1996 in sports

Athletics

Decathlon

• Best Year Performance

•  Dan O'Brien (USA) – 8824 points

Marathon

• June 16 — Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
  • Men's Winner: John Mandu (KEN) 2:15:14
  • Women's Winner: Mieke Pullen (NED) 2:41:13

• July 28 — Olympic Marathon, Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
  • Women's Winner: Fatuma Roba (ETH) 2:26:05

• August 4 — Olympic Marathon, Atlanta, Georgia (USA)
  • Men's Winner: Josia Thugwane (RSA) 2:12:36

• December 1 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
  • Men's Winner: Lee Bong-Ju (KOR) 2:10:48

Auto racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Dale Jarrett won the Daytona 500
• NASCAR Championship - Terry Labonte
  • Rusty Wallace wins the Suzuka NASCAR Thunder 100 at Suzuka City November 24, the first NASCAR event held in Japan.
• Indy Racing League - Scott Sharp and Buzz Calkins tie for the inaugural IRL championship
  • Indianapolis 500 - Buddy Lazier
• CART - Jimmy Vasser won the season championship
• Formula One Championship - Damon Hill of Great Britain
• 24 hours of Le Mans: won by the team of Manuel Reuter / Davy Jones / Alexander Wurz driving a TWR-Porsche
• Rally racing - Tommi Mäkinen won the World Rally Championship
  • the team of Patrick Bernardini / Bernard Occelli won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Ford Escort RS Cosworth
• Drag racing - Kenny Bernstein won the NHRA "Top Fuel" championship.

Baseball

• January 8 - For the first time in 25 years, no one garners 75 percent of the votes needed to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Phil Niekro comes closest with 68 percent.

• World Series,October 26: New York Yankees won 4 games to 2 over the Atlanta Braves. The Series MVP was relief pitcher, John Wetteland, New York

Basketball

• April 1 - NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • Kentucky wins 76-67 over Syracuse

• NBA Finals|NBA Finals:
  • Chicago Bulls win 4 games to 2 over the Seattle SuperSonics, after a record-breaking 72-10 regular season.

• National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
  • South East Melbourne Magic defeated the Melbourne Tigers 2-1 in the best-of-three final series.

Boxing

• March 16 - Christy Martin defeats Deirdre Gogarty by a decision in six rounds to retain her Women's boxing world title in front of a national tv audience. This fight is credited with making the general public aware of women's boxing.

• March 30 to 7 – 31st European Amateur Boxing Championships held in Vejle, Denmark.
  • Light Flyweight (– 48 kg): Daniel Petrov (Bulgaria)
  • Flyweight (– 51 kg): Albert Pakeyev (Russia)
  • Bantamweight (– 54 kg): István Kovács (Hungary)
  • Featherweight (– 57 kg): Ramaz Paliani (Russia)
  • Lightweight (– 60 kg): Leonard Doroftei (Romania)
  • Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg): Oktay Urkal (Germany)
  • Welterweight (– 67 kg): Al Hassan (Denmark)
  • Light Middleweight (– 71 kg): Francisc Vaştag (Romania)
  • Middleweight (– 75 kg): Sven Ottke (Germany)
  • Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg): Pietro Aurino (Italy)
  • Heavyweight (– 91 kg): Luan Krasniqi (Germany)
  • Super Heavyweight (+ 91 kg): Alexei Lezin (Russia)

• June 7 - Oscar de la Hoya defeats Julio César Chávez by a knockout in four rounds to win the WBC's world Jr. Welterweight championship.

Cricket

• Cricket World Cup - Final: Sri Lanka beat Australia by 7 wickets

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Pavel Tonkov of Russia
• Tour de France - Bjarne Riis of Denmark
• World Cycling Championship: Johan Museeuw of Belgium

Dogsled racing

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
  • Jeff King wins with lead dogs: Jake & Booster

Field hockey

• Men's Olympic Qualifier Tournament in Barcelona, Spain
  • Gold: The Netherlands
  • Silver: India
  • Bronze: Great Britain

• Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Atlanta, United States
  • Gold: The Netherlands
  • Silver: Spain
  • Bronze: Australia

• Men's Champions Trophy in Madras, India
  • Gold: The Netherlands
  • Silver: Pakistan
  • Bronze: Germany

