1982 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st century

yp1=1979
yp2=1980
yp3=1981
year=1982
ya1=1983
ya2=1984
ya3=1985
dp3=1950s
dp2=1960s
dp1=1970s
d=1980s
da=0
dn1=1990s
dn2=2000s
dn3=2010s|

Athletics

:"For an extensive coverage see 1982 in athletics (track and field)"

Marathon

* May 22 — flagicon|NED Rotterdam Marathon, Netherlands
**Men's Winner: Rodolfo Gómez (MEX) 2:11:57
**Women's Winner: Mathilde Heuing (FRG) 2:54:03

* September 12 — flagicon|GRE European Championships Marathon, Athens, Greece
**Men's Winner: Gerard Nijboer (NED) 2:15:16
**Women's Winner: Rosa Mota (POR) 2:36:04

* October 8 — flagicon|AUS Commonwealth Games Marathon, Brisbane, Australia
**Men's Winner: Robert de Castella (AUS) 2:09:18

* December 2 — flagicon|IND Asian Games Marathon, New Delhi, India
**Men's Winner: Kim Yang-Kon (KOR) 2:22:21

* December 5 — flagicon|JPN Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
**Men's Winner: Paul Ballinger (NZL) 2:10:15

=Auto Racing=

*Stock car racing:
**NASCAR Championship - Darrell Waltrip
**Bobby Allison won the Daytona 500
*CART Racing - Rick Mears won the season championship
**Indianapolis 500 - Gordon Johncock
*Formula One Champion - Keke Rosberg of Finland
*24 hours of Le Mans:
**won by the team of Jacky Ickx / Derek Bell driving a Porsche 956
*Rally racing - Walter Röhrl in an Opel won the World Rally Championship
**Walter Rohrl / Christian Geistdorfer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving an Opel Ascona 400
*Drag racing - Shirley Muldowney won the NHRA Top Fuel championship.

Baseball

* July 13: Montreal hosts the first MLB All-Star Game outside the United States. Reds SS Dave Concepción hits a 2-run home run in the 2nd inning to spark the National League to its 11th consecutive win over the American League 4-1. The NL has now won 19 of the last 20 contests. Concepción was named the MVP.
*August 18: Pete Rose sets record with his 13,941st plate appearance.
*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals won 4 games to 3 over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Series MVP was Cardinals catcher Darrell Porter.
*The Salem Angels won the Northwest League championship.

Basketball

*NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
**North Carolina wins 63-62 over Georgetown

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

*National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
**West Adelaide Bearcats defeated the Geelong Cats 80-74 in the final.

*FIBA World Championship
**USSR World Champion

Boxing

* May 4 to 15 – Third World Amateur Boxing Championships held in Munich, West Germany
**"Light Flyweight (– 48 kg):" Ismail Mustafov (Bulgaria)
**"Flyweight (– 51 kg):" Yuri Alexandrov (Soviet Union)
**"Bantamweight (– 54 kg):" Floyd Favors (United States)
**"Featherweight (– 57 kg):" Adolfo Horta (Cuba)
**"Lightweight (– 60 kg):" Ángel Herrera (Cuba)
**"Light Welterweight (– 63,5 kg):" Carlos García (Cuba)
**"Welterweight (– 67 kg):" Mark Breland (United States)
**"Light Middleweight (– 71 kg):" Aleksandr Koshkyn (Soviet Union)
**"Middleweight (– 75 kg):" Bernardo Comas (Cuba)
**"Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg):" Pablo Romero (Cuba)
**"Heavyweight (– 91 kg):" Alexander Yagubkin (Soviet Union)
**"Super Heavyweight (> 91 kg):" Tyrell Biggs (United States)
*June 11 – Larry Holmes defeats Gerry Cooney for the WBC Heavyweight title. Cooney, a white challenger, was dubbed "The White Hope" in what builded up to be a very racially toned fight, see Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney.
*November 12 – Aaron Pryor defeats Alexis Arguello in what would later be called the "fight of the decade". Pryor retained the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title with a 14th round knockout
*November 13 – Ray Mancini defeats Duk Koo Kim by knockout in 14 rounds in a tragic fight. Kim died five days later and the fight's outcome brought many new resolutions to boxing.
*December 3 – The Carnival of Champions

Cricket

*Graham Gooch leads a "rebel" team of players on tour of South Africa, banned from official cricket since 1970 because of apartheid.

