2008 in Australia - Sport

Sport

  • 6 January – Australia retains the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when it beats India by 122 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground, equalling its own record of 16 consecutive Test cricket victories.
  • 7 January – The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspends India's cricket tour of Australia after objecting to a three-match ban on Harbhajan Singh for allegedly calling Australian player Andrew Symonds a "big monkey". The tour suspension is lifted on 9 January after umpire Steve Bucknor is removed from the third test.
  • 20 January – Central Coast Mariners FC claim the premiership for the A-League 2007–08 season.
  • 14 January to 27 January – The 2008 Australian Open Tennis Championships are held at Melbourne Park. Serbian Novak Đoković wins the men's singles, the first Grand Slam title since the 2005 Australian Open not won by Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. He is also the youngest player to win the Australian Open, and the first Serb. Russian Maria Sharapova wins the women's singles title.
  • 6 February – Australia defeats Qatar 3–0 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match at Telstra Dome in Melbourne.
  • 24 February – Newcastle United Jets FC defeat Central Coast Mariners FC 1–0 in the A-League Grand Final 2008, becoming champions of the 2007–08 season.
  • 2 March – Australian rider Troy Bayliss wins both races at the Australian Superbike World Championship round.
  • 12 March – The Football Federation Australia postpones the expansion of the A-League to include new clubs Gold Coast Galaxy FC and North Queensland Thunder FC until at least the 2009–10 season.
  • 16 March – British driver Lewis Hamilton wins the 2008 Australian Grand Prix.
  • 22 March – Swimmer Stephanie Rice breaks the 400 metres medley world record.
  • 25 March – Stephanie Rice breaks the 200 metres medley world record.
  • 26 March – Australia draws with China 0–0 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match at Tuodong Stadium in Kunming, China.
  • 1 June – Australia defeats Iraq 1–0 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Queensland.
  • 2 July – Queensland defeats New South Wales by 16–10 in the third game of the 2008 Rugby League State of Origin series, thereby winning their third consecutive series by two games to one.
  • 8 August to 24 August – Australia competes in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The Australian Olympic team wins 14 gold medals, coming 6th on the medal tally.
  • 13 September – The New Zealand All Blacks win the 2008 Tri Nations Series in rugby union.
  • 22 September – The Western Bulldogs' Adam Cooney wins the 2008 Brownlow Medal for best and fairest player in the Australian Football League.
  • 27 September – Hawthorn become premiers of the 2007 AFL season, defeating Geelong 18.7 (115) to 11.23 (89) in the 2008 AFL Grand Final.
  • 5 October – The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles become premiers of the National Rugby League season 2008, defeating the Melbourne Storm 40–0 at ANZ Stadium.
  • 5 October – Australian Ducati Corse rider Casey Stoner wins his second successive Australian motorcycle Grand Prix. Stoner wins by 6.5 seconds over Yamaha Motor Racing rider Valentino Rossi.
  • 12 October – Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup win their third successive Bathurst 1000 at the 2008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
  • 25 October – Maldivian wins the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, defeating Zipping and Samantha Miss.
  • 25 October to 22 November – The 2008 Rugby League World Cup is held in Australia. New Zealand wins the cup, defeating Australia 34 – 20 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
  • 26 October – Ryan Briscoe takes his Team Penske run Dallara IR5 to victory in the 2008 Nikon Indy 300, becoming in the last running of the event, the first Australian driver to win the Gold Coast Indycar race.
  • 4 November – Viewed wins the 2008 Melbourne Cup, the twelfth win of the race for trainer Bart Cummings.
  • 28 December – The yacht Wild Oats XI claims its fourth consecutive line honours win in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Quest is the race's handicap winner.

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