2011 in sports facts for kids

The year 2011 was packed with exciting sports events from all around the world! Athletes pushed their limits, teams battled for championships, and new records were set. Let's take a look at some of the biggest moments in sports from that year.

Skiing Adventures in 2011

Alpine Skiing Highlights

• October 23, 2010 – March 20, 2011 – The 2011 Alpine Skiing World Cup took place.
  • The top male skier was Ivica Kostelić from Croatia.
  • The top female skier was Maria Riesch from Germany.
• January 14 – January 23 – The 2011 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships were held in Sestriere.
• February 7 – February 20 – Skiers competed at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2011 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

American Football Action

Big Games and New Stars

• January 10 – The 2011 BCS National Championship Game was held in Glendale, Arizona. The Auburn Tigers beat the Oregon Ducks 22-19.
• February 6 – Super Bowl XLV took place at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Green Bay Packers won against the Pittsburgh Steelers 31–25. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his amazing performance.
• April 28–30 – The 2011 NFL Draft was held in New York City. The Carolina Panthers chose quarterback Cam Newton from Auburn as the very first pick.
• July 8–16 – The 2011 IFAF World Cup for American football was held in Austria.

Water Sports: Aquatics

World Aquatics Championships

• July 16–31, 2011 – The 2011 World Aquatics Championships were held in Shanghai, China. This event features swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming.

Football (Soccer) Excitement

Major Tournaments and Champions

• January 7–29 – The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was played in Qatar.
  • Japan won their fourth title, with Australia as runner-up. Keisuke Honda from Japan was the MVP.
• May 28 – The UEFA Champions League Final was held in London.
  • FC Barcelona from Spain defeated Manchester United from England 3−1.
• June 5–25 – The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup took place in the United States.
  • Mexico won the cup, beating the United States in the final. Javier Hernández was named MVP.
• June 18–July 10 – The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was hosted by Mexico.
  • Mexico won the cup, becoming the first host team to do so, by defeating Uruguay 2–0.
• June 26–July 17 – The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was held in Germany.
  • Japan won their first title, with the United States as runner-up. Homare Sawa from Japan was the Best Player.
• July 1–July 24 – The 2011 Copa América was played in Argentina.
  • Uruguay won their 15th title, with Paraguay as runner-up. Luis Suárez was the Best Player.
• July 29–August 20 – The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was held in Colombia.
  • Brazil won their fifth title, beating Portugal in the final. Henrique from Brazil was the Best Player.

Athletics (Track and Field)

World Championships

• January 21–30 – The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships were held in Christchurch, New Zealand.
• August 27—September 4 – The 2011 World Championships in Athletics took place in Daegu, South Korea.

Basketball Highlights

NBA and Euroleague Finals

• February 20 – The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was held in Los Angeles. The Western Conference team beat the Eastern Conference team 148-143.
• May 8 – In the Euroleague final, Panathinaikos from Greece beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 78-70 in Barcelona to win their sixth title. Dimitris Diamantidis was named MVP.
• June 2–16 – The 2011 NBA Finals saw the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Miami Heat 4–2 to win their first NBA title. German player Dirk Nowitzki was named the Finals MVP.
• September 3–18 – The EuroBasket 2011 tournament was held in Lithuania.
  • Spain won their second title, with France taking silver and Russia bronze. Juan Carlos Navarro from Spain was the MVP.

Beach Sports

Beach Soccer and Volleyball

• September 1–11 – The 2011 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was held in Ravenna, Italy.
  • Russia ended Brazil's winning streak, beating them 12–8 in the final.
• June 13–19 – The 2011 Beach Volleyball World Championships took place in Rome.
  • The men's event was won by Emanuel Rego and Alison Cerutti from Brazil.
  • The women's event was won by Larissa França and Juliana Felisberta from Brazil.

Boxing Matches

Big Fights and Champions

• January 29 – Timothy Bradley defeated Devon Alexander to unify the light welterweight titles.
• February 19 – Nonito Donaire knocked out Fernando Montiel in the second round to unify the bantamweight titles.
• May 7 – Manny Pacquiao easily defeated Shane Mosley by unanimous decision, keeping his WBO welterweight title.
• July 2 – Wladimir Klitschko defeated David Haye by unanimous decision, adding Haye's WBA heavyweight title to his collection.

Cricket World Cup

• February 19-April 2 – The 2011 Cricket World Cup was held in Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh.
  • India won the tournament, beating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final. India was the first host nation to win the World Cup on home soil. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named man of the match for his unbeaten 91 runs in the final.
• April 8-May 28 – The 2011 IPL took place in India. The Chennai Super Kings beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win for the second year in a row.

Curling Championships

Ice Battles and Winners

• January 13–16 – The 2011 Continental Cup of Curling saw North America defeat the World team.
• February 19–27 – The 2011 Scotties Tournament of Hearts (Canadian women's championship) was won by Amber Holland's team from Saskatchewan.
• March 5–13 – The 2011 Tim Hortons Brier (Canadian men's championship) was won by Jeff Stoughton's team from Manitoba.
• April 2–10 – The 2011 Ford World Men's Curling Championship was won by Canada (Jeff Stoughton's team).

Fencing World Championships

• October 8 - October 16 – The 2011 World Fencing Championships were held in Catania, Italy.