Cycling

*Giro d'Italia won by Bernard Hinault of France
*Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
*World Cycling Championship: Giuseppe Saronni of Italy

Dogsled racing

*Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
**Rick Swenson won with lead sled dog: "Andy"

Field Hockey

World Competitions

* Men's World Cup in Bombay, India
** Gold Medal: Pakistan
** Silver Medal: West Germany
** Bronze Medal: Australia

* Men's Champions Trophy in Amstelveen, The Netherlands
** Gold Medal: The Netherlands
** Silver Medal: Australia
** Bronze Medal: India

Regional Competitions

* Men's Asia Cup in Karachi, Pakistan
** Gold Medal: Pakistan
** Silver Medal: India
** Bronze Medal: China

*March 20: In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England, The Netherlands beat England 4-2.

Figure skating

*World Figure Skating Championships:
**Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, United States
**Ladies' champion: Elaine Zayak, United States
**Pair skating champions: Sabine Baeß & Tassilo Thierbach, Germany
**Ice dancing champions: Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean, Great Britain

=Football (American)=

*Super Bowl XVI: San Francisco 49ers won 26-21 over the Cincinnati Bengals.
*NCAA Division I-A: Clemson University Tigers defeat University of Nebraska Cornhuskers 22-15 in the Orange Bowl, voted 1981 NCAA Division I-A College Football National Champion in AP and UPI polls.
*Strike: First regular season strike by NFL players ends on November 16 after 57 days.

Football (Australian rules football)

* Victorian Football League
** Carlton wins the 86th VFL Premiership (Carlton 14.19 (103) d Richmond 12.13 (83))
** Brownlow Medal awarded to Brian Wilson (Melbourne)
** The inaugural VFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award goes to Leigh Matthews (Hawthorn). The award would be renamed the Leigh Matthews Trophy in his honour in 2002.

=Football (Canadian)=

* Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos won 32-16 over the Toronto Argonauts, the Eskimos' record fifth consecutive Grey Cup victory.
* Vanier Cup: UBC Thunderbirds won 39-14 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

=Football (Rugby union)=

* Five Nations Championship: Ireland win the Triple Crown for the first time since 1948.

Football (rugby league)

The Sydney New South Wales Rugby League premiership expanded its competition for the very first time in its seventy four year history out of the state of New South Wales. Nine teams contested the initial season back in 1908, but to date the NSWRL consists of fourteen teams.

*Fourteen Teams competing

Balmain Tigers,

Canberra Raiders,

Canterbury Bulldogs,

Cronulla Sharks,

Eastern Suburbs Roosters,

Illawarra Steelers,

Manly Sea Eagles,

Newtown Jets,

North Sydney Bears,

Parramatta Eels,

Penrith Panthers,

St. George Dragons,

South Sydney Rabbitohs,

Western Suburbs Magpies,

**Parramatta Eels win their second title, defeating Manly Sea Eagles 21-8 in the final.

Football (Soccer)

::"For an extensive coverage see 1982 in football (soccer)"
*World Cup in Spain: Italy beats West Germany 3-1 for their third title.
*Champions' Cup: Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern München
*UEFA Cup: Two legs; 1st leg IFK Göteborg 1-0 Hamburger SV; 2nd leg Hamburger SV 0-3 IFK Göteborg. IFK Göteborg won 4-0 on aggregate
*Cup Winners' Cup: Barcelona 2-1 Standard Liège
*Super Cup: Two legs; 1st leg Barcelona 1-0 Aston Villa; 2nd leg Aston Villa 3-0 Barcelona. Aston Villa won 3-1 on aggregate
*Copa Libertadores de América: Two legs; 1st leg Peñarol 0-0 Cobreloa; 2nd leg Cobreloa 0-1 Peñarol. Peñarol win 1-0 on aggregate
*England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 1-0 over Queens Park Rangers