• Olympic Games (Women's Competition) in Atlanta, United States
  • Gold: Australia
  • Silver: South Korea
  • Bronze: The Netherlands

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Todd Eldredge, United States
  • Ladies' champion: Michelle Kwan, United States
  • Pairs' champions: Marina Eltsova / Sergei Bushkov, Russia
  • Ice dancing champions: Oksana Grishuk / Evgeny Platov, Russia

Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1996 in football (soccer)

Football (American)

• Super Bowl XXX: Dallas Cowboys won 27-17 over the Pittsburgh Steelers

• 1995NCAA Division I-A national football championship: the Nebraska Cornhuskers manhandle the University of Florida Gators, winning 62-24, along with their second back-to-back National Championship seasons on January 2, 1996.

• World Bowl 96: The Scottish Claymores won 32-27 over the Frankfurt Galaxy.
• The Cleveland Browns are deactivated and move to Baltimore. They become the Baltimore Ravens and reactivate in 1999.

Football (Australian)

• Australian Football League
  • North Melbourne wins the 100th AFL premiership (North Melbourne 19.17 (131) d Sydney Swans 13.10 (88))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to James Hird (Essendon) and Michael Voss (Brisbane Bears)
  • At the end of the season Fitzroy and the Brisbane Bears merge, forming the Brisbane Lions.

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts win 43-37 over the Edmonton Eskimos
• Vanier Cup: Saskatchewan Huskies win 31-12 over the St. Francis Xavier X-Men

Gaelic Athletic Association

• Camogie
  • All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Galway
  • National Camogie League: Cork

• Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 2-9 d. Mayo 1-11
  • National Football League: Derry 1-16 d. Donegal 1-9

• Ladies' Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Monaghan
  • National Football League: Monaghan

• Hurling
  • All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Wexford 1-13 d. Limerick 0-14
  • National Hurling League:

Golf

Men's golf

• Major championship results:
  1. May - The Masters - Nick Faldo
  2. June - US Open - Steve Jones
  3. July - British Open - Tom Lehman
  4. August - PGA Championship - Mark Brooks

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Tom Lehman - $1,780,159
• Champions Tour leading money winner: Jim Colbert - $1,627,890

• Tiger Woods became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. This was the sixth consecutive year in which he won a USGA championship, one short of Bobby Jones' record of seven. In September, he turned professional. In the last five regular tournaments of the year on the PGA Tour, his finishes were 5-3-1-3-1, placing him among the tour's top 30 money-winners for the year and thereby qualifying him for the season-ending TOUR Championship. Woods was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

Women's golf

• US Women's Open - Annika Sörenstam
• LPGA Championship - Laura Davies
• Karrie Webb is the leading money winner on the LPGA tour with earnings of $1,002,000 becoming the first ever woman to earn more than a million dollars in one golf season.
• The United States team retained the Solheim Cup beating the European team 17 points to 11.

Thoroughbred horse racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Saintly
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Victor Cooley
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Helissio
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Zagreb

• English Triple Crown races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Mark of Esteem
  2. Epsom Derby - Shaamit
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Shantou

• United States Triple Crown races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Grindstone
  2. Preakness Stakes - Louis Quatorze
  3. Belmont Stakes - Editor's Note

• Breeders' Cup:
  1. Breeders' Cup Classic - Alphabet Soup
  2. Breeders' Cup Distaff - Jewel Princess
  3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile - Boston Harbor
  4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies - Storm Song
  5. Breeders' Cup Mile - Da Hoss
  6. Breeders' Cup Sprint - Lit de Justice
  7. Breeders' Cup Turf - Pilsudski

Harness racing

June 22 - the fastest race mile in harness racing history was set by Jenna's Beach Boy (1:47.3) at Meadowlands Racetrack.

• The North America Cup - Arizona Jack

• United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Scoot To Power
  2. Little Brown Jug - Armbro Operative
  3. Messenger Stakes - Go For Grins

• United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Continentalvictory
  2. Yonkers Trot - Continentalvictory
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Running Sea

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: Young Mister Charles
  • Trotters: Pride Of Petite

Ice hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins

• Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins

• Stanley Cup - the Colorado Avalanche defeat the Florida Panthers 4 games to 0.

