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1997 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

• Alpine Skiing World Cup
  • Men's overall season champion:Luc Alphand, France
  • Women's overall season champion:Pernilla Wiberg, Sweden

• Super Bowl XXXI – theGreen Bay Packers (NFC) won 35–21 over theNew England Patriots (AFC)
  • Location:Superdome
  • Attendance: 72,301
  • MVP:Desmond Howard, KR (Green Bay)
• Sugar Bowl (1996 season):
  • TheFlorida Gators won 52–20 over theFlorida State Seminoles to win thenational championship
• October 18 –Liz Heaston becomes the first woman to both play and score in a college footballgame

• World Artistic Gymnastics Championships –
  • Women's all–around champion:Svetlana Khorkina, Russian
  • Women's team competition champion: Romania
  • Women's vault champion:Simona Amânar, Romania
  • Women's uneven bars champion:Svetlana Khorkina, Russian
  • Women's balance beam champion:Gina Gogean, Romania
  • Women's floor exercise champion:Gina Gogean, Romania
  • Men's all-around champion:Ivan Ivankov,Belarus
  • Men's team competition champion: China
  • Men's vault champion:Sergei Fedorchenko,Kazakhstan
  • Men's still rings champion:Yuri Chechi, Italy
  • Men's floor exercise champion:Alexei Nemov, Russian
  • Men's parallel bars champion:Zhang Jinjing, China
  • Men's pommel horse champion:Valery Belenky, Germany
  • Men's horizontal bar champion:Jani Tanskanen, Finland

• Champions League –Borussia Dortmund beatJuventus FC 3–1
• UEFA Cup –FC Schalke 04 beatF.C. Internazionale Milano
• Copa Libertadores –Cruzeiro Esporte Clube beatSporting Cristal

• August –1997 World Championships in Athletics held at theOlympic Stadium,Athens, Greece.

• Australian Football League
  • Port Adelaide join the league
    • Adelaide Crows winGrand Final for the first time – downing St. Kilda on the last day in September

• June 12 –Interleague play begins inbaseball, ending a 126-year tradition of separating the major leagues until theWorld Series.
• World Series –Florida Marlins won 4 games to 3 over theCleveland Indians. The Series MVP wasLiván Hernández, Florida

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
  • Arizona Wildcats win 84–79 in overtime over theKentucky Wildcats. This is Arizona's first NCAA title in men's basketball.
• NBA Finals –
  • Chicago Bulls earn their second repeat of the decade as they beat theUtah Jazz 4 games to 2 (seeSteve Kerr).
• WNBA Finals (inauguralWNBA season):
  • Houston Comets defeat theNew York Liberty in one game playoff series.
• National Basketball League (Australia)Finals:
  • Melbourne Tigers defeated theSouth East Melbourne Magic 2–1 in the best–of–three final series.

• January 18 –Oscar De La Hoya maintained his World Boxing Council super lightweight title in with a 12–round unanimous decision overMiguel Ángel González inLas Vegas, Nevada.
• May 13 – death ofEduard Zakharov (22), Russian boxer
• June 28 –Mike Tyson bites off a piece of the ear ofEvander Holyfield in the third round of theirWBA Heavyweight title fight, getting disqualified by refereeMills Lane.
• July 9 –Mike Tyson'sboxing license is suspended for at least a year and he is fined $3 million for bitingEvander Holyfield's ear in a televised match.
• October 18 to October 26 –World Amateur Boxing Championships held inBudapest, Hungary

• Grey Cup –Toronto Argonauts won 47–23 over theSaskatchewan Roughriders
• Vanier Cup –UBC Thunderbirds win 39–23 over theOttawa Gee-Gees

• The Ashes – Australia win the six test series 3–2
• ICC Trophy –Bangladesh
• Women's Cricket World Cup – Australia beat New Zealand by five wickets
• County Championship (England and Wales) won byGlamorgan

• Giro d'Italia won byIvan Gotti of Italy
• Tour de France –Jan Ullrich of Germany
• UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race –Laurent Brochard of France

• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion
  • Martin Buser won with lead dogs:Blondie &Fearless

• Men's Champions Trophy: Germany
• Women's Champions Trophy: Australia

• World Figure Skating Championships –
  • Men's champion:Elvis Stojko, Canada
  • Ladies' champion:Tara Lipinski, United States
  • Pairs' champions:Mandy Wötzel &Ingo Steuer, Germany
  • Ice dancing champions:Oksana Grishuk /Evgeny Platov, Russia

• Women's World Floorball Championships
  • Champion:Sweden
• European Cup
  • Men's champion:Fornudden IB
  • Women's champion:Högdalens AIS

• Camogie
  • All-Ireland Camogie Champion:Cork
  • National Camogie League:Cork
• Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Championship –Kerry 0–13 diedMayo 1–7
  • National Football League –Kerry 3–7 diedCork 1–8
• Ladies' Gaelic football
  • All-Ireland Senior Football Champion:Monaghan
  • National Football League:Waterford
• Hurling
  • All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship –Clare 0–20 diedTipperary 2–13
  • National Hurling League –Limerick 1–12 beatGalway 1–9

