1980 in sports

Athletics

For an extensive coverage see 1980 in athletics (track and field)

World Records

June 12 — Soviet Union's Nadezhda Olizarenko sets the world record in the women's 800 metres, clocking 1:54.85 during a meet in Moscow, Soviet Union
July 27 — Nadezhda Olizarenko betters her own world record in the women's 800 metres at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, clocking 1:53.43.

Marathon

April 26 — Amsterdam Marathon, Netherlands
- Men's Winner: Gerard Nijboer (NED) 2:09:01
- Women's Winner: Marja Wokke (NED) 2:40:15

December 7 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
- Men's Winner: Toshihiko Seko (JPN) 2:09:45

Auto Racing

Stock car racing:
- NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
- Buddy Baker won the Daytona 500
CART Racing - Johnny Rutherford won the season championship
- Indianapolis 500 - Johnny Rutherford
Formula One Champion - Alan Jones of Australia
24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Jean Rondeau / Jean-Pierre Jaussaud won, driving a Rondeau M379B
Rally racing - Walter Röhrl in a Fiat won the World Rally Championship
- The team of Walter Röhrl / Christian Geistdorfer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Fiat 131 Abarth
Drag racing - Shirley Muldowney won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.
Touring car racing - Peter Brock and Jim Richards won their third consecutive Bathurst 1000, driving a Holden Torana

Baseball

September 18: Outfielder Gary Ward become the sixth Minnesota Twins player to hit for the cycle. The Twins lose 9-8 to the Milwaukee Brewers, wasting Ward's effort. On May 26, 2004 his son, Daryle Ward, will repeat the feat guiding the Pirates' 11-8 victory over the Cardinals. Ward joined his father to become the first father-son combination in major league history to hit for the cycle.

Rollie Fingers breaks Hoyt Wilhelm's major league record of 250 saves

World Series: The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League end 97 years of frustration by defeating the American League champion Kansas City Royals.

Japan's Sadaharu Oh retires from the Yomiuri Giants as the all time professional baseball home run king.

Basketball

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
- Louisville wins 59-54 over UCLA

NBA Finals:
- Los Angeles Lakers won 4 games to 2 over the Philadelphia 76ers

National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
- St. Kilda Saints defeated the West Adelaide Bearcats 113-88 in the final.

Boxing

March 14 - 22 members of the United States Olympic boxing team died in a plane crash near Warsaw, Poland
June 20- Roberto Duran defeats Sugar Ray Leonard by a 15 round decision to win boxing's WBC world Welterweight title.
August 2- Thomas Hearns defeats Jose Pipino Cuevas by a knockout in round 2 to win boxing's WBA world Welterweight title and Yasutsune Uehara knocks out Samuel Serrano in round six to win the WBA's world Jr. Lightweight title in Detroit
In Cincinnati, Aaron Pryor defeats Antonio Kid Pambele Cervantes by a knockout in round four to win the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title.
October 2- Larry Holmes defeats Muhammad Ali by a knockout in round eleven to retain boxing's WBC world Heavyweight title, in what would be Ali's last world title bout.
November 25- In The No Más Fight, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Sugar Ray Leonard recovers the WBC's world Welterweight championship with an eight round technical knockout of Roberto Duran.

Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France
Tour de France - Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands
World Cycling Championship: Bernard Hinault of France

Field Hockey

Men's Champions Trophy in Karachi, Pakistan
- Gold Medal: Pakistan
- Silver Medal: West Germany
- Bronze Medal: Australia

Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Moscow, Soviet Union
- Gold Medal: India
- Silver Medal: Spain
- Bronze Medal: Soviet Union

Olympic Games (Women's Competition) in Moscow, Soviet Union
- Gold Medal: Zimbabwe
- Silver Medal: Czechoslovakia
- Bronze Medal: Soviet Union

March 8 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England beat Scotland 2-0.