Gaelic Athletic Association

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

*Gaelic football
**All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Offaly 1-15 d. Kerry 0-17
**National Football League: Kerry 1-9 d. Cork 0-5 (replay)

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

*Hurling
**All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Kilkenny 3-18 d. Cork 1-13
**National Hurling League:

Golf

Men's professional
*April 8-11 - Masters Tournament - Craig Stadler
*June 17-20 - U.S. Open - Tom Watson
*July 15-18 - British Open - Tom Watson
*August 5-8 - PGA Championship - Raymond Floyd
*PGA Tour money leader - Craig Stadler - $446,462
*Senior PGA Tour money leader - Miller Barber - $106,890 Men's amateur
*British Amateur - Martin Thompson
*U.S. Amateur - Jay SigelWomen's professional
*LPGA Championship - Jan Stephenson
*U.S. Women's Open - Janet Anderson
*Classique Peter Jackson Classic - Sandra Haynie
*LPGA Tour money leader - JoAnne Carner - $310,400

=Thoroughbred Horse Racing=

*Australia - Melbourne Cup - Gurner's Lane
*Canada - Queen's Plate - Son of Briartic
*France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Akiyda
*Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Assert

*English Triple Crown Races:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - Zino
*#Epsom Derby - Golden Fleece
*#St. Leger Stakes - Touching Wood

*United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 1 - Kentucky Derby - Gato Del Sol
*#Preakness Stakes - Aloma's Ruler
*#Belmont Stakes - Conquistador Cielo

=Harness Racing=

*United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
*#Cane Pace - Cam Fella
*#Little Brown Jug - Merger
*#Messenger Stakes - Cam Fella

*United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
*#Hambletonian - Speed Bowl
*#Yonkers Trot - Mystic Park
*#Kentucky Futurity - Jazz Cosmos

*Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
**Pacers: Rhett's Law

Ice Hockey

*Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers

*Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers

*Stanley Cup: New York Islanders win 4-0 over the Vancouver Canucks

*World Hockey Championship:
** Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia
** Junior Men's champion: Canada defeated Czechoslovakia

Skiing

*Alpine Skiing
**The men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, USA
**The women's overall season champion: Erika Hess, Switzerland

Snooker

*World Snooker Championship: Alex Higgins beats Ray Reardon 18-15
*World rankings: Ray Reardon becomes world number one for 1982/83

Swimming

* The fourth FINA World Championships held in Guayaquil, Ecuador

Tennis

*Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
*#Australian Open - Johan Kriek
*#French Open - Mats Wilander
*#Wimbledon championships - Jimmy Connors
*#US Open - Jimmy Connors

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open - Chris Evert
*#French Open - Martina Navratilova
*#Wimbledon championships - Martina Navratilova
*#US Open - Chris Evert

*Davis Cup: United States won 4-1 over France in world tennis.
*Billy Jean King makes her final singles appearance at the US Open, losing in the first round.
* Total prize money at US Open exceeds 1 million US dollars.

Volleyball

* Men's World Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina
** Gold Medal: Soviet Union
** Silver Medal: Brazil
** Bronze Medal: Argentina

* Women's World Championship in Lima, Peru
** Gold Medal: PR China
** Silver Medal: Peru
** Bronze Medal: United States

Water Polo

* Men's World Championship in Guayaquil, Ecuador
** Gold Medal: Soviet Union
** Silver Medal: Hungary
** Bronze Medal: West Germany

Multi-sport events

*Asian Games held in New Delhi, India

* Central American and Caribbean Games held in Havana, Cuba

* Gay Games held in San Francisco, California

Awards

*Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Wayne Gretzky, NHL ice hockey
*Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Mary Decker, Track and field