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament –Tiger Woods
• U.S. Open –Ernie Els
• British Open –Justin Leonard
• PGA Championship –Davis Love III
• PGA Tour money leader –Tiger Woods – $2,066,833
• PGA Tour Player of the Year –Tiger Woods
• PGA Tour Rookie of the Year –Stewart Cink
• Senior PGA Tour money leader –Hale Irwin – $2,343,364
• Ryder Cup – Europe won 14½–13½ over the United States in team golf.
• Tiger Woods creates an uproar with his record 12-shot victory at the Masters, and becomes the first Masters winner of African-American descent. He set the record for the lowest to-par score of −18, and the lowest 72-hole score of 272. He also rises to theNo. 1 ranking on June 15, in only his 42nd week as a professional – the fastest ascent to the No. 1 ranking.

Men's amateur

• British Amateur –Craig Watson
• U.S. Amateur –Matt Kuchar
• European Amateur –Didier de Voogt

Women's professional

• Nabisco Dinah Shore –Betsy King
• LPGA Championship –Christa Johnson
• U.S. Women's Open –Alison Nicholas
• Classique du Maurier –Colleen Walker
• LPGA Tour money leader –Annika Sörenstam – $1,236,789

• World Men's Handball Championship – won byRussia
• World Women's Handball Championship – won byDenmark

• North America Cup –Gothic Dream
• Western Dreamer won theUnited States Pacing Triple Crown races –
  1. Cane Pace –Western Dreamer
  2. Little Brown Jug –Western Dreamer
  3. Messenger Stakes –Western Dreamer
• United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
  1. Hambletonian –Malabar Man
  2. Yonkers Trot –Lord Stormont
  3. Kentucky Futurity –Take Chances
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
  • Pacers:Our Sir Vancelot
  • Trotters:Pride Of Petite

• TheGrand National Saturday meeting was abandoned after two coded bomb threats were received, causing evacuation of the course. The race was eventually run on the following Monday.

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup –Mr Mulligan
• Grand National –Lord Gyllene

Flat races

• Australia –Melbourne Cup won byMight And Power
• Canada –Queen's Plate won byAwesome Again
• Dubai –Dubai World Cup won bySingspiel
• France –Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won byPeintre Célèbre
• Ireland –Irish Derby Stakes won byDesert King
• Japan –Japan Cup won byPilsudski
• English Triple Crown races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes –Entrepreneur
  2. The Derby –Benny the Dip^[1]
  3. St. Leger Stakes –Silver Patriarch
• United States Triple Crown races:
  1. Kentucky Derby –Silver Charm
  2. Preakness Stakes –Silver Charm
  3. Belmont Stakes –Touch Gold
• Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships:
  1. Breeders' Cup Classic –Skip Away
  2. Breeders' Cup Distaff –Ajina
  3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile –Favorite Trick
  4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies –Countess Diana
  5. Breeders' Cup Mile –Spinning World
  6. Breeders' Cup Sprint –Elmhurst
  7. Breeders' Cup Turf –Chief Bearhart

• Art Ross Trophy as theNHL's leading scorer during the regular season:Mario Lemieux,Pittsburgh Penguins
• Hart Memorial Trophy for theNHL's Most Valuable Player:Dominik Hašek of theBuffalo Sabres
• Stanley Cup –Detroit Red Wings win 4 games to 0 over thePhiladelphia Flyers
• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Canada defeated Sweden
  • Junior Men's champion: Finland defeatedRussia
  • Women's champion: Canada defeated the United States

• TheRochester Knighthawks defeat theBuffalo Bandits 15–12 to win theMajor Indoor Lacrosse League championship
  • TheNational Lacrosse League (NLL) is formed from the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL), with the decision to move from league ownership of all teams to individual team ownership.
• Mann Cup for the Canadianbox lacrosse championship:Victoria Shamrocks of theWestern Lacrosse Association
• European Lacrosse Championships –
  • Men's champion: England defeats theCzech Republic
  • Women's champion: England defeatsWales

The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events during 1997 in chronological order.

Date	Event	Alternate Name/s	Location	Attendance	PPV Buyrate	Notes
February 7	UFC 12: Judgement Day	—	Dothan, Alabama, United States	3,100	—	UFC rule change, split main tournament into heavyweight (200lbs+) and lightweight (Under 200lbs) divisions. Eight-man tournament ceases. Introduction of titles. Superfights cease.
May 30	UFC 13: Ultimate Force	—	Augusta, Georgia, United States	5,100	—	Closed fisted strikes to the head were banned for this event only.
July 27	UFC 14: Showdown	—	Birmingham, Alabama, United States	5,000	—	UFC rule change, requires fighters to use 4–6 oz gloves.
October 11	Pride 1	—	Tokyo, Japan	47,860	—	Pride FC's first event. The event featured onekickboxing bout betweenBranko Cikatić and Ralph White.
October 17	UFC 15: Collision Course	—	Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States	—	—	UFC rule change, redefined permissible striking areas.
December 21	UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan	UFC 15.5	Yokohama, Japan	5,000	—	This event featured the first appearance of longtime UFC announcerMike Goldberg.

• EighthAmateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held inSankt Englmar, Germany.
• SecondHigh Speed Telegraphy World Championship held inSofia, Bulgaria.

• McGill University Rowing Club wins the inaugural McGill-Queen's Challenge Boat Race.

• 1 March –Townsville, Australia: TheAdelaide Rams play their inaugural game, a loss to theNorth Queensland Cowboys 24–16 atDairy Farmers Stadium before a crowd of 17,738.
• 2 March –Newcastle, Australia: TheHunter Mariners club plays its inaugural game, a 20–16 loss to theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs atTopper Stadium before a crowd of 6,579.
• 18 May –Auckland, New Zealand: In the1997 Oceania Cup's final New Zealand XIII defeatNew Zealand Māori 20 – 15 atCarlaw Park.
• 19 May –Brisbane, Australia: In the final of the onlySuper League Tri-series to be played,New South Wales defeatQueensland 23–22 atANZ Stadium before a crowd of 35,570. It sets a new record as the longest game of rugby league ever played before being decided by a field goal during extra time.
• 11 June –Melbourne, Australia: The1997 State of Origin series is wrapped up in Game II byNew South Wales who defeat Queensland 15–14 at theMelbourne Cricket Ground before a crowd of 25,105.
• The1997–98 French Championship season finishes with theVilleneuve Leopards on top of the league table.
• 20 September –Brisbane, Australia: The1997 Super League (Australia) season'sGrand Final is won by theBrisbane Broncos who defeated theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks 26–8 atANZ Stadium before a crowd of 58,912.
• 28 September –Sydney, Australia: The1997 ARL season'sgrand final is won by theNewcastle Knights who defeated theManly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22–16 at theSydney Football Stadium before a crowd of 42,482.
• 12 October –Christchurch, New Zealand: The1997 New Zealand season culminates in the Waikato Cougars34–18 victory over the Canterbury Reds atRugby League Park, Waikato defeated Canterbury 34–18 to win both the Challenge Cup and the Rugby League Cup.
• 18 October –Auckland, New Zealand: In the1997 World Club Championship's final, the Brisbane Broncos defeat theHunter Mariners 36–12 atEricsson Stadium before a crowd of 12,000.
• In theSuper League II, on Sunday 28 September, with the final of the Premiership was won byWigan Warriors who defeatedSt. Helens 33–20. At the end of the seasonBradford Bulls were crowned League champions by virtue of finishing the season at the top of the table.
• 16 November –Leeds, England: In the third and decidingtest match of theSuper League Test series,Australia defeatGreat Britain 37–20 atElland Road before a crowd of 39,337.

• 103rdFive Nations Championship series is won byFrance who complete theGrand Slam

• World Snooker Championship –Ken Doherty beatsStephen Hendry 18–12
• World rankings –Stephen Hendry remainsworld number one for1997/98

• March 28 – Japan'sAyari Aoyama breaksMisty Hyman's world record in the Women's 100m Butterfly (short course): 58:24
• ThirdWorld Short Course Championships, held inGothenburg, Sweden (April 17 – 20)
  • April 19 – U.S.–swimmerJenny Thompson breaksAyari Aoyama's world record in the Women's 100m Butterfly (short course): 57:79
  • April 20 – Australia wins the most medals (17), and the most gold medals (9)
• 23rdEuropean LC Championships, held inSeville, Spain (August 19 – 24)
  • Germany wins the most medals (19), and the most gold medals (8)
• XIX Summer Universiade, held onSicily, Italy (August 24 – 30)

• World Championships held in Hong Kong

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open –Pete Sampras
  2. French Open –Gustavo Kuerten
  3. Wimbledon championships –Pete Sampras
  4. U.S. Open –Patrick Rafter
• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open –Martina Hingis
  2. French Open –Iva Majoli
  3. Wimbledon championships –Martina Hingis
  4. U.S. Open –Martina Hingis
• Davis Cup – Sweden won 5–0 over the United States in world tennis.

• Men's World League: Italy
• Women's World Grand Prix: Russia
• Men's European Championship: Netherlands
• Women's European Championship: Russia

• Men's World Cup: USA
• Men's European Championship: Hungary
• Women's European Championship: Italy

• SecondEast Asian Games held inBusan,South Korea
• 8th Pan Arab Games held inBeirut, Lebanon
• FifthWorld Games held inLahti, Finland
• 13thMediterranean Games held inBari, Italy
• 19thSummer Universiade held onSicily, Italy
• 19thSEA Games held onJakarta, Indonesia
• 18thWinter Universiade held inMuju County,South Korea

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year –Tiger Woods,PGA golf
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year –Martina Hingis,Tennis

• 1997 in sports
• Sports by year

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