 18-year-old world record in the women's 60-meter indoor hurdles, finishing in 7.68 seconds to lower the mark by 0.01 seconds at the Karlsruhe International. Kallur broke the record set Feb. 4, 1990, by Russia's Ludmila Narozhilenko - who later changed her name to Ludmila Engquist.
Feb. 16 - Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia set the world record for the indoor 2 miles, breaking the mark that had been held for five years by countryman Haile Gebrselassie. He was timed in 8:04.35 at the Norwich Union Grand Prix, reducing the record by 0.34 seconds. Gebrselassie's record of 8:04.69 was set at the same National Indoor Arena in February 2003.
Feb. 16 - Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe set the world record in the 200-meter backstroke at the Missouri Grand Prix, breaking a mark that stood for 16 years. Coventry finished in 2:06.39. That was 0.23 seconds faster than the mark set by Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary in August 1991.
Feb. 16 - Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva broke her own indoor world record in the women's pole vault in a meet held in Donetsk, Ukraine. Isinbayeva cleared 4.95 meters, to improve her previous record of 4.93 that was set last year at the same event.
Feb. 17 - Australian Eamon Sullivan broke the 50-meter freestyle world record, finishing in 21.56 seconds to better the mark set by Russian Alexander Popov in 2000. Sullivan took 0.08 seconds off the previous record while swimming in the New South Wales Open in Sydney. Popov set the previous mark of 21.64 seconds in Moscow on June 16, 2000.
Feb. 17 - Natalie Coughlin set a world record in the 100-meter backstroke during a preliminary race at the Missouri Grand Prix. Coughlin finished in 59.21 seconds, lowering her previous world record in the event by 0.23 seconds.
Feb. 18 - Italian player Giorgio Galimberti was found guilty of betting on tennis and was suspended for 100 days and fined $35,000. The ATP said Galimberti bet on tennis from June 2003 to January 2006 but did not specify if he bet on his own matches.
Feb. 23 - Japanese swimmers Reiko Nakamura and Yuko Nakanishi both set women's short-course world records at the Japanese championships. Nakamura clocked a time of 2:3.24 in the 200-meter backstroke final to shave .38 seconds off the previous record held by American Natalie Coughlin since 2001. Nakanishi then took .41 seconds off Otylia Jedrzejczak's world mark when she clocked 2:03.12 in the 200-meter butterfly final. Poland's Jedrzejczak - the current world and Olympic champion in the event - finished 2:03.53 in Hungary in December.
Feb. 24 - Tiger Woods enjoyed a record-breaking victory in the Accenture Match Play Championship. Woods won his fifth straight tournament and captured his 15th World Golf Championship, holding all three world titles for the first time. Woods overwhelmed Stewart Cink him with 14 birdies in 29 holes for an 8-and-7 victory, the largest margin in the final in the 10-year history of this tournament.
Feb. 27 - LeBron James scored 26 points to become the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 10,000-point milestone at 23 years and 59 days, more than a year younger than Kobe Bryant was when he hit the milestone in 2003 (24 years, 193 days).
March
March 3 - Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger's lower left leg was amputated because of complications from two broken bones in a crash at a World Cup race March 2. Lanzinger broke his shin and fibula during a super-G. The double fracture severely damaged blood vessels, hampering circulation in the 27-year-old skier's leg.
March 8 - At age 60, Saoul Mamby lost a unanimous 10-round decision to Anthony Osbourne in Grand Cayman. Mamby, a former super lightweight champion, became the oldest boxer in a sanctioned fight. Eight years ago, Mamby became the first boxer in history to compete in five decades. Mamby's last bout was Dec. 27, 2004.
March 9 - Yelena Soboleva broke her own world record in winning the 1,500 meters at the world indoor championships in Valencia, Spain. The Russian finished in 3:57.71 to shave 0.34 seconds off her former mark set on Feb. 10.
March 16 - Wales beats France 19-12 to complete a second Six Nations Grand Slam in four years, conceding only two tries in five games.
March 18 - The Netherlands set a world record in the women's 400-meter freestyle relay at the European swimming championships with a time of 3:33.62. The Dutch team of Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk and Marleen Veldhuis led throughout in front of a raucous home crowd, easily beating the old mark of 3:35.22 set two years ago by Germany.
March 21 - Alain Bernard shattered the 100-meter freestyle world record with a time of 47.60 seconds at the European swimming championships. In the first semifinal Bernard took nearly a quarter of a second off the old record of 47.84, set by Pieter Van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
March 22 - Australian Stephanie Rice broke the world record in the 400-meter individual medley at the Australian swimming championships. Rice finished in a time of 4:31.46, taking 1.43 seconds off American Katie Hoff's mark of 4:32.89 set April 1 at last year's world championships in Melbourne. Australian Emily Seebohm broke the world record in the 50-meter backstroke, finishing in 27.95 seconds, taking 0.05 seconds off American Hayley McGregory's mark set two weeks earlier.
March 22 - Alain Bernard broke the world record in the 100-meter freestyle for the second time in two days, setting a new mark of 47.50 seconds at the European swimming championships. The 24-year-old Frenchman took one-tenth of a second off his record of 47.60 in the previous day's semifinals.
