2003 West Virginia sniper, Conviction
Lester was indicted for all three murders in August 2011. At the outset of his trial a year later, he pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Jeanie Patton. However, the murder charges with respect to Gary Carrier Jr. and Okey Meadows Jr. were dropped as part of the plea bargain. Lester was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Later, an additional 6 years were added to the sentence after he pleaded guilty to firearms possession charges.


2003 West Wiltshire District Council election
Elections to West Wiltshire District Council were held on 1 May 2003. The whole council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats lost their majority, leaving the council with no overall control.


2003 West Wiltshire District Council election
Many wards had boundary changes, and some were new. None were uncontested.


2003 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters
The 2003 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 102nd edition of the Cincinnati Masters and was part of the Tennis Masters Series of the 2003 ATP Tour. It took place at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio in the United States from August 11 through August 17, 2003.


2003 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters
The tournament had previously appeared as part of Tier III of the WTA Tour but no event was held from 1989 to 2003. The women's tournament returned to the schedule in 2004.


2003 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Finals, Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan defeated  Wayne Arthurs /  Paul Hanley 7–5, 7–6(7–5)


2003 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Doubles
James Blake and Todd Martin were the defending champions but lost in the second round to Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley.


2003 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won in the final 7–5, 7–6(7–5) against Arthurs and Hanley.


2003 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Doubles, Seeds
All eight seeded teams received byes to the second round.


2003 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Singles
Carlos Moyà was the defending champion but lost in the first round to Fabrice Santoro.


2003 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Singles
Andy Roddick won in the final 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4) against Mardy Fish.


2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team
The 2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season and were led by first year head coach David Elson. Coming off winning the NCAA Division I-AA Championship the previous year, this team contended for Gateway Football Conference championship but ended up finishing tied for 3rd. They made the school's fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, beating Jacksonville State in the first round before losing to Wofford in the quarterfinals. The Hilltoppers finished the season ranked number 7 in final 1AA postseason national poll.


2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team
This team included future NFL players Anthony Oakley and Brian Claybourn. Matt Lange and Buster Ashley were named to the AP All American team and Justin Haddix was Gateway Conference Freshman of The Year. The All-Conference team included Ashley, Jeremy Chandler, Claybourn, Erik Dandy, Lange, Karl Maslowski, Casey Rooney, Antonio Veals, Daniel Withrow, Chad Kincaid, Oakley, and Charles Thompson.


2003 Western Michigan Broncos football team
The 2003 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh season under head coach Gary Darnell, the Broncos compiled a 7–5 record (5–3 against MAC opponents), finished in a tie for third place in the MAC's West Division, and were outscored by their opponents, 370 to 331. The team played its home games in Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.


2003 Western Michigan Broncos football team
The team's statistical leaders included Chad Munson with 2,123 passing yards, Philip Reed with 744 rushing yards, and Greg Jennings with 1,050 receiving yards. Linebacker Jason Babin was selected by The Sporting News as a second-team All-American.


2003 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council election
Elections to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council were held on 1 May 2003. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2003 Whitbread Awards
The Whitbread Awards (1971–2005), called Costa Book Awards since 2006, are literary awards in the United Kingdom, awarded both for high literary merit but also for works considered enjoyable reading. This page gives details of the awards given in the year 2003.


2003 Wichita mayoral election
The 2003 Wichita mayoral election took place on April 1, 2003, to elect the mayor of Wichita, Kansas. The election was held concurrently with various other local elections, and was officially nonpartisan. It saw the election of Carlos Mayans.


2003 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election
Elections to Wigan Council were held on 1 May 2003 with one-third of the council was up for election. Prior to the election, there had been two vacancies in Leigh Central, with Labour winning a by-election in June and the seat being fought in this election filled unopposed by Barbara Jarvis.


2003 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election
The election boasted a record number of candidates for an election of thirds, with 90 spread across all 24 wards. Whilst the Conservative's fielded a strong showing of all but three wards and the Lib Dems improved to fight half the wards, the bulk of the increase came from Community Action and the Socialist Alliance more than doubling their last year's totals, with the Socialist Alliance now contesting all but four wards and Community Action just under half. Labour reliably put up candidates for all wards, and the BNP a second candidate in Orrell.


2003 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election
Labour's share fell to under half of the votes for only the second time in the council's history, with the only other time being their low-point in 1975, with one of their lowest votes achieved. The main beneficiaries were the rapidly advancing Community Action Party, and to a lesser extent the Lib Dems, helping them to narrowly retain their third place in vote share behind the second place, and largely unchanged, Conservatives. The Socialist Alliance made little headway despite their near-full slate, and significantly fell back in their most competitive wards.


2003 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election
Labour lost five seats on the night, with each of three main competitors picking up seats. Community Action accounted for three, gaining further representation in Bryn and Lightshaw and also making another breakthrough in the formerly uninterrupted Labour territory of Ashton-Golborne. The Lib Dems picked up a seat in the historically competitive Aspull-Standish ward for the first time in over a decade, as well as comfortably defending their seat in Hindsford. The Tories strengthened their footing on the council with another gain in Swinley, a ward which had reliably elected Conservatives throughout the eighties, but had progressively been routed in the early nineties. This left Labour's majority at 58, the lowest in just under twenty years.


2003 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election
Overall turnout dropped from last year's partly recovered figure of just over a quarter of the electorate, to 22.7%.


2003 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election, Election result
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:


2003 Wigan Warriors season
This article outlines the 2003 season for the British rugby league club Wigan Warriors. This season saw them compete in the Super League and Challenge Cup.


2003 Wigan Warriors season, League table
Source: . Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference. Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.


2003 Wigan Warriors season, League table
^ a: St Helens deducted two points for salary cap breaches^ b: Hull F.C. deducted two points for salary cap breaches^ c: Halifax deducted two points for salary cap breachesSource:


2003 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers season
The 2003 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers season was the team's second season as a member of the AF2. The Pioneers finished third out of four in the American Conference Northeastern Division with a 6–10 record, the same as the year before, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.


2003 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers season, Head coaches
Following the Pioneers' inaugural campaign, head coach Terry Karg decided not to renew his contract with the team. Larry Kuharich, a former Tampa Bay Storm coach, was hired as the team's second coach. However, shortly before the season started, Kuharich resigned and left the team for AF2 parent the Arena Football League. Dean Cokinos filled the head coaching vacancy for the remainder of the season before resigning himself, leaving the Pioneers' head coaching position once again vacant.


2003 William & Mary Tribe football team
The 2003 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary as member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by Jimmye Laycock in his 24th year as head coach, William & Mary finished the season with an overall record of 5–5 and a mark of 4–4 in A-10 play, tying for fifth place.


2003 William & Mary Tribe football team
William & Mary only played 10 games due to a cancellation of a game against Maine, which had been scheduled for September 27. The presidents of the A-10 awarded Maine a victory and William & Mary a no-contest as a result of the cancellation of their game. The decision of the presidents, based upon the recommendation of the league's directors of athletics, was unprecedented in A-10 history. Factored into the decision were Maine's efforts to play the game and the understanding of the unique circumstances facing William & Mary in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. However, the NCAA does not recognize the win in their official records.


2003 Wimbledon Championships
The 2003 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 117th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held from 23 June to 6 July 2003. It was the third Grand Slam tennis event of the year.


2003 Wimbledon Championships
Lleyton Hewitt was unsuccessful in his 2002 title defence, being upset in the first round by Grand Slam debutant Ivo Karlović. It was the first time in the Open Era history of Wimbledon that a defending champion had lost in the first round, the second time overall. This Wimbledon was notable for being Roger Federer's first grand slam victory when he defeated Mark Philippoussis in the final. This would be the first of five consecutive Wimbledon titles for Federer, and eight overall. Serena Williams successfully defended her 2002 title, defeating her sister Venus in the final for the second consecutive year.


2003 Wimbledon Championships, Media coverage
Broadcast coverage of the 2003 Championships was distributed to 159 territories worldwide and the tournament received more than 5,717 hours of coverage. This was an increase of 565 hours from the 2002 figure and surpassed all previous records for the event. The BBC transmitted 160 hours of coverage in the United Kingdom on BBC One and BBC Two. The official Championships website www.wimbledon.org received 242 million page views and 4.3 million visitors.


2003 Wimbledon Championships, Media coverage
Prior to the start of the 2003 Championships, the  All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club announced that it would begin purchasing insurance cover that would allow the club to cover losses in the event that a future tournament would be canceled as a result of a pandemic; this policy was announced in the wake of the SARS outbreak and required the club to pay £1.6 million per year.


2003 Wimbledon Championships, Prize money
The total prize money for 2003 championships was £9,373,990. The winner of the men's title earned £575,000 while the women's singles champion earned £535,000.


