Australian Sporting Highlights in 2015
For a very sporting country, there is always plenty of sporting action. In 2015 it was no different. The year started well with the Socceroos winning the Asian Football Cup in January, their first major international trophy in Australia's football history.
In Ashes cricket, after the whitewash of the English in 2014, Australia played poorly throughout the series, including being routed for a record 60 at Trent Bridge. England won the series 3–2. Australia's score of 60 from 18.3 overs was the lowest ever number of balls a team had been bowled out in the first innings of a Test match. Things were much better for the Aussies at the Cricket World Cup, Australia defeated New Zealand in the final for their 5th title. The Australian women's team regained the Ashes during a tour of England in 2015.
History was made at the Adelaide Oval, where the first day/night cricket test match was played between Australian and New Zealand.
Australia's Jason Day claimed his first major win, finishing with a score of 20-under par in the US PGA, the lowest any player in the history of the sport has ever finished to par in a major championship. Later in 2015, after a run of wins he became the youngest ever Australian world No.1. Day also this year won the 2015 Don Award, which recognizes the sporting achievement of the year which has inspired the people of Australia. Back home, 56-year-old Peter Senior won his third Australian Masters title, to be the oldest ever winner of the event. It was 20 years since he last won the title.
In the NRL grand final, North Queensland won the match 17–16 in extra time, claiming their first premiership ever after a final minute try and conversion. It is considered one of the greatest grand finals in NRL history. In other NRL news, former Parramatta Eels player Jarryd Hayne made headway into a career in the NFL, dominating the media as he battled for selection for the San Francisco 49ers.
In other football news, at the Rugby World Cup Australia made the final, though were beaten by the dominant New Zealanders 34 to 17. In the AFL Grand Final, the Hawthorn Hawks won their third consecutive title.
During the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the Matildas became the first Australian team (men's or women's), to win a knockout stage match at a World Cup when they defeated Brazil 1-0. In the quarterfinals, they lost to defending champions Japan.
Michelle Payne had a historic win in the Melbourne Cup on Prince of Penzance, becoming the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in Australian sport for the year 2015.
| Date(s) | Sport | Event | Location | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 9-31 | Football (Soccer) | Asian Cup | Australia | The hosts Australia beat South Korea in the final 2-1 (aet), for their first major international trophy |
| Jan 19-Feb 1 | Tennis | Australia Open | Melbourne | The singles titles were won by Djokovic and Serena Williams. Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios reached the quarterfinals. |
| Feb 4-14 | Multi-sports | Winter Universiade | Granada, Spain | 9 athletes from Australia participated |
| Feb 14-Mar 29 | Cricket | World Cup | Australia & New Zealand | Australia defeated New Zealand in the final for their 5th title. |
| Feb 18-22 | Cycling | World Track Championships | Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France | Australia won the most medals (11), but France won more gold (5) |
| May 24-June 7 | Tennis | French Open | Paris, France | no Aussie's made it past the 3rd round in the singles. |
| Jun 4-16 | Basketball | NBA Finals | Cleveland, Ohio & Oakland, California | The NBA finals was won by Golden State Warriors over Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2. The series featured Australians Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova. |
| Jun 6-Jul 5 | Football (Soccer) | Women's World Cup | Canada | The Australian women's soccer team finished 7th, losing to eventual runner up Japan in the quarter finals. |
| Jun 18-21 | Golf | US Open | Chambers Bay, University Place, Washington. | Australian's Adam Scott and Cameron Smith tied for 4th on 3 under, 2 strokes behind the winner Spieth. |
| Jun 29-Jul 12 | Tennis | Wimbledon | London, England | The best placed Australia male was Nick Kyrgios who made the 4th round, and in the women's Stosur and Dellacqua did not make it past the 3rd round. |
| July 4-18 | Multi-sports | Pacific Games | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | 24 countries took part with the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand for the first time in the history of the Games, as a trial in 4 of the 28 sports |
| Jul 4-26 | Cycling | Tour de France | France 2015 | 10 Australians competed, with the best placed Richie Porte 9th in the mountain classification, riding for Team Sky. Crashes took key riders from the Australian Orica-GreenEDGE team out of the race. |
| Jul 16–19 | Golf | The Open Championship | Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland | American Zach Johnson claimed his 2nd major title in a 3-way play off which included Australian Marc Leishman. |
| Jul 24-Aug 9 | Swimming | World Swimming Champs | Kazan, Russia | Australia finished with 7 golds, placing them 4th on the gold medal tally (3rd in total medals), behind China, USA and Russia. Emily Seebohm and Bronte Campbell won three each. |
| Aug 7-16 | Netball | World Championships | Sydney, Australia | Australia defeated New Zealand 58-55 to claim a third consecutive title |
| Aug 13-16 | Golf | US PGA | Whistling Straits, Wisconsin | Australia's Jason Day claimed his first major win, finishing with a score of 20-under par, the lowest any player in the history of the sport has ever finished to par in a major championship |
| Aug 22-30 | Athletics | World Championships | Beijing National Stadium, Beijing China. | Australian athletes finished with just 2 silver medals, Fabrice Lapierre in the long jump and Jared Tallent in the 50 km walk. |
| Aug 31-Sep 13 | Tennis | US Open | New York | The best placed Aussies in the singles were Sam Stosur and Bernard Tomic, who each made the 3rd round. In doubles, Australians John Peers and Casey Dellacqua made the finals though both were in losing teams. |
| Sep 18-Oct 31 | Rugby | World Cup | England | won by New Zealand, a record third World Cup tournament win. They beat Australia in the final 34 to 17. |
| Sep 19-27 | Cycling | Road World Championships | Richmond, USA | The best performance was Michael Matthews who was second in the men's road race. |
| Oct 3 | AFL | Grand Final | Melbourne, Australia | Hawthorn won their third straight Grand Final, beating West Coast Eagles by 46 points |
| Oct 4 | NRL | Grand Final | ANZ Stadium, Sydney | North Queensland beat Brisbane 17–16 in extra time, claiming their first-ever premiership. |
| Oct 5-15 | Boxing | AIBA World Championships | Doha, Qatar | Australia had 9 competitors, but did not win a medal |
| Nov 3 | Horse Racing | Melbourne Cup | Victoria, Australia | Michelle Payne had a historic win on Prince of Penzance, a 100-1 long-shot, becoming the first female jockey to win the race. |
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- Australian Sport Timeline
- Highlights of world sport in 2015
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- For sporting events in 2015 and other future events, see the Calendar of Major Sporting Events
- More about the World of Sport
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