Births

January

* January 1 — Ahmed Khaddour, Lebanese born Danish boxer
* January 1 — Ara Khachatryan, Armenian weightlifter
* January 1 — Joseph Lubega, Ugandan boxer
* January 1 — David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
* January 1 — Sebastián Pardo, Chilean football player
* January 2 — Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker
* January 3 — Renata Burgos, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
* January 5 — Janica Kostelić, Croatian alpine skier
* January 5 — Vadims Vasiļevskis, Latvian athlete
* January 7 — Joachim Johansson, Swedish tennis player
* January 7 — Kim Staelens, Dutch volleyball player
* January 7 — Hannah Stockbauer, German swimmer
* January 9 — Sara Parise, Italian swimmer
* January 10 — Aurea Cruz, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* January 12 — Sherzod Abdurahmonov, Uzbek boxer
* January 13 — Guillermo Coria, Argentinian tennis player
* January 15 — Benjamin Agosto, American skater
* January 17 — Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
* January 18 — Christian Galenda, Italian freestyle swimmer
* January 20 — Serghei Covalciuc, Moldovan football (soccer) midfielder
* January 22 — Cornelia Dumler, German volleyball player
* January 23 — Stephanie Jameson, Canadian field hockey player
* January 29 — Adam van Koeverden, Canadian kayaker
* January 31 — Maret Ani, Estonian tennis player
* January 31 — Alexey Verbov, Russian volleyball player

February

* February 2 — Dorcus Inzikuru, Ugandan athlete
* February 2 — Filippo Magnini, Italian swimmer
* February 4 — Fernando Morales, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* February 6 — Bojan Djordjic, Swedish football (soccer) player
* February 6 — Jade Edmistone, Australian swimmer
* February 8 — Robert Margalis, American medley swimmer
* February 9 — Zersenay Tadese, Eritrean athlete
* February 10 — Justin Gatlin, American athlete
* February 10 — Raidel Poey, Cuban volleyball player
* February 13 — Jorge Betancourt, Cuban diver
* February 13 — Vanja Rogulj, Croatian breaststroke swimmer
* February 14 — Marian Gaborik, Slovak ice hockey player
* February 15 — Raydel Corrales, Cuban volleyball player
* February 17 — Adriano, Brazilian football (soccer) player
* February 18 — April Fronzoni, US field hockey striker
* February 19 — Camelia Potec, Romanian swimmer
* February 19 — Hamit Şare, Turkish skier
* February 23 — Malia Metella, French swimmer
* February 25 — Flavia Pennetta, Italian tennis player
* February 26 — Li Na, Chinese tennis player
* February 26 — Andrew Sewnauth, Scottish field hockey player
* February 28 — Thijs de Greeff, Dutch field hockey player

March

* March 2 — Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
* March 2 — Joel Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
* March 2 — Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
* March 2 — Marcos Riccardi, Argentine field hockey player
* March 2 — Kathy Radzuweit, German volleyball player
* March 5 — Daniel Carter, New Zealand rugby player
* March 9 — Matias Paredes, Argentine field hockey midfielder
* March 15 — Kathleen Stoody, Canadian breaststroke swimmer
* March 16 — Victor Bird, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* March 17 — Steven Pienaar, South African football player
* March 18 — Paola Cardullo, Italian volleyball player
* March 21 — Klete Keller, American swimmer
* March 24 — Ai Otomo, Japanese volleyball player
* March 25 — Danica Patrick, American auto racing driver

April

* April 1 — Andreas Thorkildsen, Norwegian javelin thrower
* April 2 — David Ferrer, Spanish tennis player
* April 5 — Donna-Lee Patrick, Australian field hockey player
* April 8 — Gennadiy Golovkin, Kazakh boxer
* April 11 — Corrie Clark, American breaststroke swimmer
* April 13 — Kristi Gannon, American field hockey player
* April 13 — Ria Male, Welsh field hockey goalkeeper
* April 13 — Jelena Nikolić, Serbian volleyball player
* April 14 — Larissa França, Brazilian beach volleyball player
* April 16 — Raul Mesa, Spanish beach volleyball player
* April 20 — Keiichiro Nagashima, Japanese long track speed skater
* April 20 — Arnoud Okken, Dutch athlete
* April 20 — Rodman Valera, Venezuelan volleyball player
* April 22 — Kaká (Ricardo Iczecson Santos Leite), Brazilian football player
* April 23 — Angie Loy, American field hockey forward
* April 24 — Nicole Davis, American volleyball player
* April 25 — Monty Panesar, English cricketer