2003 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Men's Doubles
Jonas Björkman /  Todd Woodbridge defeated  Mahesh Bhupathi /  Max Mirnyi, 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–3


2003 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Women's Doubles
Kim Clijsters /  Ai Sugiyama defeated  Virginia Ruano Pascual /  Paola Suárez, 6–4, 6–4


2003 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Mixed Doubles
Leander Paes /  Martina Navratilova defeated  Andy Ram /  Anastasia Rodionova, 6–3, 6–3


2003 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Juniors, Boys' Doubles
Florin Mergea /  Horia Tecău defeated  Adam Feeney /  Chris Guccione, 7–6(7–4), 7–5


2003 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Juniors, Girls' Doubles
Alisa Kleybanova /  Sania Mirza defeated  Kateřina Böhmová /  Michaëlla Krajicek, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Doubles
Florin Mergea and Horia Tecău successfully defended their title, defeating Adam Feeney and Chris Guccione in the final, 7–6(7–4), 7–5 to win the Boys' Doubles tennis title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Singles
Todd Reid was the defending champion, but did not complete in the Juniors this year.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Singles
Florin Mergea defeated Chris Guccione in the final, 6–2, 7–6(7–3) to win the Boys' Singles tennis title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Doubles
Elke Clijsters and Barbora Strýcová were the defending champions, but they did not compete in the Juniors this year.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Doubles
Alisa Kleybanova and Sania Mirza defeated Kateřina Böhmová and Michaëlla Krajicek in the final, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 to win the Girls' Doubles tennis title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Singles
Vera Dushevina was the defending champion but did not complete in the Juniors this year.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Singles
Kirsten Flipkens defeated Anna Chakvetadze in the final, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 to win the Girls' Singles tennis title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles
Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge successfully defended their title, defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi in the final, 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–3, to win the Gentlemen's Doubles title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles Qualifying
Players and pairs who neither have high enough rankings nor receive wild cards may participate in a qualifying tournament held one week before the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
Roger Federer defeated Mark Philippoussis in the final, 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–6(7–3) to win the Gentlemen's Singles tennis title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships. It was his first major title, the first of a record eight Gentleman's singles titles at Wimbledon and a record 20 major singles titles.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
Lleyton Hewitt was the defending champion, but he lost in the first round to Ivo Karlović. As a result, Hewitt became one of only two defending Wimbledon men's singles champions to lose in the first round of their defence, the other being Manuel Santana, the 1966 champion, who lost in the first round in 1967 to Charlie Pasarell. Hewitt had previously rejected playing the opening Centre Court match in 2002, when Goran Ivanišević withdrew, for fear of the unpredictability of fresh grass.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
With the losses of Hewitt, Andre Agassi and Juan Carlos Ferrero in the fourth round, a first-time major champion was guaranteed. This marked the first time in the Open Era that none of the quarterfinalists in a major had previously won a major singles title.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
This was also notable for being the first major in which future 20-time major champion and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal competed in the main draw (also the youngest player in the men's singles), in which he lost to Paradorn Srichaphan in the third round. It was also notable for the absence of seven-time Wimbledon champion, Pete Sampras. Sampras did not officially retire until the 2003 US Open, although he did not play in any tournaments after the 2002 US Open.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles
This was also the first meeting in a major between Federer and Andy Roddick, after which a high profile rivalry was established.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles, Seeds
Albert Costa and Marat Safin withdrew due to injury. They were replaced in the draw by the highest-ranked non-seeded players Nikolay Davydenko and Àlex Corretja, who became the #33 and #34 seeds respectively. Corretja subsequently withdrew due to personal reasons and was replaced by the next highest non-seeded player Radek Štěpánek, who became the #35 seed.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles Qualifying
Players and pairs who neither have high enough rankings nor receive wild cards may participate in a qualifying tournament held one week before the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed Doubles
Mahesh Bhupathi and Elena Likhovtseva were the defending champions but decided not to play together. Bhupathi played with Paola Suárez and lost in third round to Nenad Zimonjić and Iroda Tulyaganova, while Likhovtseva competed with Bob Bryan and lost in second round to Andy Ram and Anastasia Rodionova.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed Doubles
Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova defeated Ram and Rodionova in the final, 6–3, 6–3 to win the Mixed Doubles tennis title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships. It was the 2nd Wimbledon and 3rd mixed doubles title for Paes, and the 4th Wimbledon and 9th mixed doubles title for Navratilova, in their respective careers.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles
Serena and Venus Williams were the defending champions, but lost in the third round to Elena Dementieva and Lina Krasnoroutskaya.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles
Kim Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama defeated Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez in the final, 6–4, 6–4 to win the Ladies' Doubles tennis title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles Qualifying
Players and pairs who neither have high enough rankings nor receive wild cards may participate in a qualifying tournament held one week before the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles
Defending champion Serena Williams successfully defended her title, defeating her sister Venus Williams in the final, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships. It was Serena's sixth major title. The final was also a rematch of the previous year's final.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles
This was the first Wimbledon appearance of future world No. 1 and five-time major champion Maria Sharapova, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round. Sharapova would win the title the following year. It was also the first Wimbledon appearance of future champion Marion Bartoli, losing to Daniela Hantuchová in the first round. The semifinals featured the top four seeds, which was last achieved in 1995.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles
This was the first major since the 1987 Australian Open to not feature either Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, or Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles, Seeds
Amélie Mauresmo withdrew due to a rib injury. She was replaced in the draw by the highest-ranked non-seeded player Svetlana Kuznetsova, who became the #33 seed.


2003 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Qualifying
Players and pairs who neither have high enough rankings nor receive wild cards may participate in a qualifying tournament held one week before the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships.


2003 Winchester City Council election
The 2003 Winchester Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Winchester District Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Winchester City Council election, Background
20 were contested in the election with the election in Droxford, Soberton and Hambledon being a by-election after the previous Conservative councillor resigned. 2 other seats saw the sitting councillor standing down, Owslebury and Curdridge and St Luke, while 3 of the Liberal Democrat cabinet members were defending seats.


2003 Winchester City Council election, Election result
The election saw the Liberal Democrats just keep a majority on the council with 29 of the 57 seats. However they lost 4 seats to the Conservatives and 2 to Labour.


2003 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election
The 2003 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Windsor and Maidenhead Unitary Council in Berkshire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2000 reducing the number of seats by 1. The Liberal Democrats gained overall control of the council from no overall control.


2003 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election, Campaign
Windsor and Maidenhead council was a top target for the Liberal Democrats in the 2003 local elections. The party had come close to taking the Maidenhead parliamentary constituency at the last general election in 2001 and were optimistic of taking control of the council. The Liberal Democrats were expected to benefit from the support of the estimated 3,000 Muslims who lived in the council area due to the party's opposition to the Iraq War. The issue of a proposed extension to a local mosque was also used for the Liberal Democrats, but the Conservatives accused them of pandering to the Muslim community.


2003 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election, Campaign
The council had been controlled by the Conservatives since the 2000 election in an alliance with 2 of the independent councillors. However the Liberal Democrats attacked the council for having raised council tax by 9.3% in the last year and by 20% over the 3 years since the last election. They also criticised the council for its plans to demolish the town hall and pointed to a weak rating for the council by the Audit Commission. However the Conservatives said Windsor and Maidenhead's council tax was still one of the lowest in the southeast and that if the Liberal Democrats implemented the policies in their manifesto it would mean a 27% increase in council tax.


2003 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election, Campaign
Boundary changes which reduced the number of seats by 1, meant both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats needed 1 less seat to take control of the council. With the election important to both parties, the Conservative Party Chairman and local MP Theresa May and the Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy both campaigned in the area.


2003 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election, Campaign
The council again used a mobile polling station to go to railway stations and supermarkets in an attempt to increase turnout.


2003 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw the Liberal Democrats take control of the council, after gaining 13 seats. The election results were seen as giving the Liberal Democrats hope for the next general election in the Maidenhead constituency after the party won 61% of the vote in wards within the constituency against 33.6% for the Conservatives.


2003 Winnipeg Blue Bombers season
The 2003 Winnipeg Blue Bombers finished in 2nd place in the West Division with an 11–7 record. They appeared in the West Semi-Final.


2003 Winter Deaflympics
The 2003 Winter Deaflympics (Swedish: 2003 Vinterdeaflympics) officially known as the 15th Winter Deaflympics (Swedish: 15: e Vinterdeaflympics) is an international multi-sport event that was held from 28 February 2003 to 8 March 2003.The  event was hosted by Sundsvall, Sweden.


2003 Winter Deaflympics
Curling competitions were also introduced for the first time in this Winter Deaflympics.


2003 Winter Deaflympics
The logo for the 15th Winter Deaflympics symbolises the fire from the torch.


2003 Winter Universiade
The 2003 Winter Universiade, the XXI Winter Universiade, took place in Tarvisio, Italy.


2003 Winter Universiade, Sports
This winter sports-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .


2003 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2003 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This election was held on the same day as other local elections.


2003 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election, Ward results
Results compared directly with the last local election in 2002.


2003 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election, Notes
• italics denote the sitting councillor • bold denotes the winning candidate


2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team
The 2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Barry Alvarez, the Badgers completed the season with a 7–6 record, including a 4–4 mark in the Big Ten Conference, finishing in a tie for 7th in the Big Ten.