March 23 - Alain Bernard broke the world record in the 50-meter freestyle for his third world mark in three days at the European swimming championships. The Frenchman swam 21.50 seconds to beat the time of 21.56 set last month by Eamon Sullivan of Australia, who lowered Alexander Popov's previous record of 21.64 set in Moscow on June 16, 2000.
March 24 - Marleen Veldhuis set a world record in the women's 50-meter freestyle on the final day of the European swimming championships. The Dutchwoman finished in 24.09 seconds, lowering the record of 24.13 set by Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Federica Pellegrini set a world record in the women's 400-meter freestyle, winning in 4:01.53, easily beating the old world mark of 4:02.13 set by Laure Manaudou of France two years ago at the last European championships.
March 25 - Stephanie Rice set the women's 200-meter individual medley world record at Australia's Olympic swimming trials, clocking 2:08.92. She trimmed 0.80 seconds from the record set by China's Wu Yan Yan 11 years ago and her time was a personal best by 2.5 seconds.
March 26 - England wins its first overseas cricket series in three years when it beats New Zealand by 121 runs in Napier in the third test for a 2-1 series victory from 1-0 down.
March 27 - Libby Trickett set a world record in the 100-meter freestyle at the Australian swim championships. Trickett, formerly Libby Lenton and competing for the first time under her married name, beat the 53.30 mark set by Germany's Britta Steffen in Budapest, Hungary, on Aug. 2, 2006. It was the second world record of the night as Eamon Sullivan set one in the 50 free, finishing in 21.41 seconds. Sullivan broke the mark of 21.50 seconds set by France's Alain Bernard at the European championships on March 23.
March 28 - Eamon Sullivan broke his own world record in the 50-meter freestyle, setting a second mark in 24 hours at the Australian swim championships and Olympic trials. Sullivan clocked 21.28 seconds in the final, after lowering the mark to 21.41 in the semifinals the previous day.
March 29 - Libby Trickett broke the world record in the women's 50-meter freestyle, finishing in 23.97 seconds at the Australian swimming championships. Trickett topped Marleen Veldhuis's mark of 24.09 by .12 seconds.
April
April 2 - Liam Tancock set a world record in the 50-meter backstroke at the British swimming championships. Tancock finished the race in 24.47 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 24.80 set by Thomas Rupprath of Germany in July 2003.
April 6 - West Indies won the second test by six wickets in Trinidad to square the series and deny Sri Lanka a maiden series victory in the Caribbean.
April 6 - Lorena Ochoa continued her dominance of women's golf with a five-shot victory in the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She finished at 11-under 277, beating Suzann Pettersen and Annika Sorenstam.
April 9 - Three world records were set at the short-course world championships in Manchester, England. Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe started things off by setting the world record in the 400-meter individual medley. Then the U.S. team of Ryan Lochte, Bryan Lundquist, Nathan Adrian and Doug Van Wie broke the record in the men's 400 freestyle relay. Finally the Dutch team of Inge Dekker, Fernke Heemskerk, Marleen Veldhuis and Ranomi Kromowidjojo established a new mark in the women's 800 freestyle relay.
April 10 - Jessica Hardy set a world record in the women's 50-meter breaststroke at the short-course swimming world championships in Manchester, England. Her time of 29.58 seconds shaved 0.32 off the record set by Jade Edmistone of Australia in 2004.
April 11 - In Manchester, England, five more world records were set at the short-course world championships. Duje Draganja of Croatia established a new mark in the men's 50 freestyle - swimming's signature race - and Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe set a best time in the women's 200-meter backstroke for her second world record of the meet, as did Ryan Lochte of the United States by taking the men's 200 individual medley. Felicity Galvez of Australia established another world mark in the women's 50 butterfly, and the U.S. team of Margaret Hoelzer, Jessica Hardy, Rachel Komisarz and Kara Denby had the final record of the day in the women's 400 medley relay.
April 12 - Kirsty Coventry broke the world's oldest short-course swimming record. Coventry established her third world mark of the world short-course championships in 2:06.13 in the 200-meter individual medley. The previous mark of 2:07.79 had been held by Allison Wagner of the U.S. since the inaugural edition of the meet in December 1993. Ryan Lochte continued his winning streak with a world record in the 100 individual medley semifinal with a time of 51.25. Lochte also guided the U.S. team to a record-breaking swim in the 400 freestyle relay. The 12th mark of the championships tumbled in the women's 400 freestyle relay, with the Netherlands bettering their own record in 3:29.42.
April 13 - Trevor Immelman handled the wind and pressure of Augusta National far better than anyone chasing him to win the Masters, the first South African in a green jacket in 30 years. A two-putt par on the final hole gave him a 3-over 75, matching the highest final round by a Masters champion. Even so, it was good enough for a three-shot victory over Tiger Woods.
April 13 - Martin Lel of Kenya won his second straight London Marathon and third in four years in a course record 2:05:15. Irina Mikitenko won the women's race in only her second attempt at the distance.
April 13 - In Morelia, Mexico, Lorena Ochoa won the Corona Championship by 11 strokes for her third straight victory and fourth in five starts this year. The Mexican star became the second-youngest player to qualify for the U.S. LPGA Hall of Fame, though she still must be a tour member for 10 years - in her case, until 2012 - to be eligible for induction.