May

* May 1 — Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player
* May 4 — Michele di Rocco, Italian boxer
* May 4 — Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
* May 5 — Pavel Vorobiev, Kazakhstani ice hockey right winger
* May 6 — Sergey Fesenko, Ukrainian freestyle swimmer
* May 6 — Kyle Shewfelt, Canadian gymnast
* May 8 — Ugur Yildirim, Dutch football player
* May 12 — Raluca Udroiu, Romanian freestyle swimmer
* May 13 — Rafael Mosca, Brazilian freestyle swimmer
* May 13 — Oguchi Onyewu, American soccer player
* May 14 — Ai Shibata, Japanese swimmer
* May 15 — Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaican athlete
* May 17 — Tony Parker, French basketball player
* May 18 — Mihály Flaskay, Hungarian breaststroke swimmer
* May 18 — Timo Glock, German race driver
* May 18 — Roderick Weusthof, Dutch field hockey player
* May 19 — Alessandra Cappa, Italian backstroke swimmer
* May 20 — Diana Chalá, Ecuadorian judoka
* May 20 — Angel Perez, Puerto Rican volleyball player
* May 22 — Apolo Anton Ohno, US short track speed skater
* May 22 — Atika Bouagaa, German volleyball player
* May 24 — DaMarcus Beasley, American soccer player
* May 24 — Tiago Camilo, Brazilian judoka
* May 25 — Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenyan athlete
* May 26 — Mikel Arteta, Spanish football player

June

* June 1 — Justine Henin, Belgian tennis player
* June 3 — Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian athlete
* June 5 — Fabiano Peçanha, Brazilian middle distance runner
* June 8 — Mark Gangloff, American swimmer
* June 8 — Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player
* June 11 — Diana Taurasi, American basketball player
* June 13 — Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopian distance runner
* June 14 — Chris Cozens, British freestyle swimmer
* June 19 — Francisco Picasso, Uruguayan medley swimmer
* June 23 — Joona Puhakka, Finnish diver
* June 24 — Serginho Greene, Dutch football player
* June 25 — Mandy Haase, German field hockey defender
* June 25 — Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
* June 28 — Diego Gallo, Uruguayan swimmer

July

* July 2 — Timo Weß, German field hockey player
* July 3 — Manon van Rooijen, Dutch swimmer
* July 6 — Julius Brink, German beach volleyball player
* July 6 — Erica Rose, American long-distance swimmer
* July 9 — Rebecca Sanders, Australian field hockey player
* July 21 — Katy Sexton, British swimmer
* July 30 — Ernardo Gomez, Venezuelan volleyball player
* July 31 — Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spanish tennis player

August

* August 5 — Brian Johns, Canadian swimmer
* August 7 — Yana Klochkova, Ukrainian swimmer
* August 7 — Marco Melandri, Italian motorcyclist
* August 7 — Annerys Vargas, Dominican Republic volleyball player
* August 9 — Byron Piedra, Ecuadorian athlete
* August 10 — Shaun Murphy, English snooker player
* August 12 — Andrew Hurd, Canadian swimmer
* August 12 — Even Wetten, Norwegian speed skater
* August 13 — Shani Davis, American speedskater
* August 24 — Kim Källström, Swedish football player
* August 25 — Rob Derikx, Dutch field hockey player
* August 25 — Květoslav Svoboda, Czech freestyle swimmer
* August 28 — Flavio Cruz, Portuguese volleyball player
* August 28 — Thiago Motta, Brazilian football (soccer) player
* August 30 — Andy Roddick, American tennis player
* August 31 — Ian Crocker, American swimmer
* August 31 — Lien Huyghebaert, Belgian athlete

