World's top 10 sports stories in 2003

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 24, 2003

World's top 10 sports stories in 2003

Top of the top 10 sports stories is that China women's volleyball team embrace their first volleyball World Cup title in 17 years as they won the women's tournament on November 15 in Japan.

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Following is the list of world's top 10 sports stories in 2003 selected by Xinhua News Agency:

1. China embraced the first volleyball World Cup title in 17 years as they won the women's tournament on November 15 in Japan. It also marked the first triumph for the Chinese women at the three major volleyball tournaments, namely the World Cup, the World Championships and the Olympics, since 1986, when China were crowned at the World Championships.

2. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was written into the history book as the German claimed a record sixth Formula One title, overtaking late Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio's 1950s haul of five championships. Ferrari took the constructors' title for a record fifth year in a row while Williams settled for second and McLaren, third.

3. A previously undetectable steroid THG (tetrahydrogestrione) stirred the world athletics arena this year. Britain's European 100 meters champion Dwain Chambers tested positive after an out-of-competition test. Several leading track athletes and baseball players, most of whom are Americans, have also been involved in the scandal.

4. Nine cities submitted their bids to host the 2012 Olympic Games ahead of the deadline of July 15. They were Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris and Rio de Janeiro. The International Olympic Committee will make their choice in Singapore on July 6, 2005.

Canada's Vancouver beat South Korea's Pyeongchang and Austria's Salzburg to win the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.

5. American Lance Armstrong, who survived the onslaught of cancer, raced to his fifth consecutive victory on the Tour de France on July 27, becoming the second rider to win the cycling race five times in a row.

6. German women soccer team lifted their first World Cup trophy after beating Sweden 2-1, marked with the first ever golden ball in women's World Cup history, in the final in the United States.

7. England star midfielder David Beckham stole the headlines as his move from English premier league club Manchester United to Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid was announced on June 17. After 13 years with the English side, the free kick specialist signed a four-year contract with Real on 35 millions euro (41.3 million U.S.dollars).

8. Cameroon midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe collapsed on the pitch during the Confederations Cup semifinal against Colombia on June 26 and died of heart attack. Death of the Manchester City midfielder cast a shadow over the final between Cameroon and France and sparked general concerns over players' health.

9. Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took over English premier league club Chelsea for 60 million pounds (97.01 million U.S. dollars) in July before he started a shopping spree in the transfer market. The 36-year-old Abramovich, who has amassed a fortune of 5.7 billion U.S. dollars from oil and aluminum, spent over 100 million pounds in buying star players like Damien Duff, Joe Cole, Juan Sebastian Veron, Adrian Mutu and Hernan Crespo.

10. Pete Sampras made an emotional farewell to tennis on August 25 during a dramatic retirement ceremony at the U.S. Open. The 32-year-old had a record 14 Grand Slam titles to his name.

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