April 13 - In Manchester, England, Ryan Lochte led the way as the short-course swimming world championships concluded with six more world records to bring the total for the meet to 18 overall. Lochte improved on his own 100-meter individual medley record, set in the semifinals a day earlier. The American finished in 51.15 seconds, shaving 0.10 off his previous mark. The other records to fall on the last day were set by Markus Rogan in the 200 backstroke, Sanja Jovanovic of Croatia in the women's 50 back, Felicity Galvez of Australia in the women's 100 butterfly, Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands in the women's 50 freestyle and Russia in the men's 400 medley relay. All but one of the records were set by athletes wearing the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit, which has also been worn in 18 of the 19 long-course world record-setting performances since it was introduced in February.
April 15 - England appoint former captain Martin Johnson as manager through 2011, without any prior experience, kicking out coach Brian Ashton, who led the team to the Rugby World Cup final last year.
April 20 - Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history, capturing the Indy Japan 300 in her 50th career start. Patrick took the lead from pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 198th lap in the 200-lap race and held on.
April 20 - Lorena Ochoa became the first U.S. LPGA Tour player in 45 years to win four tournaments in consecutive weeks. Ochoa shot a 3-under 69 in the final round of the Ginn Open and beat rookie Yani Tseng by three strokes for her fifth victory in six starts this year.
April 21 - Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya won the Boston Marathon in 2:07:46 to become the fourth man to win the race four times. Dire Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova after a back-and-forth last mile to win by 2 seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women's race. Tune, who finished in 2:25:25, was the first Ethiopian woman to win since Fatuma Roba won three straight from 1997-99.
April 26 - Australia's Leisel Jones and Libby Trickett set short-course world swimming records at a national Grand Prix meet in Canberra, Australia. Jones swam the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:03.72 to take 0.14 seconds off her own mark set at the 2006 Australian championships in Hobart. Trickett finished the 100 butterfly in 55.74 to cut 0.15 seconds off the mark set earlier this month by compatriot Felicity Galvez at the short-course world championships in Manchester, England.
May
May 4 - Real Madrid clinches its second successive Spanish league title and record 31st overall with two rounds left.
May 4 - Bayern Munich earned its 21st Bundesliga title with three rounds left, completing the double two weeks after its German Cup victory.
May 11 - Manchester United wins a second straight English Premier League title on the last day of the season, two points clear of Chelsea. It's United's 10th league title in the last 16 seasons.
May 11 - Denis Nizhegorodov set a world record in the men's 50-kilometer race walk at a World Cup meet in Cheboksary, Russia. Nizhegorodov finished in 3:34:13, shaving 1 minute, 34 seconds off the old mark. The previous record of 3:35:47 was set by Nathan Deakes of Australia at Geelong, Australia, on Dec. 2, 2006.
May 14 - Zenit St. Petersburg wins the UEFA Cup by beating Rangers 2-0 in Manchester. It's Zenit's first European title and Russia's second - CSKA Moscow won the UEFA Cup three years before.
May 14 - Justine Henin retired from tennis, an abrupt ending to a short and successful career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and leaves while ranked No. 1. The 25-year-old Belgian is the first woman to retire from tennis while atop the WTA rankings.
May 17 - Portsmouth wins its first FA Cup since 1939, beating Cardiff 1-0 at Wembley and ending one of the most unpredictable competitions in decades.
May 18 - Inter Milan won its 16th Serie A title and third in a row on the last day of the season, three points ahead of AS Roma.
May 18 - Rafael Nadal beat defending champion Roger Federer 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3 to win the Hamburg Masters and add the only major clay-court title missing from his impressive collection.
May 21 - Manchester United wins its third Champions League title, beating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the first all-English final. Edwin van der Sar block's Nicolas Anelka's spot kick for the clincher at Moscow.
May 24 - Munster was crowned European Cup champion for the second time in three years after edging Toulouse 16-13 in a thrilling rugby final at Cardiff.
May 25 - Argentina won its second women's field hockey Champions Trophy, routing Germany 6-2 in the final at Moenchengladbach, with Luciana Aymar named player of the tournament.
May 31 - The Canterbury Crusaders win the Super 14 title, their seventh in 13 years, with a nail-biting 20-12 win over the New South Wales Waratahs in the final.
May 31 - Usain Bolt set the world record in the 100 meters with a time of 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. Bolt was .02 seconds faster than the old record held by fellow Jamaican, Asafa Powell.
June
June 1 - Alberto Contador of Spain becomes the first non-Italian winner of the Giro d'Italia since 1996. Contador doesn't win a stage but beats Italy's Riccardo Ricco by almost two minutes. Contador was prevented from defending his Tour de France title because his Astana team was banned for past doping offenses.
June 3 - FIA chief Max Mosley wins a vote of confidence from world auto groups in Paris after a leaked video of his sadomasochistic sex romp with prostitutes. He later wins a lawsuit against an English tabloid, which wrongfully claimed the romp had a Nazi theme.
June 6 - Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia broke the world record in the women's 5,000 meters with a time of 14:11.15 at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway. Dibaba improved the record by more than five seconds. Meseret Defar, also of Ethiopia, held the previous record of 14:16.63, set a year earlier in Oslo.
June 7 - Ana Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam title by beating Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 in the French Open.