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Jan Hoffmann, Germany
- Ladies' champion: Anett Pötzsch, Germany
- Pair skating champions: Marina Cherkasova & Sergei Shakhrai, Soviet Union
- Ice dancing champions: Krisztina Regöczy & Andras Sallay, Hungary

Football (American)

Super Bowl XIV: Pittsburgh Steelers won 31-19 over the Los Angeles Rams

Football (Australian rules football)

Victorian Football League
- Richmond wins the 84th VFL Premiership (Richmond 23.21 (159) d Collingwood 9.24 (78))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Kelvin Templeton (Footscray)

Football (Canadian)

Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 48-10 over the Hamilton Tigercats
Vanier Cup: Alberta Golden Bears win 40-21 over the Ottawa Gee-Gees

Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1980 in football (soccer)

European Championship: West Germany 2-1 Belgium
European Cup: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Hamburg
UEFA Cup: 2 legs, Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt; Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach, 3-3 on aggregate, Frankfurt win on away goals
Cup Winners' Cup: Valencia 0-0 Arsenal (AET), Valencia won 5-4 on penalties
England - FA Cup: West Ham United won 1-0 over Arsenal

Newport County AFC win Welsh Cup for first time.

Gaelic Athletic Association

Camogie
- All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Cork
- National Camogie League: Kilkenny

Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 1-9 d. Roscommon 1-6
- National Football League: Cork 0-11 d. Kerry 0-10

Ladies' Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Tipperary
- National Football League: Kerry

Hurling
- All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Galway 2-15 d. Limerick 3-9
- National Hurling League:

Golf

Men's professional

January - the Senior PGA Tour (now called Champions Tour) is founded.
April 10-13 - Masters Tournament - Seve Ballesteros
June 12-15 - U.S. Open - Jack Nicklaus
July 17-20 - British Open - Tom Watson
August 7-10 - PGA Championship - Jack Nicklaus
PGA Tour money leader - Tom Watson - $530,808
Senior PGA Tour - money leader - Don January - $44,100

Men's amateur

Women's professional

LPGA Championship - Sally Little
July 10-13 - U.S. Women's Open - Amy Alcott
Classique Peter Jackson Classic - Pat Bradley
LPGA Tour money leader - Beth Daniel - $231,000

Horse racing

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

Australia - Melbourne Cup - Beldale Ball
Canada - Queen's Plate - Driving Home
France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Detroit
Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Tyrnavos

English Triple Crown Races:

United States Triple Crown Races:
1. May 3 - Kentucky Derby - Genuine Risk
2. Preakness Stakes - Codex
3. Belmont Stakes - Temperance Hill

Harness Racing

Superhorse, Niatross wins the United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
1. Cane Pace - Niatross
2. Little Brown Jug - Niatross
3. Messenger Stakes - Niatross

United States Trotting Triple Crown races:

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: Koala King
- Trotters: Hano Direct

Ice Hockey

See 1980 in ice hockey

Radiosport

First Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championships held in Cetniewo, Poland.

Skiing

Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Andreas Wenzel, Liechtenstein
- The women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein

January 12 - Canada’s Ken Read, the leader of the "Crazy Canucks" ski team, wins the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, becoming the first North American to ever win the classic race.

Snooker

World Snooker Championship: Cliff Thorburn beats Alex Higgins 18-16, becoming the first non-UK player to win the title
World rankings: Ray Reardon remains world number one for 1980/81

Swimming

Events

XXII Olympic Games, held in Moscow, Soviet Union (July 20 – July 27)

Records

February 2 — USA's Chris Cavanaugh sets a world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Amersfoort, Netherlands, shaving off 0.04 of the previous record (23.70) set by Germany's Klaus Steinbach nearly a year ago: 23.66.

April 10 — Chris Cavanaugh betters his own world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Austin, Texas (USA): 23.12. At the same event (and on the same day), two other swimmers from the United States, Rowdy Gaines and Bruce Stahl, go under his time, clocking 22.96 and 22.83 respectively.

August 15 — USA's Joe Bottom betters the world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a meet in Honolulu, Hawaii, shaving off 0.12 of the previous record (22.83) set by Bruce Stahl four months earlier: 22.71.

Tennis

Grand Slam in tennis men's results:

Grand Slam in tennis women's results:

Davis Cup World tennis - Czechoslovakia defeated Italy 4-1.

Yacht racing

The New York Yacht Club retains the America's Cup as Freedom defeats challenger Australia, of the Royal Perth Yacht Club, 4 races to 1

Water polo

Men's Competition

Olympic Games in Moscow, Soviet Union
- Gold Medal: Soviet Union
- Silver Medal: Yugoslavia
- Bronze Medal: Hungary

Women's Competition

FINA World Cup in Breda, Netherlands
- Gold Medal: Netherlands
- Silver Medal: United States
- Bronze Medal: Canada

General sporting events

1980 Summer Olympics takes place in Moscow, USSR
- USSR wins the most medals (195), and the most gold medals (80).

1980 Winter Olympics takes place in Lake Placid, United States
- GDR wins the most medals (23), and the USSR wins the most gold medals (10).