2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Season summary
Wisconsin entered the 2003 season ranked, after an 8–6 campaign the year before. The Badgers defeated West Virginia and Akron to open the season, but then were shocked by perennially underachieving UNLV at home, 23–5. The stunning upset knocked the Badgers (then ranked 14th) out of the polls entirely, and they would not return until after wins in their first two Big Ten games, against Illinois and Penn State (teams that would combine for a 1–15 Big Ten record). With defending National Champion Ohio State coming to town on a 19-game winning streak, the Badgers put together a solid game, and ended the Buckeyes' winning streak in a 17–10 upset.


2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Season summary
At 3–0 in the Big Ten and having defeated Ohio State, the Badgers were looking to put together a run at a Big Ten title. Unfortunately for the Badgers, Kyle Orton and the Purdue Boilermakers ended Wisconsin's undefeated Big Ten campaign with a 26–23 win in Camp Randall. The next week in Evanston, the 20th ranked Badgers lost 16–7 to Northwestern.


2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Season summary
With Paul Bunyan's Axe on the line against Minnesota, the Badgers were unable to avoid giving up another late drive, and Minnesota beat the Badgers in Minneapolis for the 2nd time in a row, 37–34. Disheartened but not yet finished, the Badgers dealt a massive blow to Michigan State (which was riding a losing streak of its own) as they routed the Spartans, 56–21. It was their second straight win over MSU. WR Lee Evans caught 10 passes for 258 yards and 5 touchdowns in the game.


2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Season summary
Against Iowa the next week, the Badgers took a 21–7 lead, which they proved unable to hold. Iowa defeated Wisconsin 27–21, a devastating loss on Senior Day that left the Badgers tied for 7th in the Big Ten. The Badgers accepted an invitation to the 2003 Music City Bowl against Auburn, a team ranked 6th in the nation in the preseason. The Badgers lost 28–14, closing out their 3rd season in a row with 6 or more losses.


2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Season summary
FS Jim Leonhard caught 7 interceptions on defense for Wisconsin, leading the Badgers and the Big Ten. However, Wisconsin's defense gave up late scoring drives against Purdue, Minnesota, and Iowa, all games the Badgers lost.


2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Season summary, Ohio State
Wisconsin snapped Ohio State's 19-game winning streak and handed them their first loss since the 2002 Outback Bowl.


2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team, Season summary, Michigan State
Lee Evans tied the Big Ten record for touchdowns receptions in a single game while breaking the school records for single-game receiving yardage and career receiving touchdowns.


2003 Wismilak International
The 2003 Wismilak International was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Bali, Indonesia that was part of the Tier III category of the 2003 WTA Tour. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and was held from 8 September through 14 September 2003. Second-seeded Elena Dementieva won the singles title and earned $35,000 first-prize money.


2003 Wismilak International, Finals, Doubles
María Vento-Kabchi /  Angelique Widjaja defeated  Émilie Loit /  Nicole Pratt, 7–5, 6–2


2003 Wismilak International – Doubles
Cara Black and Virginia Ruano Pascual were the defending champions, but none competed this year.


2003 Wismilak International – Doubles
María Vento-Kabchi and Angelique Widjaja won the title by defeating Émilie Loit and Nicole Pratt 7–5, 6–2 in the final.


2003 Wismilak International – Singles
Svetlana Kuznetsova was the defending champion, but chose not to participate in 2003.


2003 Wismilak International – Singles
Elena Dementieva won the title. She defeated Chanda Rubin in the final with the loss of just three games.


2003 Wizard Home Loans Cup
The 2003 Wizard Home Loans Cup was the Australian Football League competition played in its entirety before the Australian Football League's 2003 Premiership Season began. The AFL National Cup is also sometimes referred to as the pre-season cup because it is played in its entirety before the Premiership Season begins. The final was won by Adelaide for the first time in its history, defeating Collingwood by 31 points


2003 Wizard Home Loans Cup
The AFL introduced a range of innovations for this pre-season competition, the Wizard Home Loans Cup, to make the game faster and more exciting. Five new rules changes were trialled in the competition, which in itself resorts back to a knock-out format after three years as a round-robin series. In the most notable innovation, players were awarded nine points for goals kicked outside the 50-metre arc in a move designed to bring the game’s longer kickers into play.


2003 Wizard Home Loans Cup
The player must have his back foot on or beyond the 50m arc if kicking on the run and the player on the mark must be on or beyond the 50m arc if the kicker is taking a set shot. The ball can still bounce through for a goal. With a running shot at goal, the ball must leave the player’s back foot planted on or outside the 50m line.


2003 Wizard Home Loans Cup
In other changes, the field umpires wore orange shirts and black shorts instead of the traditional white, while goal umpires waved different coloured flags for the different scores. The new rules were used in conjunction with those incorporated last year: an expanded interchange bench, and the ball to be bounced only for the start of the match, and then thrown up.


2003 Wofford Terriers football team
The 2003 Wofford Terriers football team represented Wofford College during the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The team won the Southern Conference.


2003 Woking Borough Council election
The 2003 Woking Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Woking Borough Council in Surrey, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2003 Woking Borough Council election, Background
The election saw 13 seats being contested with the contest in Brookwood ward being a by-election after the previous Conservative councillor, Mark Pritchard, resigned his seat on the council. Three long standing councillors also stood down at the election, Alf Stranks in Byfleet ward, Gordon Brown in Horsell East and Woodham and Rosemary Johnson in Old Woking. As well as candidates from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour, there were also 3 from the United Kingdom Independence Party, 2 independents and 1 from the Green Party.


2003 Woking Borough Council election, Election result
No party won a majority in the election with the council remaining under no overall control as it had been since the 1998 election. The only party to have more seats after the election than before was Labour after they gained Old Woking from the Liberal Democrats by 26 votes. Meanwhile, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats each gained one seat from the other, with the Conservatives taking Byfleet by 27 votes and the Liberal Democrats winning Brookwood by 7 votes. Overall turnout in the election was 33.66%.


2003 Woking Borough Council election, Election result
The failure by the Conservatives to gain the two seats they needed to have a majority on the council was described as disappointing by commentators, in a year when the party gained seats nationally.


2003 Wokingham District Council election
The 2003 Wokingham District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Wokingham Unitary Council in Berkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2003 Wokingham District Council election, Election result
18 seats were contested with the Liberal Democrats defending 10, the Conservatives 7, while 1 seat was held by an independent. The results saw this situation turned round with the Conservatives winning 10 seats as compared to 8 for the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives gained seats from the Liberal Democrats in Emmbrook and Little Hungerford wards, while also recovering Sonning which had been held by an independent who had defected from the Conservatives. There was controversy over the result in Whitegates when the Returning Officer initially read the results out as a Conservative gain, while the actual vote count was a Liberal Democrat hold. Overall turnout in the election was 30.4%.


2003 Wokingham District Council election, Election result
The Conservatives described the results as an endorsement of their record, while the Liberal Democrats called them disappointing but were pleased that their vote share had increased from 2002.


2003 Wolverhampton City Council election
The Council elections held in Wolverhampton in 2003 were one third, and 20 of the 60 seats were up for election.


2003 Wolverhampton City Council election
Wednesfield South ward was notable in that the majority was only 2 votes, representing a majority of only 0.07% over the second placed candidate.


2003 Women's African Volleyball Championship
The 2003 Women's African Nations Championship was the 11th edition of the Women's African Volleyball Championship organised by Africa's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Africaine de Volleyball. It was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 16 to 23 August 2003.


2003 Women's African Volleyball Championship
Egypt won the championship defeating Kenya in the final, while Cameroon defeated Algeria to finish third.


2003 Women's African Volleyball Championship, Format
The tournament is played in two stages. In the first stage, the participants are divided in two groups. A single round-robin format is played within each group to determine the teams' group position (as per procedure below).


2003 Women's African Volleyball Championship, Format
The second stage is a knockout format, the top two teams in each group advance to the semifinals, third placed teams in each group play for 5th-6th and fourth placed teams in each group play for 7th-8th place. Winners of the semifinals play the final, while losers play for third and fourth places.


2003 Women's African Volleyball Championship, Pool composition
The drawing of lots was held in Nairobi, Kenya on 15 August 2003.


2003 Women's Australian Hockey League
The 2003 Women's Australian Hockey League was the 11th edition women's field hockey tournament. The tournament was held in various cities across Australia, and was contested from 7 March through to 13 April 2003.


2003 Women's Australian Hockey League
VIS Vipers won the tournament for the first time after defeating QLD Scorchers 4–3 in penalties, after the final finished as a 3–3 draw. Canberra Strikers finished in third place after defeating WA Diamonds 4–3 in the third and fourth place playoff.


2003 Women's Australian Hockey League, Competition format
The 2003 Women's Australian Hockey League consisted of a single round robin format, followed by classification matches.


2003 Women's Australian Hockey League, Competition format
Teams from all 8 states and territories competed against one another throughout the pool stage. At the conclusion of the pool stage, the top four ranked teams progressed to the semi-finals, while the bottom four teams continued to the classification stage.