June 8 - Rafael Nadal won his fourth consecutive French Open title in a rout, again spoiling Roger Federer's bid to complete a career Grand Slam. Dominating the world's No. 1 player with astounding ease, Nadal swept six consecutive games early in the match to take control and won 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.
June 8 - Yani Tseng of Taiwan became the first rookie in 10 years to win a major, beating Maria Hjorth on the fourth hole of a playoff with a 5-foot birdie on the 18th hole to win the US LPGA Championship.
June 8 - England defeats New Zealand by an innings and 9 runs inside 4 days at Trent Bridge to win the three-test series 2-0.
June 8 - Spain's Javier Gomez, to no surprise, and Britain's Helen Tucker, from out of nowhere, won their first world triathlon championships in Vancouver.
June 12 - Cuba's Dayron Robles broke the world record in the 110-meter hurdles at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Robles was timed in 12.87 seconds, finishing 0.01 seconds ahead of the mark set two years earlier by Liu Xiang, China's Olympic and world champion.
June 15 - Down to his last stroke at Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods sank a 12-foot birdie putt that forced an 18-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate for the U.S. Open. They finished at 1-under 283, the first time since 2004 that someone broke par in a U.S. Open.
June 16 - Tiger Woods made one last improbable escape and won the U.S. Open in a 19-hole playoff over Rocco Mediate, his 14th career major. One shot behind after a collapse no one saw coming, Woods birdied the 18th hole to force sudden death at Torrey Pines. The extra hole was enough to doom Mediate, trying to become the oldest U.S. Open champion at 45 years, 6 months. Mediate missed a par putt and Woods only needed a two-putt par to win the U.S. Open for the third time.
June 16 - West Indies, chasing a world record 475 to win, falls short by 86 runs in the third test at Barbados, handing Australia a 2-0 series win and the Frank Worrell Trophy.
June 27 - Zheng Jie completed the biggest victory of her career at Wimbledon, beating new No. 1 Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-4 in the third round at Wimbledon. The 133rd-ranked Zheng's victory, her first against a top-10 player, meant the earliest exit by a top-ranked woman at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis lost in the first round in 2001.
June 29 - Two weeks away from her 20th birthday, Inbee Park became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Open by closing with a 2-under 71 as everyone around her faded away at Interlachen in Edina, Minnesota. Park finished at 9-under 283 and earned $585,000 from the richest purse in women's golf. Her four-shot victory over Helen Alfredsson, who shot 75, was the largest in the Women's Open since Karrie Webb won by eight shots at Pine Needles in 2001.
June 29 - Australia won its ninth field hockey Champions Trophy, tying Germany for the record. The Kookaburras beat Spain 4-1 in the final at Rotterdam.
June 29 - Michael Phelps set a world record in his first event of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials at Omaha, Nebraska, holding off rival Ryan Lochte to win the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:05.25. Phelps beat his own mark of 4:06.22, set at last year's world championships in Australia.
July
July 1 - Natalie Coughlin and Aaron Peirsol set world records at the U.S. Olympic swim trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Racing about 10 minutes apart, Coughlin and Peirsol broke their own marks in the 100-meter backstroke. Coughlin became the first woman to break 59 seconds, just one day after she reclaimed the world record in the preliminaries. She touched in 58.97. Peirsol bettered his own record in the 100 back at 52.89, ahead of the 52.98 from last year's worlds.
July 3 - Liga de Quito becomes the first Ecuador club to win the Copa Libertadores. Brazil's Fluminense won the second leg 3-1 to tie the finals 5-5 on aggregate, and Liga won a penalty shootout 3-1.
July 4 - Michael Phelps set another world record, beating Ryan Lochte in the 200-meter individual medley at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Phelps claimed his fourth individual victory of the trials with a time of 1:54.80, beating the mark of 1:54.98 he set while winning seven events at last year's world championships in Australia. Aaron Peirsol tied the world record in the 200-meter backstroke, beating rival Ryan Lochte in 1:54.32. Dara Torres completed her improbable Olympic comeback, making the U.S. team for a record fifth time by winning the 100 freestyle at age 41.
July 5 - Venus Williams won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, beating younger sister Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 in the final. Defending champion Venus is 5-2 in Wimbledon finals, losing only to Serena in 2002 and '03. The win at the All England Club gave Venus her seventh major title. The match was the seventh Grand Slam final between the American sisters, with Serena leading 5-2. They are now 8-8 overall.
July 6 - Rafael Nadal ended Roger Federer's bid to become the first man since the 1880s to win a sixth consecutive championship at the All England Club. Two points from victory, the No. 1-ranked Federer couldn't pull it out, instead succumbing to No. 2 Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 in a 4-hour, 48-minute test of wills that was the longest men's final in Wimbledon history - and quite possibly the greatest. Nadal, the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year, stopped Federer's streaks of 40 victories in a row at the All England Club, and a record 65 in a row on grass.
July 10 - Kim Kirchen pulled on the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, becoming the first Luxembourg rider in 50 years to lead cycling's showcase race. He finished fifth in the sixth stage, which was won by Italy's Riccardo Ricco.
July 11 - Spanish cyclist Manuel Beltran tested positive for the performance-enhancer EPO and was immediately kicked out of the Tour de France and suspended by his team, Liquigas.
July 12 - South Africa, a man short, pips New Zealand 30-28 in the Tri-Nations, ending the All Blacks' 30-match, five-year winning streak at home, and ending an 87-year winless drought at Dunedin's Carisbrook.