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Joe May won with lead dogs: Wilbur & Cora Gray

Awards

ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year: U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: U.S. Olympic hockey team, Amateur Ice Hockey
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Chris Evert, Tennis

Births

January

January 3 — Frauke Dirickx, Belgian volleyball player
January 3 — Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey defenseman
January 5 — Andréa Henriques, Brazilian water polo player
January 11 — Mieke de Boer, Dutch darts player
January 12 — Andriy Fedchuk, Ukrainian boxer
January 12 — Akiko Morigami, Japanese female tennis player
January 14 — Taeke Taekema, Dutch field hockey player
January 17 — Natalia Soutiagina, Russian butterfly swimmer
January 19 — Jenson Button, British Formula 1-driver
January 19 — Matic Osovnikar, Slovenian track and field athlete
January 24 — Yordanis Arencibia, Cuban judoka
January 25 — Xavi Hernández, Spanish football (soccer) player
January 25 — Christian Olsson, Swedish athlete
January 27 — Sherzod Husanov, Uzbek boxer
January 27 — Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
January 27 — Jiří Welsch, Czech basketball player

February

February 2 — Kyle Pontifex, New Zealand field hockey goalkeeper
February 3 — Craig Victory, Australian field hockey player
February 6 — James Gibson, British breaststroke swimmer
February 8 — Miguel Angel Pichardo, Dominican Republic basketball player
February 9 — Angelos Charisteas, Greek football (soccer) player
February 10 — Gordon D'Arcy, Irish rugby player
February 11 — Karin Ruckstuhl, Dutch athlete
February 12 — Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
February 13 — Tetyana Holovchenko, Ukrainian middle/long-distance runner
February 16 — Miguel Espino, American professional boxer
February 19 — Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player
February 20 — Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
February 20 — Bram Som, Dutch track and field athlete
February 21 — Yannick Lupien, Canadian freestyle swimmer
February 22 — Erzsebet Viski, Hungarian canoer
February 23 — Diego Avila, Argentine field hockey midfielder
February 24 — Laurence Docherty, Dutch-Scottish field hockey player
February 24 — Roman Sloudnov, Russian swimmer
February 26 — Alex Fong, Hong Kong swimmer and actor
February 28 — Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch football (soccer) player

March

March 1 — Shahid Afridi, Pakistani cricketer
March 5 — Ágnes Primász, Hungarian water polo player
March 6 — Emma Igelström, Swedish swimmer
March 9 — Sofia Konoukh, Russian water polo player
March 12 — California Molefe, Botswanan athlete
March 13 — Erin Gammel, Canadian backstroke swimmer
March 15 — Deidra Graham, American gymnast
March 15 — Josefin Lillhage, Swedish swimmer
March 18 — Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
March 21 — Ronaldinho, Brazilian football (soccer) player
March 23 — Erika Coimbra, Brazilian volleyball player
March 25 — Eduardo Fischer, Brazilian breaststroke swimmer
March 26 — Sérgio Paulinho, Portuguese road bicycle racer
March 27 — Toni Cronk, Australian field hockey goalkeeper
March 29 — Alexei Manziola, Russian-born swimmer from Israel
March 30 — Liriel Higa, American rhythmic gymnast
March 31 — Jenny Smith, Australian gymnast

April

April 1 — Maartje Scheepstra, Dutch field hockey player
April 2 — Suriya Prasathinphimai, Thai boxer
April 4 — Bekzat Sattarkhanov, Kazakhstani boxer
April 4 — Mark Tuitert, Dutch speed skater
April 5 — Odlanier Solis, Cuban boxer
April 6 — Tanja Poutiainen, Finnish alpine skier
April 9 — Kristin Lee, American rhythmic gymnast
April 10 — Andy Ram, Israeli tennis player
April 12 — Terence Parkin, South African swimmer
April 13 — Boštjan Buč, Slovenian track and field athlete
April 14 — Rita Drávucz, Hungarian water polo player
April 15 — Fanny Rinne, German field hockey midfielder
April 18 — Michael Lee, Canadian field hockey player
April 22 — Monica Flammer, American gymnast
April 25 — Phillip Burrows, New Zealand field hockey player
April 25 — Dana Laframboise, Canadian lightweight boxer