2003 Women's Australian Hockey League, Competition format
The first four rounds of the pool stage comprised two-legged fixtures between states. As a result, matches in rounds five to seven of the pool stage were worth double points, due to the single-leg format.


2003 Women's Australian Hockey League, Competition format, Point allocation
Every match in the 2003 AHL needed an outright result. In the event of a draw, golden goal extra time was played out, and if the result was still a draw a penalty shoot-out was contested, with the winner receiving a bonus point.


2003 Women's Australian Hockey League, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 221 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 4.25 goals per match.


2003 Women's British Open
The 2003 Women's British Open was held 31 July to 3 August at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England. It was the 27th edition of the Women's British Open, and the third as a major championship on the LPGA Tour. TNT Sports and ABC Sports televised the event in the United States and BBC Sport in the United Kingdom.


2003 Women's British Open
Annika Sörenstam won the sixth of her ten major titles, one stroke ahead of runner-up Se-Ri Pak, the 2001 champion. The victory completed the career grand slam for Sörenstam.


2003 Women's British Open Squash Championship
The 2003 Women's British Open Squash Championships was held at the Albert Hall in Nottingham from 29 September – 5 October 2003. The event was won by Rachael Grinham who defeated Cassie Jackman (Campion) in the final.


2003 Women's Churchill Cup
The fourth tournament, now rebranded the "Churchill Cup" and played at the same time as the men's event, took place at the Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver. Only three countries took part - England joining the hosts and the United States.


2003 Women's Churchill Cup
A slightly different format saw the three nations compete in a round-robin, followed by a final between the top two. The result was the closest result yet with three of the four games being won by less than seven points.


2003 Women's County Championship
The 2003 Women's County One-Day Championship was the 7th cricket Women's County Championship season. It took place in July and saw 21 county teams compete in a series of divisions. Sussex Women won the County Championship as winners of the top division, achieving their first Championship title.


2003 Women's County Championship, Competition format
Teams played matches within a series of divisions with the winners of the top division being crowned County Champions. Matches were played using a one day format with 50 overs per side.


2003 Women's County Championship, Competition format
The championship works on a points system with positions within the divisions being based on the total points. Points were awarded as follows:


2003 Women's County Championship, Competition format
Win: 12 points. Tie:  6 points. Loss : Bonus points. No Result: 11 points. Abandoned: 11 points.


2003 Women's County Championship, Competition format
Up to five batting and five bowling points per side were also available.


2003 Women's County Championship, Teams
The 2003 Championship consisted of three divisions of six teams apiece, with teams playing each other once. The Emerging Counties competition was also competed in 2003: a tier below the County Championship, consisting of three teams, playing each other once.


2003 Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship
The 2003 Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship was the sixth edition of the women's field hockey championship organised by the European Hockey Federation. It was held from the 1st until the 13th of September of 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. This was the last EuroHockey Nations Championship with 12 teams. The 4 teams ending 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th were relegated to the first EuroHockey Nations Trophy. The 8 remaining teams played in the 2005 Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship.


2003 Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship, Format
The twelve teams were be split into two groups of six teams. The top two teams advanced to the semifinals in order to determine the winner in a knockout system. The 3rd and 4th placed teams from each pool played for the 5th to 8th place, while the 5th and 6th placed teams from each pool played for the 9th to 12th place. The last four teams were relegated to the EuroHockey Nations Challenge.


2003 Women's European Amateur Boxing Championships
The 2nd Women's European Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Pécs, Hungary from May 11 to 17, 2003. This edition of the biennial competition was organised by the European governing body for amateur boxing, EABA. Competitions took place in 13 weight classes.


2003 Women's European Amateur Boxing Championships
Russia were again top medal winners, but her dominance was much reduced since the 2001 Women's European Amateur Boxing Championships.


2003 Women's European Volleyball Championship
The 2003 Women's European Volleyball Championship was the 23rd edition of the event, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. It was hosted in Ankara, Turkey from 20 to 28 September 2003.


2003 Women's European Volleyball Championship
The two finalists Poland and Turkey claimed a ticket for the 2003 FIVB Women's World Cup and the first Olympic Qualification Tournament for the 2004 Summer Olympics held in Japan in November. The first six ranked teams (Poland, Turkey, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Russia) qualified for the European Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, from 5 to 10 January 2004. Semifinalists Turkey, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands also automatically qualified for the 2005 Women's European Championships, which took place in Croatia. Defending champion Russia finished out of the medals for the first time in volleyball history.


2003 Women's European Volleyball Championship, Format
The tournament was played in two different stages. In the first stage, the twelve participants were divided in two groups of six teams each. A single round-robin format was played within each group to determine the teams' group position. The second stage of the tournament consisted of two sets of semifinals to determine the tournament final ranking.


2003 Women's European Volleyball Championship, Format
The group stage firsts and seconds played the semifinals for 1st to 4th place, group stage thirds and fourths played the 5th to 8th place semifinals and the remaining four teams which finished group stages as fifth and sixth ended all tied in final ranking at 9th place. The pairing of the semifinals was made so teams played against the opposite group teams which finished in a different position (1st played against 2nd, 3rd played against 4th).


2003 Women's European Volleyball Championship squads
This article shows all participating team squads at the 2003 Women's European Volleyball Championship, in Ankara, Turkey from 20 to 28 September 2003.


2003 Women's European Water Polo Championship
The 2003 Women's European Water Polo Championship was the tenth edition of the bi-annual event, organised by the Europe's governing body in aquatics, the Ligue Européenne de Natation. The event took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia from June 7 to June 14, 2003.


2003 Women's European Water Polo Championship
There were two qualification tournaments ahead of the event, held from April 11 to April 13, 2003 in Hamburg, Germany (with Greece, Germany, France, and Ukraine competing) and Eindhoven, Netherlands (Netherlands, Spain, Czech Republic and Great Britain).


2003 Women's Hockey Champions Challenge
The 2003 Women's Hockey Champions Challenge is the second tournament of the field hockey championship for women. It was held in Catania, on the island of Sicily in Italy from July 5–13, 2003.


2003 Women's Hockey Champions Challenge, Umpires
Below is the eight umpires appointed by International Hockey Federation (FIH):


2003 Women's Hockey Champions Challenge, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 66 goals scored in 18 matches, for an average of 3.67 goals per match.


2003 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy
The 2003 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 11th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy for women. It was held from 29 November to 7 December 2003 in Sydney, Australia.


2003 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy
Australia won the tournament for a record sixth time after defeating China 3–2 in the final.


2003 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy, Teams
The participating teams were determined by International Hockey Federation (FIH):


2003 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy, Umpires
Below are the 9 umpires appointed by the International Hockey Federation:


2003 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 66 goals scored in 18 matches, for an average of 3.67 goals per match.


2003 Women's Hockey RaboTrophy
The 2003 Women's Hockey RaboTrophy was the first edition of the women's field hockey tournament. The RaboTrophy was held in Amsterdam from 18 to 23 August 2003, and featured four of the top nations in women's field hockey.


2003 Women's Hockey RaboTrophy
Australia won the tournament for the first time, defeating the Netherlands 2–1 in the Final.


2003 Women's Hockey RaboTrophy
The tournament was held in conjunction with the Men's FIH Champions Trophy.


2003 Women's Hockey RaboTrophy, Competition format
The four teams competed in a pool stage, played in a single round robin format. At the conclusion of the pool stage, the top two teams contested the final, while the remaining teams played off for third place.


2003 Women's Hockey RaboTrophy, Officials
The following umpires were appointed by the International Hockey Federation to officiate the tournament:


2003 Women's Hockey RaboTrophy, Statistics, Final standings
As per statistical convention in field hockey, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2003 Women's Hockey RaboTrophy, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 31 goals scored in 8 matches, for an average of 3.88 goals per match.


2003 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships
The top division of the 2003 IIHF Women's World Ice Hockey Championship was set to be held in Beijing, China, from April 4–9, 2003. However, it was cancelled due to the SARS crisis. Only the top division event was cancelled, as the lower divisions still had their tournaments. The teams from Russia, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland were already in China, while the American and Finnish teams were awaiting word on whether they should travel when the IIHF indicated that the Championships were to be postponed or even cancelled. The move to cancel was a logical one, as the Canadians were under a government order not to travel at all at that time.


2003 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships, Top Division
Postponed, then cancelled. Groups for this division were seeded for 2004 based on the 2003 IIHF World Ranking instead of the normal practise of using their most recent finish.


2003 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships, Division I
The Division I tournament was held in Ventspils, Latvia from March 9 to 15.


2003 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships, Division I
Japan was promoted to the 2004 IIHF Women's World Championship.


2003 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships, Division II
Division II tournament was held in Lecco, Italy from March 31 to April 6.


2003 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships, Division III
The Division III tournament was held in Maribor, Slovenia from March 25 to 31.


2003 Women's Indoor Hockey World Cup
The 2003 Women's Indoor Hockey World Cup was the inaugural edition of the women's indoor hockey tournament. The event was held from 5–9 February in Leipzig, Germany.