July 15 - Athletics coach Trevor Graham, involved with the likes of Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin and Trevor Montgomery, received a lifetime ban from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for helping his athletes obtain performance-enhancing drugs.
July 17 - Drugs hit the Tour de France again, and the third doping bust netted the biggest name yet: Italy's Riccardo Ricco, a winner of two stages. All three busts have involved the performance enhancer EPO, cycling's drug of choice. His Saunier-Duval team withdrew from the Tour and suspended all activities.
July 20 - Padraig Harrington became the first European in more than a century to win golf's oldest championship two years in a row, smashing a pair of fairway metals into the par 5s that allowed him to pull away from mistake-prone Greg Norman and hold off a late charge by Ian Poulter for a four-shot victory.
July 27 - Carlos Sastre won the Tour de France in one of the closest finishes in the 105-year-old race. The third Spaniard in a row to win cycling's premier event, Sastre held his 65-second lead over Cadel Evans of Australia. The 21st and final stage was won by Gert Steegmans. As in the last two years, this year's Tour was plagued by doping. Four riders were ousted in drugs busts.
July 29 - Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva broke her own world record in the women's pole vault with a leap of 5.04 meters. The record came at the Monaco Grand Prix on her third and final attempt at the height. Her previous record of 5.03 that was set in Rome on July 11.
August
Aug. 2 - South Africa earned its first series win in England since 1965, as captain Graeme Smith, with an unbeaten 154, led the Proteas to a five-wicket win with the highest fourth-innings total at Edgbaston (283-5) for an unassailable 2-0 lead in the third of four tests.
Aug. 3 - Ji-Yai Shin won the Women's British Open by three strokes after a final round 6-under 66, maintaining Asia's recent domination of the majors. The 20-year-old South Korean, whose 21 previous victories were all in her homeland or Japan, captured her first major with an 18-under 270.
Aug. 10 - In Beijing, Michael Phelps began his long march toward eight gold medals by winning the 400-meter individual medley in 4:03.84 - smashing his own world record. Stephanie Rice of Australia won the gold in the women's 400-meter individual medley in a world record time of 4:29.45.
Aug. 10 - Padraig Harrington rallied from three shots behind to win the U.S. PGA Championship, closing with a 4-under 66 at Oakland Hills to become only the fourth player to win the British Open and U.S. PGA in the same year. Harrington closed out Sergio Garcia with a 15-foot par on the 18th for a two-shot victory. The Irishman became the first European to win consecutive majors.
Aug. 11 - Sri Lanka won its first series against India since 2001 in the decisive third test at Colombo. Sri Lanka, which hasn't lost a home series to India since 1993, won by 8 wickets and the series 2-1 thanks to 47 wickets between newcomer Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan.
Aug. 11 - In Beijing, Michael Phelps got his second gold medal - thanks to a late comeback in the 400-meter freestyle relay by Jason Lezak, who lunged to the wall just ahead of the French anchor. The U.S. team's time of 3:08.24 shattered its world record of 3:12.23 set the night before in preliminaries. With a furious final kick, Rebecca Adlington pulled off an improbable comeback to defeat favored American Katie Hoff in the women's 400-meter freestyle, and become Britain's first female gold medalist in swimming in 48 years. Abhinav Bindra won the 10-meter air rifle, India's first-ever gold medal in an individual sport.
Aug. 12 - Michael Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle for his third gold medal at the Beijing Games. It was his ninth career gold, tied with Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi for most ever.
Aug. 13 - Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th and 11th career gold medals - and five world records in five events at the Beijing Games. He won the 200-meter butterfly, then swam the leadoff of a runaway victory by the U.S. 800 freestyle relay team, which shattered the world mark by more than four seconds.
Aug. 14 - In Beijing, Tuvshinbayar Naidan of Mongolia won his nation's first gold medal ever, defeating Askhat Zhitkeyev of Kazakhstan in the men's judo 100-kilogram class. Kosuke Kitajima of Japan became the first man to sweep both breaststroke events at consecutive Olympics, winning the 200 meters. He took the 100 meters on Aug. 11.
Aug. 15 - Michael Phelps won his sixth gold medal with his sixth world record, this time in the 200-meter individual medley at the Summer Olympics. American Nastia Liukin, whose father was a double gold medalist for the Soviet Union 20 years ago, won the gold in women's gymnastics; friend and teammate Shawn Johnson was second.
Aug. 16 - In Beijing, Michael Phelps touched the wall a hundredth of a second ahead of Serbia's Milorad Cavic to win the 100-meter butterfly. The win gave Phelps his seventh gold medal of the Beijing Games, tying Mark Spitz's performance in the 1972 Munich Games. Usain Bolt of Jamaica ran the 100-meter dash in a stunning world-record time of 9.69 seconds for a blowout win that he started celebrating a good 10 strides before the finish line.
Aug. 17 - At the Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps and three teammates won the 400-meter medley relay for Phelps' eighth gold medal, eclipsing Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games. Of his five individual races and three relays, Phelps set world records in seven and an Olympic record in the eighth. Rafael Nadal defeated Fernando Gonzalez of Chile to win the men's tennis singles. Elena Dementieva defeated fellow Russian Dinara Safina to win women's singles. Shelly-Ann Fraser led a Jamaican sweep of the women's 100 meters track event that featured a dead heat for second, giving her teammates, Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, a silver medal apiece.