May

May 6 — Brooke Bennett, American swimmer
May 6 — Kasumi Takahashi, Australian rhythmic gymnast
May 6 — Mario Stojic, Croatian basketball player
May 7 — Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
May 8 — Steven Ferguson, New Zealand swimmer and canoer
May 9 — Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
May 9 — Angela Nikodinov, American figure skater
May 10 — Kate Walsh, English field hockey player
May 10 — Anatoly Polyakov, Russian butterfly swimmer
May 11 — Chad Vaughn, American weightlifter
May 12 — Christian Minotti, Italian freestyle swimmer
May 14 — Joe van Niekerk, South African rugby player
May 14 — Eugène Martineau, Dutch athlete
May 15 — Yvonne Hijgenaar, Dutch cyclist
May 16 — Artem Knyazev, Uzbekistani pairs skater
May 16 — Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish tennis player
May 18 — Michael Llodra, French tennis player
May 18 — Sam Rukundo, Ugandan boxer
May 21 — Mayla Siracusa, Brazilian water polo player
May 23 — Sarah Catherwood, New Zealand swimmer
May 27 — Jessica Deglau, Canadian swimmer
May 28 — Mickael Bourgain, French track cyclist
May 28 — Adam Whitehead, English breaststroke swimmer
May 31 — Edith Bosch, Dutch judoka

June

June 1 — Aghasi Mammadov, Azerbaijani boxer
June 2 — Sylvain Cros, French freestyle swimmer
June 2 — Shingo Suetsugu, Japanese track and field athlete
June 4 — Thor Kristensen, Danish rower
June 7 — Ed Moses, American swimmer
June 9 — Anthony Geslin, French cyclist
June 9 — Udonis Haslem, American basketball player
June 13 — Viviane Costa, Brazilian water polo player
June 13 — Carlos Jayme, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
June 13 — Maja Matevžič, Slovenian tennis player
June 15 — Benjamin Varonian, French gymnast
June 16 — Thijs Al, Dutch mountain biker
June 17 — Brittney McConn, American figure skater
June 17 — Andee Pickens, American gymnast
June 17 — Venus Williams, American tennis player
June 19 — Sanjay Ayre, Jamaican athlete
June 23 — Manus Boonjumnong, Thai boxer
June 23 — Ramnaresh Sarwan, Guyanese cricketer
June 29 — Monique Ferreira, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
June 30 — Nourdin Boukhari, Moroccan-born football (soccer) player from Holland
June 30 — Fabian Wegmann, German cyclist

July

July 1 — Matthijs Brouwer, Dutch field hockey player
July 2 — Baffour Gyan, Ghanaian football (soccer) player
July 3 — Roland Schoeman, South African swimmer
July 3 — Birgit Thumm, German volleyball player
July 6 — Pau Gasol, Catalan basketball (NBA) player
July 7 — Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
July 8 — Robbie Keane, Irish football player
July 10 — Adam Petty, fourth-generation NASCAR driver (d. 2000)
July 16 — Lindsey Berg, American volleyball player
July 16 — Travis Brooks, Australian field hockey player
July 16 — Matthew Peck, Canadian field hockey goalkeeper
July 17 — Rashid Ramzi, Moroccan-born athlete
July 19 — Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennis player
July 20 — Ivan Mladina, Croatian freestyle swimmer
July 21 — Tom Soetaers, Belgian football player
July 22 — Dirk Kuijt, Dutch football player
July 23 — Javier Noriega, Spanish swimmer
July 24 — Wilfred Bungei, Kenyan middle distance runner
July 27 — Allan Davis, Australian road cyclist
July 29 — Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
July 29 — Carlos Tejeda, Venezuelan volleyball player

