Sporting Highlights for 1997
Here are the sporting highlights of the world of sport in 1997. See the Top Earners for 1997.
In tennis, the year saw the emergence of a young superstar Martina Hingis. She won the Australian Open for her first grand slam title at just 16 years and 3 months of age. She still remains as the youngest ever to win a grand slam. Hingis went on to win the Wimbledon and the US Open the same year and was ranked world no.1 at the end of the year. She narrowly missed out on the golden slam, losing in the French Open finals.
It was also the year when Gustavo Kuerten won his first French Open title which he repeated in the following two years on his path to reach world no.1 in 2000.
The year saw two major on-field bad behaviors by two well-known bad boys Mike Tyson and Denis Rodman. In a highly anticipated fight between Tyson and Hollyfield on June 28th, something happened that was outright bizarre. During the fight Tyson bit off a piece of Hollyfield's right ear. Surprisingly, the match referees decided to continue with the fight after the bleeding stopped. It didn't look like Tyson's appetite for some ear was over, he again made an attempt to bite Hollyfield's left ear, at which point the fight was eventually called off. Tyson was soon suspended and later banned from boxing.
On Jan 15th, when the Chicago Bulls were playing the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dennis Rodman while down after a play, kicked a sideline cameraman in his groin. Rodman was suspended for 11 games for the incident which most believe was a very lenient punishment.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 1997.
| Date | Results |
|---|---|
| Jan | Tennis Australia Open singles won by Pete Sampras and Martina Hingis |
| Feb | Super Bowl held in New Orleans won by the Green Bay Packers |
| April | Golf Masters won by Tiger Woods (1st win) |
| May | Tennis French Open won by Gustavo Kuerten and Iva Majoli |
| June | Golf US Open won by Ernie Els |
| June 1–13 | NBA Finals won by the Chicago Bulls, 4 games to 2 over the Utah Jazz |
| July | the Cycling Tour de France was won by Jan Ullrich |
| July | Tennis Wimbledon won by Pete Sampras and Martina Hingis |
| July | Golf The Open Championship won by Justin Leonard |
| Aug | Golf US PGA won by Davis Love III |
| Sep | Tennis US Open won by Patrick Rafter and Martina Hingis |
| Oct | The Baseball World Series won by Florida Marlins |
Please note that the dates for past events are not always known, and are sometimes just placed in the month that the current event is held. If no exact date is listed, then it is just an estimated month that it was held.
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 1997
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- For future sporting events, see the Calendar of Major Sporting Events
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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