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Czech Republic defeated Canada

• • Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated Sweden

Lacrosse

• The Buffalo Bandits defeat the Philadelphia Wings 13–12 to win the Major Indoor Lacrosse League championship

Mixed Martial Arts

• October 11- Vitor Belfort makes his professional debut at a Superbrawl event in Honolulu, Hawaii. He defeats Jon Hess by KO in twelve seconds.

Radiosport

• The second World Radiosport Team Championship held in San Francisco, California, USA. Gold medals go to Jeff Steinman KRØY and Dan Street K1TO of the United States.

Skiing

• Alpine skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Lasse Kjus, Norway
  • The women's overall season champion: Katja Seizinger, Germany

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship: Stephen Hendry beats Peter Ebdon 18-12
• World rankings: Stephen Hendry remains world number one for 1996/97

Swimming

Events

• XXVI Olympic Games, held in Atlanta, Georgia USA (July 20 – July 26)

• First European SC Championships, held in Riesa, Germany (December 13 – 15)
  • Germany wins the most medals (39), and the most gold medals (14)

Records

• December 1 – US-swimmer Misty Hyman breaks the world record in the women's 100m butterfly (short course): 58:29.

Tennis

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Boris Becker
  2. French Open - Yevgeny Kafelnikov
  3. Wimbledon championships - Richard Krajicek
  4. US Open - Pete Sampras

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Monica Seles
  2. French Open - Steffi Graf
  3. Wimbledon championships - Steffi Graf
  4. US Open - Steffi Graf

• 1996 Summer Olympics
  • Men's Singles Competition
  1. Gold – Andre Agassi
  2. Silver – Sergi Bruguera
  3. Bronze – Leander Paes
  • Women's Singles Competition
  1. Gold – Lindsay Davenport
  2. Silver – Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
  3. Bronze – Jana Novotná
  • Men's Doubles Competition
  1. Gold – Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodforde
  2. Silver – Neil Broad & Tim Henman
  3. Bronze – Marc-Kevin Goellner & David Prinosil
  • Women's Doubles Competition
  1. Gold – Gigi Fernández & Mary Joe Fernández
  2. Silver – Jana Novotná & Helena Suková
  3. Bronze – Conchita Martínez & Arantxa Sánchez Vicario

• Davis Cup
  • France won 3-2 over Sweden in world tennis.

Rugby union

• SANZAR's new leagues the Super 12 (now Super 14) and the Tri Nations Series begin. The Super 12 is won by the Auckland Blues and the Tri Nations is won by the New Zealand All Blacks

Volleyball

• Men's World League – Final Round in Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • Gold Medal:  Netherlands
  • Silver Medal:  Italy
  • Bronze Medal:  Russia
• Women's World Grand Prix – Final Round in Shanghai, China
  • Gold Medal:  Brazil
  • Silver Medal:  Cuba
  • Bronze Medal:  Russia

• Women's Olympic Qualifier in Tokyo, Japan
  •  Japan
  •  Ukraine
  •  Netherlands

• Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States
  • Men's Team Competition
    • Gold Medal —  Netherlands
    • Silver Medal —  Italy
    • Bronze Medal —  Yugoslavia
  • Women's Team Competition
    • Gold Medal —  Cuba
    • Silver Medal —  China
    • Bronze Medal —  Brazil

Multi-sport events

• 1996 Summer Olympics takes place in Atlanta, United States
  • United States wins the most medals (101), and the most gold medals (44).
• Winter Asian Games held in Harbin, China
• Athletic competition in the Big 12 Conference is inaugurated with a football game between Kansas State University and Texas Tech University, in Manhattan, Kansas on August 31.

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Michael Johnson, Track and field
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Amy Van Dyken, Swimming

Deaths

• March 8 — Hans Knecht (82), Swiss road racing cyclist (b. 1913)
• May 8 — Beryl Burton (58), English racing cyclist (b. 1937)
• May 11 — Ademir Marques de Menezes (73), Brazilian football (soccer) player (b. 1922)
• May 11 — Rodney Culver (26), American football player (San Diego Chargers)
• August 2 — Obdulio Varela, Uruguayan football (soccer) player
• October 12 — René Lacoste, French champion tennis player
• December 21 — Alfred Tonello (67), French cyclist (b. 1929)cs:1996 ve sportu

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