August

August 1 — Grant Schubert, Australian field hockey player
August 1 — Jeroen Trommel, Dutch volleyball player
August 8 — Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player
August 12 — Blair Hopping, New Zealand field hockey player
August 13 — Justus Scharowsky, German field hockey player
August 14 — Prabjoth Singh, Indian field hockey forward
August 16 — Julien Absalon, French mountain biker
August 29 — Perdita Felicien, Canadian track and field athlete
August 29 — Corina Ungureanu, Romanian gymnast
August 30 — Michael Boyce, Australian field hockey player
August 31 — Fernanda Lissoni, Brazilian water polo player
August 31 — Hayden Shaw, New Zealand field hockey player

September

September 1 — Ryan Archibald, New Zealand field hockey player
September 1 — Toshiaki Fukuda, Japanese field hockey player
September 1 — Dawn Holden, English cricketer
September 4 — Daniele Bennati, Italian road racing cyclist
September 6 — Samuel Peter, Nigerian heavyweight boxer
September 8 — Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, South African middle distance runner
September 10 — Timothy Goebel, American figure skater
September 10 — Tahar Tamsamani, Moroccan boxer
September 12 — Yao Ming, Chinese NBA player
September 13 — Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japanese baseball player
September 13 — Viren Rasquinha, Indian field hockey player
September 13 — Juana Saviñon, Dominican Republic volleyball player
September 14 — Luis Horna, Peruvian tennis player
September 18 — Wendy Alcorn, Australian field hockey player
September 19 — Dimitri Yachvili, French rugby union player
September 20 — Vladimir Karpets, Russian cyclist
September 27 — Carlos Luis Campos, Venezuelan boxer
September 28 — Maurice Smith, Jamaican decathlete
September 29 — Răzvan Florea, Romanian swimmer
September 30 — Martina Hingis, Swiss tennis player
September 30 — Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz, Cuban boxer

October

October 2 — Amy Tran, American field hockey goalkeeper
October 3 — Sarah Collyer, English cricketer
October 3 — Mariana Roriz, Brazilian water polo player
October 3 — Diego Fernando Salazar, Colombian weightlifter
October 4 — Andrea Tóth, Hungarian water polo player
October 6 — Michelle Guerette, American rower
October 7 — Andrey Kapralov, Russian swimmer
October 7 — Olesya Zykina, Russian track and field athlete
October 8 — Kasper Bøgelund, Danish football (soccer) player
October 10 — Camilo Becerra, Colombian freestyle swimmer
October 10 — Megan Rivers, Australian field hockey player
October 13 — Scott Parker, English football player
October 15 — Tom Boonen, Belgian cyclist
October 16 — Dragoş Coman, Romanian freestyle swimmer
October 19 — Anna-Karin Kammerling, Swedish swimmer
October 20 — Denise Durajski, Australian field hockey player
October 21 — Mike Danton, Canadian ice hockey player
October 21 — Mari Piuva, Finnish archer
October 25 — Alex Fábregas, Spanish field hockey player
October 26 — Christian Chivu, Romanian football (soccer) player
October 28 — Alfonso Gomez, Mexican boxer
October 31 — Geert-Jan Derikx, Dutch field hockey player

November

November 7 — Gervasio Deferr, Spanish gymnast
November 8 — Yoav Gath, Israeli backstroke swimmer
November 9 — Dominique Maltais, Canadian snowboarder
November 12 — Devesh Chauhan, Indian field hockey goalkeeper
November 14 — Randall Bal, American backstroke swimmer
November 21 — Danielle Hartsell, American pairs skater
November 25 — Cameron Delaney, Australian backstroke swimmer
November 26 — Peter Manfredo, American boxer
November 27 — Hugo Garay, Argentine boxer

December

December 2 — Nathan Eglington, Australian field hockey player
December 4 — Hicham Mesbahi, Moroccan boxer
December 4 — Sergio Mora, American boxer
December 5 — Gülden Kayalar, Turkish volleyball player
December 6 — Carlos Takam, Cameroonian heavyweight boxer
December 9 — Gagan Ajit Singh, Indian field hockey striker
December 17 — Arjun Halappa, Indian field hockey striker
December 18 — Marian Drăgulescu, Romanian gymnast
December 20 — Sebastian Halgasch, German backstroke swimmer
December 28 — Lomana LuaLua, Congolese football (soccer) player
December 28 — Deepak Thakur, Indian field hockey forward
December 29 — Andrea Lenders, Dutch gymnast
December 29 — Patapol Ngernsrisuk, Thai badminton player
December 31 — Richie McCaw, New Zealand rugby player

Deaths