2003 Women's Indoor Hockey World Cup
Germany won the title for the first time after defeating the Netherlands 5–2 in the final. France finished in third place, defeating the Czech Republic 3–1 in the third place playoff.


2003 Women's Indoor Hockey World Cup, Officials
The following umpires were appointed by the FIH to officiate the tournament:


2003 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship
The 2003 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship was the 18th edition of the Women's Continental Volleyball Tournament, played by eight countries from September 13 to September 18, 2003 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The United States won the championship by defeating Cuba 3-0, and both teams qualified to the 2003 FIVB World Cup. The Dominican Republic won the bronze medal.


2003 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship squads
This article shows all participating team squads at the 2003 Women's NORCECA Volleyball Championship, held from September 13 to September 18, 2003 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.


2003 Women's Oceania Cup
The 2003 Women's Oceania Cup was the third edition of the women's field hockey tournament. It was held from 25 to 31 May in Melbourne, Wellington and Whangarei.


2003 Women's Oceania Cup
The tournament served as a qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics.


2003 Women's Oceania Cup
Australia won the tournament for the third time, defeating New Zealand in the three–game series, 3–0.


2003 Women's Oceania Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 10 goals scored in 3 matches, for an average of 3.33 goals per match.


2003 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup
The 2003 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup was the second edition of the annual Women's Volleyball Tournament, played by eight countries from Monday June 30 to Saturday July 5, 2003 in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. The intercontinental event served as a qualifier for the 2004 FIVB World Grand Prix.


2003 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup squads
This article shows all participating team squads at the 2003 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup, held from Monday June 30 to Saturday July 5, 2003 in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup
The 2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the second staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in Auckland, New Zealand from 28 September, culminating in the final between New Zealand and New Zealand Maori on 12 October. It was held at North Harbour Stadium and the nearby Marist Rugby ground. Nine teams took part Australia, Great Britain, Tokelau, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, New Zealand Maori and New Zealand. The initial format was three pools of three, with the top six teams moving into two subsequent pools of three. The top four teams then contested elimination semi-finals.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup, Matches
Phase oneThe nine teams were grouped into three pools of three.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup, Matches
Great Britain (two wins) led Samoa (one win) and Tonga in their pool. Australia (two wins) led Māori (one win) and Niue. New Zealand (two wins) led the Cook Islands (one win) and Tokelau.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup, Matches
Phase twoThe three teams without a win in the first phase were placed in the same pool. Samoa joined Australia and New Zealand in a pool. The other pool included Great Britain, Māori and Cook Islands.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup, Matches
Bowl and Plate Semi-Finals The New Zealand - Australia - Samoa phase two pool finished in that order, New Zealand with two wins, Australia one and Samoa nil. The other qualifying pool finished with Māori on top with two wins, and Great Britain and Cook Islands drawing their match. Great Britain, who had a better points difference, as well as two wins to one from the phase one pools, advanced to the semi-final. In the consolation pool, Niue (one win, one draw) led Tokelau (one win) and Tonga (on draw). The Plate and Bowl semi-finals featured Cook Islands, Tokelau, Samoa and Niue. Curiously, the source article in Rugby League Review does not elaborate on why Tonga replaced  Niue in the Bowl Final.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup, Team of the Tournament
At the conclusion of the tournament, the Lion Foundation World Cup Team 2003 was announced.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup, Team of the Tournament
The following staff were also named in the tournament team: Coach: Lawrence Brydon (NZ), Manager: Juanita Woodhouse (NZ), Trainer: Bob Vercoe (NZ)


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads
This article lists the squads for the 2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads
The lists are incomplete, with the single source for most teams being The New Zealand Rugby League Almanack 2003. This document listed the scorers for all twenty-five matches in the tournament.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads, Australia
Australia played five matches in the tournament: New Zealand Māori, Niue, New Zealand, Samoa and New Zealand Māori (Semi-Final). This lists includes the players named as try scorers in the New Zealand Rugby League Almanack plus those named as making their debut in 2003.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads, Cook Islands
Cook Islands played six matches: New Zealand, Tokelau, Great Britain, New Zealand Māori, Tokelau and Samoa. The first match, against New Zealand, was their international debut.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads, Great Britain
Great Britain played five matches: Samoa. Tonga, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands and New Zealand (Semi-Final).


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads, New Zealand
New Zealand played six matches: Cook Islands, Tokelau, Australia, Samoa, Great Britain (Semi-Final) and New Zealand Māori (Final). New Zealand's World Cup squad was named in early June, nearly four months ahead of the tournament, which began on 28 September 2003. The team to play Tokelau appeared in a New Zealand Herald article on the day of the match.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads, New Zealand Māori
New Zealand Māori played six matches: Australia, Niue, Great Britain, Cook Islands, Australia (Semi-Final) and New Zealand (Final).


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads, Niue
Niue played five matches: New Zealand Māori, Australia, Tokelau, Tonga and Samoa. The first match, against New Zealand Māori, was their international debut.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads, Samoa
Samoa played six matches: Great Britain, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Niue and Cook Islands. The first match, against Great Britain, was their international debut.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads, Tokelau
Tokelau played six matches: Cook Islands, New Zealand, Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands and Tonga. The first match, against Cook Islands, was their international debut.


2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup squads, Tonga
Tonga played five matches: Samoa, Great Britain, Tokelau, Niue and Tokelau. The first match, against Samoa, was their international debut.


2003 Women's Six Nations Championship
The 2003 Women's Six Nations Championship was the second series of the rugby union Women's Six Nations Championship and was won by England, who achieved the Grand Slam.


2003 Women's South American Volleyball Championship
The 2003 Women's South American Volleyball Championship was the 25th edition of the South American Women's Volleyball Championship, organised by South America's governing volleyball body, the Confederación Sudamericana de Voleibol (CSV). It was held in Bogota, Colombia from September 4 to 6, 2003.


2003 Women's South American Volleyball Championship, Teams, Play-off
Peru and Venezuela played a qualification play-off, Brazil and Argentina played the final round automatically as best two in the previous edition and Colombia qualified as host.


2003 Women's South American Volleyball Championship, Competition System
The competition system for the 2003 Women's South American Championship was a single Round-Robin system. Each team plays once against each of the 3 remaining teams. Points are accumulated during the whole tournament, and the final ranking is determined by the total points gained.


2003 Women's United Soccer Association season
The 2003 Women's United Soccer Association season was the third and final season for WUSA, the first top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on April 5 and ended on August 10. The playoffs began on August 16, with the championship match between played on August 24 between the  Washington Freedom and the Atlanta Beat.


2003 Women's World Floorball Championships
The 2003 Women's World Floorball Championships was the fourth world championship in women's floorball. The games were played in Bern, Gümligen and Wünnewil in Switzerland 17–24 May 2003. Sweden won the tournament, their second title defeating Switzerland, 8-1, in the final-game.


2003 Women's World Floorball Championships
Italy, Malaysia and USA made their first appearances in the women's floorball world championships.


2003 Women's World Floorball Championships, Division A
The two groups consists of the seven best placed teams in the previous world championships plus Russia who won the B-division in that tournament. With Norway beating Sweden in the first round of the groupstage, Sweden received their first loss against another team than Finland. Despite this, Sweden ended up winning the tournament. With Germany losing the 7th place match to the Czech Republic, Germany were relegated to division B for the next tournament.


2003 Women's World Floorball Championships, Division A
The two best placed teams of each group advances to semifinals while the two lower placed teams plays placement matches for 5th and 7th place respectively.


2003 Women's World Floorball Championships, Division B
The second division consists of all the teams from the same division in the previous tournament minus Russia who were promoted and Great Britain who didn't attend to the tournament. Austria, who were relegated from first division in the previous tournament and the three new teams: Italy, Malaysia and USA also played in the second division. Japan ended up winning the B-final versus Poland and became promoted to the first division for the next tournament.


2003 Women's World Floorball Championships, Division B
The two best placed teams in each group advances to play B-semifinals while the lower placed teams plays placement matches versus the corresponding team from the other group.


2003 Women's World Floorball Championships, All-star team
Goalkeeper:  Kari Hånsnar Rinne (NOR)Defender:  Simone Berner (SUI)Defender:  Jenny Magnusson (SWE)Centre:  Marisa Mazzarelli (SUI)Forward:  Hermine Dahlerus (SWE)Forward:  Suvi Saukko (FIN)


2003 Women's World Open Squash Championship
The 2003 Women's Credit-Suisse Privilege World Open Squash Championship was the women's edition of the 2003 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The event took place in Hong Kong in China from 7 December until 13 December 2003. Carol Owens won her second World Open title, defeating Cassie Jackman in the final.


2003 Women's World Open Squash Championship, Draw and results, Notes
Sarah Fitzgerald did not defend her title after retiring from competitive play. Natalie Pohrer change her name back to Natalie Grainger and represented the United States after changing nationality.


2003 Wong Tai Sin District Council election
The 2003 Wong Tai Sin District Council election was held on 23 November 2003 to elect all 25 elected members to the 29-member District Council.


2003 Worcester City Council election
The 2003 Worcester City Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Worcester District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.