Figure Skating Events

• January 24–30 – The 2011 European Figure Skating Championships took place in Bern, Switzerland.
• February 15–20 – The 2011 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships were held in Taipei, Taiwan.
• April 24 – May 1 – The 2011 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Moscow, Russia.

Gymnastics Competitions

• 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships
• 2011 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
• 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

Handball World Championships

• January 13–30 – The 2011 World Men's Handball Championship was held in Sweden.
  • France won their fourth title, with Denmark taking silver and Spain bronze. Nikola Karabatic was the MVP.
• December 3–16 – The 2011 World Women's Handball Championship took place in Brazil.

Horse Racing Highlights

Major Races and Winners

• Grand National – The famous steeplechase was won by Ballabriggs.
• 2,000 Guineas Stakes – This English Triple Crown race was won by Frankel.
• Epsom Derby – This major English race was won by Pour Moi.
• Kentucky Derby – The first leg of the U.S. Triple Crown was won by Animal Kingdom.
• Preakness Stakes – The second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown was won by Shackleford.
• Belmont Stakes – The third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown was won by Ruler on Ice.

Ice Hockey Action

• December 26 (2010)–January 5 – The 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships were held in Buffalo, United States.
  • Russia won gold, Canada silver, and the United States bronze.
• June 15 – The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 to win the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. Bruins goalie Tim Thomas was named the MVP of the playoffs.
• September 7 – A sad event occurred when a plane carrying the KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed, killing almost all players and crew. This led to the KHL season being postponed.

Motor Racing Thrills

Formula One, NASCAR, and IndyCar

Formula One

• The 2011 Formula One season featured many exciting races around the world.

NASCAR

• February 20 – The Daytona 500 was won by Trevor Bayne, who became the youngest winner ever at 20 years old.
• July 9 – The Quaker State 400 marked the first time Kentucky Speedway hosted a Cup Series race.
• August 15 – Marcos Ambrose became the first Australian to win a Cup Series race at the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen.

IndyCar

• May 29 – The 95th Indianapolis 500 was won by Dan Wheldon.

Multi-Sport Events

Big Competitions with Many Sports

• 2011 Winter Universiade
• 2011 Summer Universiade
• 2011 All-Africa Games
• 2011 Pan American Games
• 2011 Asian Winter Games
• 2011 Pacific Games
• 2011 South East Asian Games
• 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games
• 2011 Island Games

Netball World Championships

• July 3–10 – The 2011 Netball World Championships were held in Singapore.

Road Bicycle Racing

Grand Tours and World Championships

• May 7 - May 29 – The 2011 Giro d'Italia was won by Alberto Contador.
• July 2 - July 24 – The 2011 Tour de France was won by Australian Cadel Evans. He was the first Australian to win the race and, at 34, the oldest post-war winner.
• August 20 - September 11 – The 2011 Vuelta a España was won by Juan José Cobo from Spain.
• September 19 - September 25 – The 2011 UCI Road World Championships took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. Mark Cavendish from Britain became the first British male since Tom Simpson to win the road race title.

Rowing World Championships

• August 28 to September 4 – The 2011 World Rowing Championships were held at Lake Bled, Bled, Slovenia.

Rugby League Highlights

• May 25–July 6 – The State of Origin saw Queensland defeat New South Wales 2–1 for their sixth win in a row.
• August – The Challenge Cup final took place.

Rugby Union Events

• February 4 – March 19 – The Six Nations Championship was won by England.
• May 21 – The Heineken Cup Final was held in Cardiff. Leinster from Ireland won their second European title.
• September 9–October 23 – The 2011 Rugby World Cup took place in New Zealand.

Tennis Grand Slams

Major Tournaments and Champions

• 2011 Australian Open (January 17 – January 30)
  • Men's final: Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray.
  • Women's final: Kim Clijsters defeated Li Na.
• 2011 French Open (May 17 – June 5)
  • Men's final: Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer.
  • Women's final: Li Na defeated Francesca Schiavone.
• 2011 Wimbledon Championships (June 20 – July 3)
  • Men's final: Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal.
  • Women's final: Petra Kvitová defeated Maria Sharapova.
• 2011 US Open (August 29 – September 12)
  • Men's final: Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal.
  • Women's final: Samantha Stosur defeated Serena Williams.

Volleyball Tournaments

• November 23, 2010-March 20, 2011 – The Women's CEV Champions League 2010–11 Final Four was in Istanbul, Turkey.
  • VakıfBank Güneş TTelekom from Turkey were the champions.
• May 27 - July 10, 2011 – The 2011 FIVB World League Final Eight was held in Gdańsk / Sopot, Poland.
  • Russia won gold, Brazil silver, and Poland bronze.
• August 5 - August 28 – The 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix Final Eight was in Macau, China.
  • United States won gold, Brazil silver, and Serbia bronze.
• September 10-September 18 – The 2011 Men's European Volleyball Championship was held in Austria and Czech Republic.
  • Serbia won gold, Italy silver, and Poland bronze.
• September 22 - October 2 – The 2011 Women's European Volleyball Championship was held in Italy and Serbia.
  • Serbia won gold, Germany silver, and Turkey bronze.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Deporte en 2011 para niños