eptember

* September 2 — César Castro, Brazilian diver
* September 2 — Hugo Gaspar, Portuguese volleyball player
* September 7 — Andre Dirrell, American boxer
* September 11 — Elvan Abeylegesse, Ethiopian-born Turkish track and field athlete
* September 11 — Tom Prinsen, Dutch long track speedskater
* September 13 — Nenê, Brazilian basketball player
* September 13 — Miha Zupan, Slovenian basketball player
* September 16 — Lizzy Igasan, New Zealand field hockey defender
* September 19 — Eleni Daniilidou, Greek tennis player
* September 20 — Kasey Giteau, Australian freestyle swimmer
* September 21 — Danny Kass, American snowboarder
* September 22 — Kosuke Kitajima, Japanese swimmer
* September 22 — Maarten Stekelenburg, Dutch football (soccer) goalkeeper
* September 24 — Morgan Hamm, American gymnast
* September 24 — Paul Hamm, American gymnast
* September 25 — Elio Rojas, Dominican Republic boxer
* September 27 — Fabian Estoyanoff, Uruguay football (soccer) player
* September 27 — Markus Rosenberg, Swedish football (soccer) player
* September 28 — Emeka Okafor, American basketball player
* September 28 — Anderson Varejão, Brazilian basketball player
* September 30 — Janelle Atkinson, Jamaican freestyle swimmer

October

* October 8 — Glenn Kirkham, English field hockey player
* October 10 — David Cal, Spanish canoer
* October 11 — Lucas Rey, Argentine field hockey midfielder
* October 11 — Helen Wardlaw, English cricketer
* October 11 — Matthias Witthaus, German field hockey player
* October 12 — Frédéric Michalak, French rugby union player
* October 13 — Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
* October 13 — Nicole Trimmel, Austrian kickboxer
* October 14 — Charles Vandeweghe, Belgian field hockey forward
* October 15 — Aikaterini Bliamou, Greek freestyle swimmer
* October 19 — Daan van Bunge, Dutch cricketer
* October 19 — Chantal Groot, Dutch swimmer
* October 22 — Isaac Ekpo, Nigerian boxer
* October 22 — Melinda Czink, Hungarian tennis player
* October 26 — Ronald Mendez, Venezuelan volleyball player

November

* November 3 — Moniek Kleinsman, Dutch speed skater
* November 6 — Sofiane Daid, Algerian swimmer
* November 9 — Andy Souwer, Dutch shoot boxer and kickboxer
* November 11 — Asafa Powell, Jamaican athlete
* November 13 — Sean Rooney, American volleyball player
* November 15 — Giaan Rooney, Australian swimmer
* November 16 — Amare Stoudemire, American basketball player
* November 17 — Andriy Serdinov, Ukrainian swimmer
* November 24 — Jakob Jóhann Sveinsson, Icelandic swimmer
* November 30 — Igor Alborov, Uzbek boxer
* November 30 — Dilshod Mahmudov, Uzbek boxer

December

* December 9 — Tamilla Abassova, Russian cyclist
* December 11 — Darren Gilford, Maltese athlete
* December 13 — Tsoanelo Pholo, South African field hockey striker
* December 18 — Giovanna Blanco, Venezuelan judoka
* December 28 — Michael Raab, American butterfly swimmer

Deaths

*January 7 — Bert Oosterhuis, Dutch motor racer
*January 8 — Daan de Groot (48), Dutch road bicycle and track cyclist (b. 1933)
*January 20 — Marc Demeyer (31), Belgian cyclist
*April 26 — Ville Ritola, Finnish Olympic gold medal runner
*May 7 — Claudio "Tripa" Barrientos (45), Chilean boxer
*May 8 — Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian F1-race driver
*June 8 — Satchel Paige, baseball great
*June 25 — Ed Hamm (76), American athlete (b. 1906)
*August 4 — Henk van der Wal (95), Dutch track and field athlete (b. 1886)
*August 12 — Salvador Sanchez, world champion boxer
*October 3 — Roger Claessen, Belgian soccer player
*November 13 — Dorothy Round, English tennis player
*November 17 — Duk Koo Kim, South Korean boxer
*November 26 — Hub Walker, Major League Baseball player
*December 16 — Anthony Chapman, English Formula One race driver