Aug. 17 - New Zealand's All Blacks win 19-0 in Cape Town in the Tri-Nations, preventing South Africa from scoring against its archrival on home soil for the first time.
Aug. 18 - In Beijing, Angelo Taylor became the first 400-meter hurdler since Edwin Moses to win gold medals eight years apart. He led the first sweep of the event since the U.S. did it in 1960. Stephanie Brown Trafton won the women's discus, the first gold medal of the Beijing Games for the U.S. Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia broke her own world record in winning a second consecutive Olympic pole vault gold medal. Already assured victory over rival Jenn Stuczynski of the United States, Isinbayeva set the mark of 5.05 meters on her third and final attempt.
Aug. 18 - A day after winning an Olympic gold medal in Beijing, Rafael Nadal officially unseated Roger Federer to become the world's No. 1 tennis player when the ATP rankings came out. Federer had been atop the rankings for 235 weeks, but Nadal has won six tournaments this year and heads into next week's U.S. Open as the favorite to win his third straight Grand Slam. He has won 38 of 39 matches on tour and beat Federer in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon this summer. Nadal beat Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in straight sets to win a gold medal for Spain in men's singles.
Aug. 20 - In Beijing, Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record by winning the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds, becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to sweep the 100 and 200 gold medals at an Olympics. Bolt is the first man to break the world marks in both sprints at an Olympics - a feat that neither Lewis nor Jesse Owens accomplished. He beat the record of 19.32 set by Michael Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Aug. 21 - At the Summer Olympics, LaShawn Merritt upset defending champion Jeremy Wariner to lead a U.S. sweep of the 400 meters track event. The U.S. men and women both dropped the baton in the Olympic 400-meter relays and failed to advance out of the first round. The U.S. women's football team won the gold medal by beating Brazil 1-0 in extra time. Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown easily won the 200 meters to cap the first sweep of all four men's and women's Olympic sprints in 20 years.
Aug. 22 - Usain Bolt helped Jamaica win the 400-meter relay final in 37.10 seconds for his third gold medal and third world record of the Olympics. Bolt became only the fourth man, and the first since Carl Lewis in 1984, to win all three Olympic sprint events. Bryan Clay of the United States won the decathlon. Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine was stripped of her heptathlon silver medal, the highest-profile athlete kicked out of the Beijing Games for doping.
Aug. 23 - In Beijing, Sanya Richards anchored the United States to a gold medal in the women's 4x400-meter relay track event. Jeremy Wariner ran the anchor leg as America won the men's 4x400-meter relay in an Olympic record time. Led by Lisa Leslie, the U.S. women's basketball team beat Australia 92-65 to win a fourth straight gold medal. Angel Matos of Cuba and his coach were banned for life after the taekwondo athlete kicked the referee in the face following his bronze-medal match disqualification against Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov.
Aug. 24 - On the final day of the Beijing Games, Samuel Wanjiru pulled away over the final few kilometers to become the first Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon - and he did it an Olympic record time of 2:06:32. The U.S. men's volleyball team won the gold medal, defeating defending champion Brazil to complete a perfect run through a tournament struck by tragedy hours after the opening ceremony. The U.S. surge to the title came after coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law was fatally stabbed the day before competition started. McCutcheon missed the team's first three games to be with his wife, a former volleyball Olympian whose mother was also wounded in the attack. China had one of the most dominating and diverse performances at an Olympics ever, winning a games-leading 51 golds and an even 100 overall. The United States finished with 110 medals and trailed well behind the Chinese in golds with 36, the first time since 1992 it didn't lead the category.
Aug. 24 - The Champions Trophy scheduled for September in Pakistan was postponed for a year by the International Cricket Council after five of the eight competing nations withdraw citing security concerns.
Aug. 24 - Danny Lee of New Zealand became the U.S. Amateur's youngest champion, supplanting Tiger Woods by holding off Drew Kittleson 5 and 4. The 18-year, 1-month-old Lee was six months and 29 days younger than Woods when he won the first of his three Amateurs in 1994.
Aug. 28 - In one of the biggest upsets in tennis history, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic was ousted from the U.S. Open, stunned by 188th-ranked Julie Coin 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the second round. Never before in the Open era that began in 1968 had the No. 1 woman lost this early in the tournament.
September
Sept. 7 - Serena Williams outlasted Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 to win her third U.S. Open and ninth Grand Slam title. Four times a single point from heading to a third set, Williams was simply relentless. She took the final four games, and 13 of the last 19 points.
Sept. 8 - Roger Federer salvaged his 2008 season by easily beating Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 to win his fifth consecutive U.S. Open and 13th major title overall. Federer is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the tournament that many times in a row. He also moved within one major of tying Pete Sampras' career record. Federer lost in the semifinals at the Australian Open, and to nemesis Rafael Nadal in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon.
Sept. 9 - Lance Armstrong, just before his 37th birthday, ends a three-year retirement from pro cycling, announcing he wants to win an eighth Tour de France in 2009.
Sept. 12 - Russian tennis star Nikolay Davydenko was cleared by the ATP after a yearlong investigation into suspicious betting patterns on a match he lost to a low-ranked opponent. The ATP found no evidence of wrongdoing by Davydenko, opponent Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina or anyone else associated with their match in Sopot, Poland, on Aug. 2, 2007.