2003 Worcester City Council election, Campaign
13 seats were contested in the election with 2 seats available in St Nicholas ward after a Labour councillor stood down. Labour defended 7 seats as against 5 for the Conservatives and 1 for the independents. Meanwhile, the decision of the British National Party to put up a candidate in Holy Trinity ward received attention in the press.


2003 Worcester City Council election, Campaign
Worcester was a top Conservative target council in the 2003 local elections, with gains here seen as important signal for the parties performance at the next general election. The Conservatives had controlled the council as a minority administration since the 2000 election and were hoping to win a majority. They said Labour had been out of touch when they ran the council and had made poor decisions such as using green fields for transport schemes. However, Labour attacked the Conservatives for the council's budget, including a council tax rise of 9.5% and poor waste collection services; as well as the controversy over the closing and then rescue of Swan Theatre in Worcester.


2003 Worcester City Council election, Campaign
The level of postal voting in the election was up on previous years with 5,000 postal voting forms being sent, compared to 3,000 in 2002.


2003 Worcester City Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives win a majority on the council, after gaining 2 seats from Labour but losing 1 seat to the Liberal Democrats. This meant that Labour only held 10 seats which was the lowest number of seats they had held on the council up to then. However Labour did manage to retain Holy Trinity ward, defeating the British National Party who came second in the ward. Voter turnout was low, dropping as low as 18% in St Barnabus ward.


2003 World Aesthetic Group Gymnastics Championships
The 2003 World Aesthetic Gymnastics Championships, the 4th edition of the Aesthetic group gymnastics competition, was held in Graz, Austria from May 23 to 24.


2003 World Aesthetic Group Gymnastics Championships, Medal winners
Aalto Hanna, Laavi Helena, Loikas Liisa, Reijonen Jenni, Thesleff Paula, Topp Juuli, Törnqvist Sara, Virtanen Tiina


2003 World Aesthetic Group Gymnastics Championships, Medal winners
Koskimies Maijastiina, Kurkela Anna, Mavrakis Christina, Niittylä Aino, Noponen Katja, Raitio Essi, Savolainen Joanna


2003 World Allround Speed Skating Championships
The 2003 World Allround Speed Skating Championships were held in Ruddalens IP in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 8–9 February 2003. Canadian Cindy Klassen and Dutchman Gianni Romme became the world champions.


2003 World Allround Speed Skating Championships
The competitions were held in a Sweden where the interest for speed skating had declined throughout the 1990s.


2003 World Allround Speed Skating Championships, Men's championships, Allround results
NQ = Not qualified for the 10000 m (only the best 12 are qualified)DQ = disqualified


2003 World Allround Speed Skating Championships, Women's championships, Allround results
NQ = Not qualified for the 5000 m (only the best 12 are qualified)DQ = disqualified


2003 World Allround Speed Skating Championships, Rules
All 24 participating skaters are allowed to skate the first three distances; 12 skaters may take part on the fourth distance. These 12 skaters are determined by taking the standings on the longest of the first three distances, as well as the samalog standings after three distances, and comparing these lists as follows:


2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships
The men's 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Bangkok, Thailand, from July 6 to July 13. The competition was organised by the world governing body for amateur boxing AIBA.


2003 World Aquatics Championships
The 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships were held July 12–27, 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. The championships featured competition in all 5 of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Synchronised swimming, Water Polo, and Open Water Swimming.


2003 World Aquatics Championships
Competition was held in the facilities all around the city: Palau Sant Jordi, Piscines Bernat Picornell, Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc, Club de Natació de Barcelona and Port Vell.


2003 World Archery Championships
The 2003 World Archery Championships was the 42nd edition of the World Archery Championships. The event was held in New York City, United States, from 14–20 July 2003 and was organized by World Archery Federation (FITA).


2003 World Archery Championships - Men's Individual Compound
The men's individual compound competition at the 2003 World Archery Championships took place in July 2003 in New York City, United States. 107 archers entered the competition. Following a qualifying 144 arrow FITA round, the top 64 archers qualified for the 6-round knockout tournament, drawn according to their qualification round scores. The semi-finals and finals then took place on 20 July.


2003 World Archery Championships - Men's Individual Recurve
The men's individual recurve competition at the 2003 World Archery Championships took place in July 2003 in New York City, United States. 174 archers entered the competition. Following a qualifying 144 arrow FITA round, the top 64 archers qualified for the 6-round knockout tournament, drawn according to their qualification round scores. The semi-finals and finals then took place on 20 July.


2003 World Archery Championships - Men's Individual Recurve
Despite Korean archers dominating the qualification tournament, Italian Michele Frangilli was victorious, becoming the first non-Korean winner of the men's individual recurve tournament since 1991.


2003 World Archery Championships - Men's Team Compound
The men's team compound competition at the 2003 World Archery Championships took place in July 2003 in New York City, United States. 107 archers took part in the men's compound qualification round with no more than 4 from each country, and the 16 teams of 3 archers with the highest cumulative totals (out of a possible 26) qualified for the 4-round knockout round, drawn according to their qualification round scores. .


2003 World Archery Championships - Men's Team Compound, Seeds
Seedings were based on the combined total of the team members' qualification scores in the individual ranking rounds. The top 16 teams were assigned places in the draw depending on their overall ranking.


2003 World Archery Championships - Men's Team Recurve
The men's team recurve competition at the 2003 World Archery Championships took place in July 2003 in New York City, United States. 174 archers took part in the men's recurve qualification round with no more than 4 from each country, and the 16 teams of 3 archers with the highest cumulative totals (out of a possible 37) qualified for the 4-round knockout round, drawn according to their qualification round scores. .


2003 World Archery Championships - Men's Team Recurve, Seeds
Seedings were based on the combined total of the team members' qualification scores in the individual ranking rounds. The top 16 teams were assigned places in the draw depending on their overall ranking.


2003 World Archery Championships - Women's Individual Compound
The women's individual compound competition at the 2003 World Archery Championships took place in July 2003 in New York City, United States. 69 archers entered the competition. Following a qualifying 144 arrow FITA round, the top 64 archers qualified for the 6-round knockout tournament, drawn according to their qualification round scores. The semi-finals and finals then took place on 20 July.


2003 World Archery Championships - Women's Individual Recurve
The women's individual recurve competition at the 2003 World Archery Championships took place in July 2003 in New York City, United States. 138 archers entered the competition. Following a qualifying 144 arrow FITA round the top 64 archers qualified for the 6-round knockout tournament, drawn according to their qualification round scores. The semi-finals and finals then took place on 20 July.


2003 World Archery Championships - Women's Team Compound
The women's team compound competition at the 2003 World Archery Championships took place in July 2003 in New York City, United States. 69 archers took part in the women's compound qualification round with no more than 4 from each country. As there were only 15 eligible teams of 3 archers, all teams qualified for the 4-round knockout round, drawn according to their qualification round scores, with the top-ranked team given a bye to the quarter final.


2003 World Archery Championships - Women's Team Compound, Seeds
Seedings were based on the combined total of the team members' qualification scores in the individual ranking rounds. The top 16 teams were assigned places in the draw depending on their overall ranking.


2003 World Archery Championships - Women's Team Recurve
The women's team recurve competition at the 2003 World Archery Championships took place in July 2003 in New York City, United States. 138 archers took part in the women's recurve qualification round with no more than 4 from each country, and the 16 teams of 3 archers with the highest cumulative totals (out of a possible 32) qualified for the 4-round knockout round, drawn according to their qualification round scores. .


2003 World Archery Championships - Women's Team Recurve, Seeds
Seedings were based on the combined total of the team members' qualification scores in the individual ranking rounds. The top 16 teams were assigned places in the draw depending on their overall ranking.


2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 37th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Anaheim, California, United States, in 2003.


2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Tie-breakers were not used at this competition. If two gymnasts received identical scores in the event finals, they were both awarded medals for their placement.


2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Women, Floor Exercise
Daiane dos Santos became the first Brazilian female world champion in gymnastics.


2003 World Championships in Athletics
The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in  Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.


2003 World Championships in Athletics, Men's results, Track
Note: * Indicates athletes who ran in preliminary rounds. 1 Jerome Young of the United States originally finished first in 44.50, but was disqualified after he tested positive for drugs in 2004. 2 The United States (Calvin Harrison, Tyree Washington, Derrick Brew, Jerome Young) originally finished first in 2:58.88, but were disqualified after Jerome Young and Calvin Harrison both tested positive for drugs in 2004.


