Sporting Highlights for 2011
The year 2011 was another great one on the sporting world. In major sporting events, Japan won the Women's Football World Cup in a tight game against the US. In another World Cup, New Zealand's rugby team won a close game against France in a repeat of first world cup. Netherlands beat Cuba in the Baseball World Cup, and the Cricket World Cup held in Bangladesh, India & Sri Lanka was won by co-hosts India over Sri Lanka in the final.
In world golf, Rory McIlroy fired a 69 in the final round, breaking the US Open scoring record with a 268 and winning by eight strokes, and became the youngest US Open winner since Bobby Jones in 1923. In basketball, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat 4–2 to win their first NBA title, however the news in basketball for 2011 was dominated by the 161-day NBA lockout on money issues from July to December, which delayed the start of the 2011–12 regular season. In ice hockey, the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks four games to three, ending a 39-year Stanley Cup drought for the Bruins.
One of the stand out individual athletes for 2011 was Serbia’s Novak Djokovic who won three Grand Slam events – the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open – and took over the tennis world No 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal. With this effort he was awarded Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2012. The 2011 Laureus Awards went to another tennis player Rafael Nadal, while the women's award went to alpine skier Lindsey Vonn.
Tiger Woods continues to top the lists of the highest earner in sport- see the Top Earners for 2011.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 2011.
| Date(s) | Sport | Event | Location | results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 7–29 | Soccer | AFC Asian Cup | Qatar | won by Japan over Australia, 1-0 in extra time. |
| Jan 17-30 | Tennis | Australia Open | Melbourne | Won by Clisters and Novak Djokovic |
| Feb 6 | Gridiron/ American Football |
Super Bowl | held in Arlington, Texas, | won by Green Bay Packers |
| Feb 19 - Apr 2 | Cricket | World Cup | Bangladesh, India & Sri Lanka | Won by India over Sri Lanka. |
| April 1-11 | Golf | Masters | Augusta, USA | Charl Schwartzel of Sth Africa |
| May 22 - Jun 5 | Tennis | French Open | Paris, France | Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Na Li (China) |
| May 31 – Jun 12 | Basketball | NBA Finals | USA | The Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, 4–2, to win their first NBA title. |
| Jun 1– 15 | Ice Hockey | Stanley Cup finals | The Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins defeated the Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks four games to three. The Bruins ended a 39-year Stanley Cup drought with the win. | |
| Jun 16–19 | Golf | US Open | Bethesda, Maryland | winner Rory McIlroy |
| Jun 20 – July 3 | Tennis | Wimbledon | London, England | two new singles champions, Novak Djokovic (Serbia) defeated Rafael Nadal (Spain), and Petra Kvitova (Czechia) defeated Maria Sharapova (Russia) |
| Jun 27 - July 17 | Football (Soccer) | Women's World Cup | Germany | The winners were Japan, who beat the US in a penalty shoot-out, following a 2 all tie after extra time. Japan became the first Asian team to win a FIFA World Cup. |
| July 2 - July 24 | Cycling | Tour de France | France 2011 | won by Australian Cadel Evans, the first win by an Australian. |
| July 3-10 | Netball | World Championships | Singapore | won by Australia over New Zealand by 1 goal |
| July 14–17 | Golf | The Open Championship | Royal St George's Golf Club | Darren Clarke of UK / Northern Ireland |
| July 16-31 | Swimming | World Swimming Champs | Shanghai | |
| Aug 8-14 | Golf | US PGA | Johns Creek, GA | won by Keegan Bradley USA |
| Aug 29 -Sep 11 | Tennis | US Open | New York | Samantha Stosur (Australia) defeated Serena Williams (USA). First Aussie woman to win a grand slam since 1980. In the men's, Novak Djokovic (Serbia) defeated Rafael Nadal (Spain) |
| Sept 9 - Oct 23 | Rugby | World Cup | New Zealand | won by New Zealand in a nail biter over France (repeat of first world cup) |
| Oct 1-15 | Baseball | World Cup | Panama | Won by The Netherlands, who defeated Cuba 2–1 to win their first World Cup title, and the first win by a European nation since the inaugural event in 1938 (won by Great Britain) |
| Oct 19-27 | Baseball | World Series | St. Louis Cardinals beat Texas Rangers 4-3 |
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- Ballon D'or Winners for 2011
- See some videos from the world of sport in 2011.
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- Major Events Sport Calendar for 2011
- Australian sporting highlights for 2011
- For upcoming sporting events, see the Calendar of Major Sporting Events
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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