Sept. 13 - New Zealand win a fourth successive Tri-Nations rugby title and retain the Bledisloe Cup by defeating Australia 28-24 in Brisbane.
Sept. 14 - Sebastian Vettel became the youngest driver to win a Formula One race at the Italian Grand Prix, edging McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen by 12.5 seconds in the rain at Monza to give Torro Rosso its first win.
Sept. 14 - Russia won its fourth Fed Cup in five years, defeating Spain when Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the title. The victory gave Russia an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the top team event in women's tennis.
Sept. 21 - The United States rode the emotion of a flag-waving crowd and their Kentucky heroes to take back the Ryder Cup with a 16-11 victory over Europe. It was the largest margin of victory for the Americans since 1981.
Sept. 21 - Alberto Contador of Spain wins the Spanish Vuelta, sweeping cycling's three biggest tours - the 2008 Giro d'Italia and 2007 Tour de France - in a record 15-month span, beating Bernard Hinault's same achievement in 26 months.
Sept. 21 - Baseball said farewell to Yankee Stadium, the home of baseball's most famous team. What began with a Babe Ruth home run on an April afternoon in 1923 ended with Mariano Rivera retiring Brian Roberts on a grounder to first baseman Cody Ransom, completing a 7-3 victory over Baltimore.
Sept. 28 - Haile Gebrselassie smashed his marathon world record by 27 seconds in winning Berlin in 2:03:59. He shattered the mark he set in Berlin last year and became the first man to win the race three times. Irina Mikitenko of Germany won the women's race in 2:19:19, the seventh fastest time for a woman.
Sept. 28 - Valentino Rossi of Italy won his sixth world motorcycle championship when he won the Japan MotoGP, his eighth title of the year, with three races to go. Rossi would add the Sepang race to his victories, while series runner-up Casey Stoner of Australia, the 2007 world champ, would finish with six race victories.
October
Oct. 12 - Evans Cheruiyot of Kenya won his first major marathon in Chicago, while Lidiya Grigoryeva, the 2007 Boston champion, won the women's race by more than two minutes.
Oct. 17 - Sachin Tendulkar broke Brian Lara record for most test runs en route to his 50th half century, and became the first player to pass 12,000 runs on the first day of the second test against Australia at Mohali.
Oct. 19 - Karim Darwish wins an all-Egyptian men's squash World Open against another first-time finalist, Ramy Ashour, while women's No. 1 Nicol David of Malaysia wins her final against England's Vicky Botwright, who was playing her farewell match.
Oct. 26 - In Sydney, Australia, Robert Hurley of Australia broke the short-course world record in the 50-meter backstroke at a World Cup meet, finishing in 23.24 seconds to take 0.03 seconds off the previous mark set by Thomas Rupprath of Germany.
November
Nov. 1 - The Stanford Superstars, a West Indies all-star side, crushed England by 10 wickets in the first of five annual winner-take-all $20 million Twenty20 cricket matches bankrolled by American billionaire Allen Stanford in Antigua.
Nov. 2 - Britain's Lewis Hamilton becomes the youngest - and first black - Formula One world champion when he makes a pass on the last corner of the last lap to finish fifth in the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix and beat home race winner Felipe Massa by one point in the final standings. Ferrari claimed its seventh constructors' title in nine years.
Nov. 2 - Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena of France won a record fifth consecutive world rally championship with a third-place finish at Rally Japan and a rally to spare.
Nov. 2 - Paula Radcliffe defended her title at the New York City Marathon to become the second woman to win the race three times. Radcliffe pulled away from Ludmila Petrova in the 22nd mile to win comfortably in 2:23:56. Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil won the men's race for the second time in three years, passing Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco with about 2 kilometers to go and finishing in 2:08:43.
Nov. 4 - Diego Maradona became coach of Argentina with little coaching experience and many skeptics among his countrymen. He replaced Alfio Basile, who resigned last month. Maradona won his first and last assignment of 2008, 1-0 against Scotland.
Nov. 9 - Venus Williams won the WTA Championships for the first time, defeating Vera Zvonareva in the final.
Nov. 10 - India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after four years with its first series win over Australia in eight years. India bowled Australia for 209 on the last day at Nagpur to win the fourth test by 172 runs. Australia failed to win a test in a series for the first time in nearly seven years.
Nov. 16 - Novak Djokovic claimed the Masters Cup with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Nikolay Davydenko to end a six-month title drought.
Nov. 22 - South Africa inflicts on England its worst home rugby defeat at Twickenham, an easy 42-6 pasting to finish its unbeaten European tour.
Nov. 22 - New Zealand upsets Australia 34-20 in the Rugby League World Cup final in Brisbane, ruining Australia's bid for a seventh consecutive world crown since 1975.
Nov. 24 - Spain clinched an improbable, come-from-behind Davis Cup victory over Argentina. Fernando Verdasco won 6-3, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 against Jose Acasuso at Mar del Plata as Spain rallied from one point down for its third Davis Cup title against the overwhelming favorites, despite losing top-ranked Rafael Nadal to injury before the final.