2003 World Championships in Athletics qualification standards
Qualifying standards for the 2003 World Championships in Athletics can be found here -


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 10,000 metres
The Men's 10,000 metres event featured at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. The final was held on 24 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 10,000 metres
At this point in time, Haile Gebrselassie was the #1 distance runner in the world, with two successive Olympic titles and four World Championships at 10,000. He also held the 5-year-old world record plus the world record at 5,000 metres. A poor race at the previous World Championships was the first sign of his lack of total dominance, now the 30 year old had a challenger from near his home town, who also ran with an almost identical, efficient running form, 21 year old Kenenisa Bekele.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 10,000 metres
As Gebrselassie ran a strong race trying to burn off his new rival, the rest of the world's best runners, including five Kenyan born athletes, disappeared in their wake. The last to hold on to the lead group was Sileshi Sihine, assuring an Ethiopian sweep, but the championship was in doubt. Bekele remained as Gebrselassie's twin shadow until he made one move with 200 metres to go. Gebrselassie's ever powerful sprint was no match for Bekele.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 10,000 metres
Over the final straightaway, Bekele extended to more than a full second gap for the victory and the changing of the guard in dominance of long distance track running. Bekele took the prize at the next Olympics over Sihine with Gebrselassie out of the money and accomplished the Woolworth double (5 and 10) in 2008. Gebrselassie subsequently focused his effort onto 10k, half-marathon and marathon competitions, setting multiple world records before retiring.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 100 metres
These are the official results of the men's 100 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 79 participating athletes, with ten qualifying heats, four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the final held on Monday 25 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 100 metres
At 18 years, 318 days old, silver medallist Darrel Brown became the youngest ever world medallist for the men's 100 m.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 110 metres hurdles
These are the official results of the Men's 110 metres hurdles event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 34 participating athletes, with five qualifying heats, three semi-finals and the final held on Saturday 2003-08-30 at 18:00h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 1500 metres
These are the official results of the Men's 1500 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 29 participating athletes, with three qualifying heats, two semi-finals and the final held on Wednesday 27 August 2003 at 21:00h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 1500 metres
With all eyes on the world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj, the final started with home team favorite Mehdi Baala taking the lead off the line though he was  Reyes Estévez uncharacteristically took  the lead and began pushing the pace a half lap into the race. As soon as Estévez began to create some daylight, El Guerrouj covered the move through a 57.70 first lap, but after letting Estévez lead a whole lap El Guerrouj edged ahead.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 1500 metres
It was 1:56.29 (58.59) after 2 laps with Baala the first to follow El Guerrouj, with Paul Korir and Estévez in such close order drill that Korir stumbled from catching Estévez' legs and losing ground. At the bell in 2:37.87, Fouad Chouki joined what was becoming a breakaway by El Guerrouj, Baala and Estévez. 2:51.28 (54.99) after 3 laps and El Guerrouj accelerated. In the final turn, Chouki accelerated past Estévez, but only Baala had managed to stay close to El Guerrouj.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 1500 metres
Bala was in perfect position to run around El Guerrouj coming off the turn, instead El Guerrouj accelerated again and got enough of a gap that it was clear he was going to win. Coming off the turn Ivan Heshko was in sixth place. He moved out to lane 3 and began sprinting, challenged by Korir. 50 meters from the finish, Chouki began to run out of gas. Estévez passed him but his hold on the bronze medal position was short lived as Heshko, Korir and Rui Silva all ran past him before the line. A month after the race, Chouki was disqualified and suspended for having Erythropoietin in his system.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 20 kilometres walk
The Men's 20 km Walk at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France was held on 23 August 2003, with the start at 08.30h local time.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 200 metres
These are the official results of the Men's 200 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 59 participating athletes, with eight qualifying heats, four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the final held on Friday 29 August 2003 at 21:00h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 200 metres
On August 27, Troy Douglas, at 40 years, 270 days old, became the oldest ever competitor for the men's 200 m. Two days later, Frank Fredericks became the oldest finalist in the distance, at 35 years, 331 days old.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase
These are the official results of the Men's 3000 metres steeplechase event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 36 participating athletes, with three qualifying heats and the final held on Tuesday 2003-08-26 at 21:30h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
In Kenya, where the steeplechase is virtually the national sport and source of national pride, the top up and coming athletes in 2003 were Stephen Cherono and Ezekiel Kemboi. Along with Stephen's brother Abraham Cherono, they swept the 2002 Commonwealth Games Steeplechase for Kenya. In 2003, there was a huge change.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
Qatar was near the beginning of their program to purchase mercenary athletes; young, promising athletes who would take Qatari citizenship and (unique to Qatar's program) take on a different name. Stephen, and some 40 other athletes, took the deal. Changing his name from Stephen Cherono to Saif Saaeed Shaheen, he was reported to have received up to US$1 million to become a Qatari citizen, although he denied this. This was the first major competition where, as Shaheen, he was wearing a different country's bib. This angered his former teammates who were determined to beat him.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
Over the previous two decades, Kenyan athletes have learned how to use team tactics to essentially gang up on the rest of the world while assuring another Kenyan victory. Shaheen had learned these tactics. Now virtually alone, he had to figure out how to beat them. He chose to run away from them. Alone out front, no team could get in his way. He did have a teammate in the race, a veteran former Sudanese athlete who had been running for Qatar for several years, Khamis Abdullah Saifeldin.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
Beaten off the start line by three Kenyans, Saifeldin literally elbowed his way to the already forming Kenyan blockade at the front. Sidestepping into the next lane he sprinted past them followed by Shaheen who was with the lead Kenyans waiting for his arrival. Saifeldin was first over the first barrier with Shaheen in tow and a gap already forming. The only athlete to bridge the gap was Shaheen's brother, Abraham Cherono. The first lap was just over 60 seconds, 4 minute mile pace. 2:04 by the second lap (now slightly shorter laps through the water jump).


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
1000 metres into the race and Saifeldin was exhausted and started to drop back. Shaheen accelerated around him. 3:06 for three laps. Soon Abraham started to fall back, Shaheen was alone. With the pack disappearing behind them, Shaheen was cranking out laps at sub-world record pace. By the fourth lap at 4:12 he had opened up a 20 metre lead, but on the fifth lap, he was beginning to show signs of fatigue.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
His closest pursuer, Kemboi was rapidly began gaining on Shaheen. With a thousand metres to go, Kemboi was frustrated with his slow gains against Shaneen's huge lead and suddenly sprinted to both catch Shaheen then to keep on running past him, creating a 7 metre gap of his own. This time Shaheen did not go away, making back the gap to mark Kemboi. Two barriers later, Shaheen sprinted into the lead and Kemboi sprinted back to the front. With all the spurts and retreats, the lead pace had slowed while the peloton had steadily made up the lost ground.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
Led by Luis Miguel Martín and Eliseo Martín, the pack had moved back into contention, with the French home crowd excited that Bouabdellah Tahri was in the mix with a lap to go. But the two prizefighters at the front didn't notice, they were still throwing their best punches at each other.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
At the bell, Kemboi again sprinted to open up a slight gap. After the fourth barrier, Shaheen sprinted past, opening up a gap over the third barrier and into the water jump. This move at the fourth barrier would later become Kemboi's trademark. Also, unlike later years, Kemboi took the water jump carefully by pushing off the barrier. Coming out of the pit, Kemboi positioned himself for one final sprint, passing Shaheen over the final barrier on the outside. With a slight gap, Kemboi looked to be sprinting to victory, but Shaheen surged again taking the lead thirty metres out. Defeated, the exhausted Kemboi jogged across the line and lay down on the track.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
While bronze medalist Eliseo Martín, enthusiastically came to congratulate Shaheen, the Kenyans did not congratulate their former teammate, now traitor, on his victory. Even his own brother walked off the track in disgust.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, Analysis
Without Shaheen in the race, Kemboi would claim Olympic gold the following year. A couple of weeks later, Shahen would one up him again by setting what is still the current world record in the event. Shaheen would repeat as champion in 2005, again over Kemboi, but would then disappear from the scene. After three straight silver medals, Kemboi would finally take gold in 2009, beginning a legendary winning streak of four straight gold medals and seven straight gold or silver medals through 2015 and another Olympic gold in 2012. Each of those victories was marked with a celebration victory dance and the same sprint between the fourth and third remaining barriers that he learned from Shaheen in this race.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay
These are the official results of the Men's 4 x 100 metres relay event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. Their final was held on 31 August 2003 at 17:50h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay
These are the official results of the Men's 4x400 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. Their final was held on Sunday 31 August 2003 at 19:35h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 400 metres
These are the official results of the Men's 400 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 51 participating athletes, with seven qualifying heats, three semi-finals and the final held on Tuesday 26 August 2003 at 21:50h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 400 metres
The gold medal was originally won by Jerome Young of the United States in 44.50, but he was later disqualified for doping, together with his teammate Calvin Harrison who finished sixth.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 400 metres hurdles
These are the official results of the Men's 400 metres hurdles event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 36 participating athletes, with five qualifying heats, three semi-finals and the final held on Friday August 29, 2003 at 22:05h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 400 metres hurdles, Summary
Félix Sánchez went out with purpose, to defend his championship, taking a clear lead over the first hurdle. He never looked back, just continuing to extend his lead to win by almost a full second. His winning time of 47.25 turned out to be the lifetime personal record of the future double Olympic gold medalist. It was the number 7 time in history, at the time, and has only been surpassed once since, by .01 by 2008 gold medalist Angelo Taylor, though it was also tied by Kerron Clement as he won the 2016 Olympics (which name-checks all Olympic champions from this era, 2000-2016).


