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Years in sports:	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
Years:	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984

Artistic Gymnastics

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships:
- Men's all-around champion: Yuri Korolev, USSR
- Women's all-around champion: Olga Bicherova, USSR
- Men's team competition champion: USSR
- Women's team competition champion: USSR

Athletics

For an extensive coverage see 1981 in athletics (track and field)

Marathon

May 9 — Amsterdam Marathon, Netherlands
- Men's Winner: Ferenc Szekeres (HUN) 2:18:11
- Women's Winner: Marja Wokke (NED) 2:43:38

May 23 — Rotterdam Marathon, Netherlands
- Men's Winner: John Graham (GBR) 2:09:28
- Women's Winner: Marja Wokke (NED) 2:43:23

July 11 — Enschede Marathon, Netherlands
- Men's Winner: Cor Vriend (NED) 2:15:54
- Women's Winner: Jane Wipf (USA) 2:38:21

December 6 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
- Men's Winner: Robert de Castella (AUS) 2:08:18

Auto Racing

Stock car racing:
- NASCAR Championship - Darrell Waltrip
- Richard Petty won the Daytona 500
CART Racing - Rick Mears won the season championship
- May 25 - Indianapolis 500 - Bobby Unser
Formula One Champion - Nelson Piquet of Brazil
24 hours of Le Mans:
- teammates Jacky Ickx / Derek Bell won, driving a Porsche 936
Rally racing - Ari Vatanen in a Ford won the World Rally Championship
- the team of Jean Ragnotti / Jean-Marc Andrie won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Renault 5 Turbo
Drag racing: Gary Beck won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals

Baseball

For a Venezuelans baseball player's strike the Caribbean World Series of this year is cancelled.
January 15 - In his first year of eligibility, former Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gibson won 20 games five times, struck out 3,117 batters, and captured the Cy Young Award and MVP in 1968 with a 1.12 ERA. Players falling short of the 301 votes needed for election include Don Drysdale (243), Gil Hodges (241), Harmon Killebrew (239), Hoyt Wilhelm (238), and Juan Marichal (233). All except Hodges would subsequently gain election.
April 18 - An International League game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the visiting Rochester Red Wings set the record for the most innings ever played in a single professional baseball game, at 33 innings (24 extra innings). The game was suspended after 32 innings on the morning of April 19, and was concluded on June 23 with a 3-2 Pawtucket victory.
June 12 - Major League Baseball players begin a 49 day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.
World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers win 4 games to 2 over the New York Yankees. The Series MVP is a tie between Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager, Los Angeles

Basketball

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship:
- Indiana wins 63-50 over North Carolina

NBA Finals:
- Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Houston Rockets

National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
- Launceston Casino City defeated the Nunawading Spectres 75-54 in the final.

Boxing

April 11: Larry Holmes defeats Trevor Berbick by a unanimous decision to retain the WBC heavyweight title.

August 21: Salvador Sanchez defeats Wilfredo Gómez by knockout in round eight to retain boxing's WBC world Featherweight title.(see: The Battle of the Little Giants)

September 16: Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Thomas Hearns by knockout in round 14 to unify boxing's world Welterweight title.

October 3: Mike Weaver defeats James (Quick) Tillis by a unanimous decision to retain the WBA/World Boxing Association heavyweight title.

Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Giovanni Battaglin of Italy
Tour de France - Bernard Hinault of France
1981 - Freddy Maertens, (Belgium)

Dogsled racing

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion:
- Rick Swenson won with lead dogs: Andy & Slick

Field Hockey

Men's World Cup Qualifier Tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Gold Medal: Soviet Union
- Silver Medal: Malaysia
- Bronze Medal: New Zealand

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

Women's World Cup in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Gold Medal: West Germany
- Silver Medal: The Netherlands
- Bronze Medal: Soviet Union

March 21 - In an international women's field-hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England beat Wales 2-1.

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships:
- Men's champion: Scott Hamilton, United States
- Ladies' champion: Denise Biellmann, Switzerland
- Pair skating champions: Irina Vorobeva & Igor Lisovski, Soviet Union
- Ice dancing champions: Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean, Great Britain

Football (American)

January 25 - Super Bowl XV: Oakland Raiders win 27-10 over the Philadelphia Eagles
October 11 - LeRoy Irvin sets NFL record for most punt return yards in a game (207).