Nov. 29 - New Zealand eases past England 32-6 at Twickenham to complete the All Blacks' third Grand Slam of the home unions, and second in four years, without conceding a try.
Nov. 29 - South Africa beat England 19-12 in a fine final to take the first IRB Emirates Airline Sevens title of the ‘08/’09 season at the tournament held in Dubai.
December
Dec. 6 - Coralie Balmy of France broke the women's 200-meter freestyle short-course world record at the French swimming championships. Balmy finished in 1:53.18, breaking the previous record of 1:53.29 set by Lisbeth Lenton of Australia in Sydney in November 2005. Earlier, Amaury Leveaux broke the 50 butterfly short-course world record. He finished in 22.29 seconds, beating the previous mark of 22.50 set by Matt Jaukovic of Australia at a World Cup in Sydney in October.
Dec. 6 - After 10 long years South Africa's Sevens stars finally produced a home victory in the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens tournament in George. A 12-7 victory over New Zealand finally delivered on their talent and justified Paul Treu's full-time set-up.
Dec. 7 - Sebastien Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena of France complete their world champion season by winning the Wales Rally, their 11th title of the year and 48th of their career, and securing Citroen the manufacturers' crown.
Dec. 7 - Alain Bernard set a world record in the short-course 100-meter freestyle at the French swimming championships. He finished in 45.69 seconds, beating the previous mark of 45.83 seconds set by Stefan Nystrand of Sweden in November 2007 in Berlin.
Dec. 11 - Four world records were broken at the European short-course championships, with the Italian men's 200-meter medley relay team setting two on its way to winning gold. Mirco Di Tora, Alessandro Terrin, Marco Belotti and Filippo Magnini finished in 1:32.91, 0.85 seconds faster than the world record set by the Russian team earlier in the day. In Thursday's first heat, the Italians broke the world record of 1:34.06 set by Germany in Helsinki, Finland in 2006. The Russians broke that mark in the following heat. Amaury Leveaux of France set a world record in the semifinals of the 50 freestyle, finishing in 20.48 seconds to beat the mark of 20.64 set by Roland Schoeman of South Africa on Sept. 6 in Germiston, South Africa.
Dec. 12 - Three world records were set at the European short-course championships, with Amaury Leveaux of France breaking his second in as many days. Alessia Filippi of Italy set a world record in the 800 freestyle, along with the Netherland's 200-meter relay team. The 23-year-old Leveaux won his 100 freestyle semifinal in 45.12 seconds, shaving 0.57 seconds off the mark set five days ago by Olympic champion and teammate Alain Bernard. Filippi won in 8:04.53, more than three seconds faster than the mark set last year by Kate Ziegler of the United States. Hinkelien Schreuder, Inge Dekker, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Marleen Veldhuis finished in 1:33.80, 1.02 seconds faster than the record set last year by the Netherlands in Debrecen, Hungary.
Dec. 13 - Nikolay Skvortsov of Russia, Amaury Leveaux of France and Sanja Jovanovic of Croatia set world records at the European short-course championships. Skvortsov won the 200-meter butterfly in 1:50.60, breaking the 2002 mark set by Franck Esposito of France by 0.13 seconds. Leveaux won the 100 freestyle in 44.94 to become the first swimmer under the 45-second mark, breaking his own mark set a day earlier. Jovanovic broke her own world record in the 50-meter backstroke by 0.14 seconds, clocking 26.23 seconds in the final.
Dec. 14 - Six more world records were set at the European short-course championships, bringing the total to 16 at the four-day event. Amaury Leveaux set his fourth world record in Rijeka and fifth in nine days by winning a heat of the men's 50-meter butterfly in 22.18 seconds. The 23-year-old Frenchman, who broke the record he set Dec. 6, later won the race for his fourth gold medal at the meet. Leveaux was also part of the French team that set a record in the 4x50 freestyle relay, first in 1:22.38 in a heat, and later in 1:20.77 in the final. Earlier at the championships, Leveaux broke the record in the 50 free and twice in the 100 free. Stanislav Donets of Russia set a world record in men's 100 backstroke in 49.32, Mireira Belmonte Garcia of Spain did the same in the women's 400 individual medley in 4:25.06, and Federica Pellegrini of Italy in the women's 200 freestyle 1:51.85.
Dec. 21 - 10-man Manchester United edges Liga de Quito 1-0 on a late Wayne Rooney goal to win its second Club World Cup in Yokohama, Japan.
Dec. 21 - Aschwin Wildeboer broke the men's 100-meter backstroke world record at the Spanish short-course championships in 49.20 seconds, .13 faster than the mark set by Stanislav Donets of Russia last week in Rijeka, Croatia.
Dec. 23 - India, thanks to the fourth-highest total in test history in Chennai, won the two-test series against England 1-0 after the second test in Mohali ended in a draw.
Dec. 30 – South Africa beat Australia in Melbourne to record their first ever Test series win in Australia. Dale Steyn takes 10 wickets and makes 76 runs to be named man of the match. JP Duminy makes 166 runs in the first innings in just his second test. Ricky Ponting falls just 1 run short of being the first man ever to record a century in each innings of a Test for the 4th time.
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Sport24 would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a fantastic 2009. Thank you so much for joining us in our inaugural year in the digital world, and together with your input, we hope to make 2009 a most sensational year of sport. Smash a cold one for us …
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