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 400 metres hurdles, Summary
Behind Sánchez was the battle for the other medals. Immediately outside of Sánchez, Joey Woody started slower, so Sánchez made up the stagger and passed Woody between the second and third hurdle. The closest to Sánchez, immediately to his inside was Periklis Iakovakis. Through the final turn, Chris Rawlinson and Danny McFarlane began to pull even with Iakovakis. By the eighth hurdle, Llewellyn Herbert pulled even with McFarlane. Between the eighth and ninth hurdles, Herbert put on a burst that put a meter on everyone except Sánchez, with Woody moving into contention behind him. Herbert had a firm grasp on silver until he hit the tenth hurdle, sprawling him to the track. Woody was the next to clear the hurdle and finished strongly to take that silver, a meter ahead of Iakovakis.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 50 kilometres walk
The Men's 50 km Walk event at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France was held on Wednesday August 27, 2003, with the start at 07:50h local time.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 5000 metres
These are the official results of the Men's 5000 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 29 participating athletes, with two qualifying heats and the final held on Sunday 31 August 2003 at 18:40h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 5000 metres
This race had the 1500 meter champion/world record holder, Hicham El Guerrouj and the 10,000 meter champion Kenenisa Bekele. This was considered a meeting ground half way. From the start, Bekele took the race out to let his endurance burn off the faster opponent. El Guerrouj immediately marked his move. Also along for the ride were two more Ethiopians and a pack of four Kenyans, including defending champion Richard Limo. While the group broke away from the field, the fast early pace slowed. With two laps to go, it was El Guerrouj who took out the lead.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 5000 metres
The next lap burnt off a couple of Ethiopians but the Kenyans were all there with Bekele, still in contact with El Guerrouj. As the final lap quickened, world junior record holder, eighteen year old Eliud Kipchoge rode on El Guerrouj's shoulder, with Bekele chasing in third. El Guerrouj opened up a gap of 3 metres down the back stretch, with Bekele gaining on Kipchoge, the rest of the Kenyan team strung out behind. Challenged by Bekele, Kipchoge accelerated through the turn, moving up to El Guerrouj's shoulder.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 5000 metres
With Bekele moving onto Kipchoge's shoulder, it was three abreast coming off the turn and John Kibowen tailing closely behind. El Guerrouj accelerated again but Kipchoge didn't go away. On the outside Bekele made up some ground, the three separated by a metre. But El Guerrouj and Kipchoge were dead even. As Bekele couldn't make up any more ground, Kipchoge gained a few inches on El Guerrouj. Over the last few steps, El Guerrouj struggled and lost his form, trying to make a desperate dive at the line, but it was too little too late. The final lap was 53 seconds.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 5000 metres
By this point in time, none of the three medalists had achieved an Olympic Gold Medal, though ultimately all three would. The same three would match up the following year in the 2004 Olympics with El Guerrouj taking gold.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 800 metres
These are the official results of the Men's 800 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 58 participating athletes, with eight qualifying heats, three semi-finals and the final held on Sunday 31 August 2003 at 17:30h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's decathlon
These are the official results of the men's decathlon competition at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, France. With 20 participating athletes, including eight non-finishers, the competition is notable for having the lowest number of competitors in the World Championships history. The competition started on Monday 26 August 2003 and ended on Tuesday 27 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's discus throw
These are the official results of the Men's Discus Throw event at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 27 participating athletes, with the final held on Tuesday 26 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's hammer throw
These are the official results of the Men's Hammer Throw event at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 26 participating athletes, with the final held on Monday 25 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's high jump
These are the official results of the Men's High Jump event at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 32 participating athletes, with the final held on Monday 25 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's javelin throw
These are the official results of the Men's Javelin Throw event at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 21 participating athletes, with the final held on Sunday 31 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's long jump
These are the official results of the Men's Long Jump event at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 36 participating athletes, with the final held on Friday 29 August 2003. The qualification standard was set at 8.15 metres (or at least the best twelve qualified).


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's marathon
The men's marathon at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France, was held on Saturday, August 30, 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's pole vault
These are the results of the Men's Pole Vault event at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris, France.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's pole vault, Results, Qualification
Qualification: Qualifying Performance 5.75 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the final.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's shot put
These are the official results of the Men's Shot Put event at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 31 participating athletes, with the final held on Saturday 23 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Men's triple jump
These are the official results of the Men's triple jump event at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 24 participating athletes, with the final held on Monday 25 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 10,000 metres
The women's 10,000 metres event featured at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France. The final was held on 23 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 10,000 metres, Summary
Almost 10 years before this race, Wang Junxia had set the world record out to a remarkable 29:31.78 at the 1993 National Games of China. For the next 9 years, second place in that race in Beijing, Zhong Huandi had also been the second best 10,000m ever run by a woman 30:13.37 (more than half a lap behind Wang). One year before this race, Paula Radcliffe finally improved on second place, her 30:01.09 got within 30 seconds of the world record, showing women the record was not impossible. Radcliffe was not in this race, having set the world record in the Marathon 4 months earlier as well as the 10K road world record two months before that. Missing those two, this race only became the greatest women's 10,000m in history.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 10,000 metres, Summary
Anikó Kálovics started off fast, running a 2:59.62 first 1K. Then Sun Yingjie took the point, her awkward running form taking the crowd through 4K in 12:00.16. Kenyan ex-pat Lornah Kiplagat  running for The Netherlands then took over the lead, 15:06.53 to the halfway point and the next kilometer just barely over 3 minutes to take the 5 leaders to 6K in 18:07.25. During the next kilo, the defending champion and two time Olympic champion Derartu Tulu dropped out.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 10,000 metres, Summary
Only Sun, Kiplagat and two Ethiopians; Werknesh Kidane and Berhane Adere remained all taking their turn trying to take the lead, the group reaching 9K in 27:14.06. On the penultimate lap, Sun dropped a 68 to put herself in front. On the final backstretch, Adere moved onto Sun's shoulder to pounce for the lead. Sun accelerated with the challenge, but Adere went by in a different gear, running away to the gold medal. Kiplagat couldn't stay with the others battling for the lead, but Kidane didn't let Sun get away, the two sprinting down the home and dipping at the finish line. The photo finish revealed that Kidane had beaten Sun by .05 of a second after 10,000 metres.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 10,000 metres, Summary
When the dust had settled, Adere had the #3 best time in history, Kidane #4, Sun #5 and Kiplagat #6. Even Alla Zhilyaeva, who was not really in contention in a distant 5th place, had run the #12 time in history. In 7th place Xing Huina set the world junior record 30:31.55.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres
These are the official results of the Women's 100 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 59 participating athletes, with eight qualifying heats, four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the final held on Sunday 24 August 2003 at 19:45h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres, Final
Kelli White crossed the finish line in first place in a time of 10.85 seconds, and Zhanna Block finished third in 10.99 seconds. However, both were later disqualified for anti-doping violations.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres hurdles
These are the official results of the Women's 100 metres hurdles event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 39 participating athletes, with five qualifying heats, three semi-finals and the final held on Wednesday August 27, 2003 at 19:25h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres hurdles, Summary
In the third heat of the semi finals, Patricia Girard and Vonette Dixon had a rare, unbreakable tie for the second qualifying spot. Since the Paris track could accommodate 9 runners, this was a rare case where 9 were advanced to the finals.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres hurdles, Summary
Running before a home crowd, Girard was marginally first over the first hurdle of the final. She extended the lead over the second hurdle, but by the third, the field had come back. Jenny Adams and Perdita Felicien emerged with the lead. By the fifth hurdle, Felicien was all alone. Glory Alozie, Miesha McKelvy and Brigitte Foster-Hylton had joined Adams in the hunt for silver. By the seventh hurdle, Felicien had a 1 metre lead over McKelvy, slightly ahead of Foster-Hylton.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 100 metres hurdles, Summary
Through the next couple of hurdles, Foster-Hylton got up a head of steam, passing McKelvy and pulling in some of Felicien's lead. Diving for the line early, Foster-Hylton got as close as a foot (30 cm) a couple of metres before the finish, but she was losing balance. Felicien crossed the finish maintaining her speed while Foster-Hylton struggled her last two steps, crashing to the track after the finish. More than a metre back, McKelvy took bronze, still half a metre ahead of Alozie.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 1500 metres
These are the official results of the Women's 1500 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 32 participating athletes, with three qualifying heats, two semi-finals and the final held on Sunday 31 August 2003 at 18:20h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 20 kilometres walk
The official results of the Women's 20 km Walk at the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France, held on 24 August 2003.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 200 metres
These are the official results of the Women's 200 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. There were a total number of 42 participating athletes, with eight qualifying heats, four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and the final held on Thursday 28 August 2003 at 21:45h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 4 × 100 metres relay
These are the official results of the Women's 4x100 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. Their final was held on Saturday 30 August 2001 at 19:45h.


2003 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 4 × 400 metres relay
These are the official results of the Women's 4x400 metres event at the 2003 IAAF World Championships in Paris, France. Their final was held on Sunday 31 August 2003 at 19:10h.