Football (Australian rules football)

Victorian Football League
- Carlton win the 85th VFL Premiership (Carlton 12.20 (92) d Collingwood 10.12 (72))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Barry Round (South Melbourne) and Bernie Quinlan (Fitzroy)
- At the end of the season, South Melbourne relocate to Sydney and are renamed the Sydney Swans.

Football (Canadian)

Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos win 26-23 over the Ottawa Rough Riders
Vanier Cup: Acadia Axemen win 18-12 over the Alberta Golden Bears

Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1981 in football (soccer)

UEFA Champions League: Liverpool FC 1-0 Real Madrid
UEFA Cup: Two legs. 1st leg Ipswich Town F.C. 3-0 AZ '67 (Alkmaar); 2nd leg AZ '67 4-2 Ipswich Town. Ipswich Town win 5-4 on aggregate
Cup Winners' Cup: Dynamo Tbilisi 2-1 Carl Zeiss Jena
Copa Libertadores de América: Flamengo 2-0 Cobreloa
World Club Championship: Flamengo 3-0 Liverpool FC
League champions
- Argentina: Boca Juniors
- Brazil: Grêmio
- France: Saint-Étienne
- England: Aston Villa
- Italy: Juventus
- Netherlands: Ajax
- Portugal: Benfica
- Scotland: Celtic
- Spain: Real Sociedad
- West Germany: Bayern Munich
- United States/Canada: Chicago Sting
England - FA Cup: Tottenham Hotspur won 3-2 over Manchester City

Gaelic Athletic Association

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

Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Kerry 1-12 d. Offaly 0-8
- National Football League: Galway 1-11 d. Roscommon 1-3

Ladies' Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry 1-12 d. Offaly 0-8
- National Football League: Galway 1-11 d. Roscommon 1-3

Hurling
- All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Offaly 2-12 d. Galway 0-15
- National Hurling League: Cork 3-11 d. Offaly 2-8

Golf

Men's professional

April 9-12 - Masters Tournament - Tom Watson
June 18-21 - U.S. Open - David Graham
July 16-19 - British Open - Bill Rogers
August 6-9 - PGA Championship - Larry Nelson
PGA Tour money leader - Tom Kite - $375,699
Senior PGA Tour money leader - Miller Barber - $83,136
Ryder Cup - United States win 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 over Europe in team golf.

Men's amateur

Women's professional

LPGA Championship - Donna Caponi
U.S. Women's Open - Pat Bradley
Classique Peter Jackson Classic - Jan Stephenson
LPGA Tour money leader - Beth Daniel - $206,998

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

August 30 - John Henry becomes the first horse to win a million dollar race, the Inaugural Arlington Million, at Arlington Park in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Australia - Melbourne Cup - Just a Dash
Canada - Queen's Plate - Fiddle Dancer Boy
France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Gold River
Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Shergar

English Triple Crown Races:

United States Triple Crown Races:
1. May 2 - Kentucky Derby - Pleasant Colony
2. Preakness Stakes - Pleasant Colony
3. Belmont Stakes - Summing

Harness Racing

United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
1. Cane Pace - Wildwood Jeb
2. Little Brown Jug - Fan Hanover (Filly)
3. Messenger Stakes - Seahawk Hanover

United States Trotting Triple Crown races:

Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
- Pacers: San Simeon

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 games to 1 over the Minnesota North Stars

World Hockey Championship
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
- Junior Men's champion: Sweden defeated Finland

Rugby union

The 1981 Springbok Tour caused major controversy and riots in New Zealand.

Skiing

Alpine Skiing
- The men's overall season champion: Phil Mahre, USA
- The women's overall season champion: Marie-Theres Nadig, Switzerland

Snooker

World Snooker Championship: Steve Davis beats Doug Mountjoy 18-12
World rankings: Cliff Thorburn becomes world number one for 1981/82

Swimming

Records

August 15 — USA's Robin Leamy of UCLA sets a world record in the 50m freestyle (long course) at a swimming meet in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, shaving off 0.17 of the previous record (22.71) set by Joseph Bottom exactly one year ago in Honolulu, Hawaii: 22.54.