2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Reactions, International
The United States government blamed the events on the actions of the Chávez government and said Chávez had resigned the presidency, dismissed his cabinet, and that security forces under his command had fired upon unarmed protesters. Upon news of Chávez's return, Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor to US President George W. Bush, said, "We do hope that Chávez recognizes that the whole world is watching and that he takes advantage of this opportunity to right his own ship, which has been moving, frankly, in the wrong direction for quite a long time." Bush denied any involvement of the US government in the coup attempt and asked Chávez to "learn a lesson" from it.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Reactions, International
Cuban president Fidel Castro later confirmed that after the coup his government had "contacted the ambassadors of 21 countries in an attempt to get a plane to Venezuela to rescue Chávez."


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Reactions, International
In Chile, newspapers circulated information soon after the coup attempt showing the Chilean government's "discomfort" with Chávez returning to power, with President Ricardo Lagos holding Chávez accountable for the political crisis in Venezuela. President Lagos later clarified that his statements were to tell Venezuela to avoid polarization and the Chile opposes the "interruption of institutional order".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Reactions, Organizations
Don MacKay of the Canadian Foundation of the Americas was troubled by the coup, saying: "This is the first time in a decade the military has stepped into power in Latin America. It is very troubling. ... This will be a test case to see whether the OAS's democracy clause has any teeth." Cuban Foreign Relations Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said that in the eyes of his country Chávez was still president, and Cuba's Communist Party daily, Granma, wrote that Chávez had been "overthrown in a conspiracy by the country's wealthy classes, corrupt politicians and the news media".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Reactions, Organizations
On 13 April, the editors of The New York Times applauded what they incorrectly described as Chávez's resignation, calling him a "ruinous demagogue" and cheering the fact that "Venezuelan democracy [was] no longer threatened by a would-be dictator". The Times editors also wrote admiringly of the installation of Carmona as president, describing him as a "respected business leader". Furthermore, the Times congratulated the U.S. government for its wisdom in "never [having] publicly demonized Mr. Chávez, denying him the role of nationalist martyr", and in staying out of the coup, which the Times characterized as "a purely Venezuelan affair".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
Statements of President Chávez over a potential coup involvement of the United States are varied. Shortly before the coup attempt, Chávez dismissed possible hostility from the United States, since "times had changed". After the coup, however, Chávez asserted numerous times that United States government officials knew about plans for a coup, approved of them, and assumed they would be successful, alleging that "two military officers from the United States" were present in the headquarters of coup plotters. Chávez would also state after the coup that there was "little evidence" that the United States orchestrated the plan.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
Rear Admiral Carlos Molina, a central leader of the coup, later said that "We felt we were acting with US support ... we agree that we can’t permit a communist government here. The US has not let us down yet." However, the United States repeatedly informed the Venezuelan opposition that they would not be supported if there were a coup, warned the Chávez government of the plot and following the coup attempt, President George W. Bush denied the United States' involvement.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
The United States learned of details about a potential coup in late-2001 due to the nature Venezuelan individuals openly plotting to overthrow President Chávez. In March 2002 only days after United States Ambassador to Venezuela Charles Shapiro began his duties in Venezuela and just weeks before the coup attempt, Shapiro met with a trade union organization. During this meeting the group openly shared their desire to be part of the coup, with Ambassador Shapiro informing them that the United States would not support such actions and that governmental change should only occur electorally.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
On 27 April 2002, Chairman Cass Ballenger and Congressman Bill Delahunt of the United States also met with Venezuelan media heads of Venevisión, Globovisión, Unión Radio, El Nacional, Últimas Noticias and El Mundo, telling them that "the U.S. was opposed to any disruption of constitutional government and would condemn any coup, open or disguised, aimed at ousting Chávez".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
At a meeting soon after the coup between Ambassador Shapiro and then Venezuelan Vice President José Vicente Rangel at the Vice President's home, Rangel also stated to Shapiro that "no one in the upper echelons of the Venezuelan government really believed that the United States was involved in the attempted overthrow" and that if the Venezuelan government did believe so, "the two men wouldn't have been sitting in Rangel’s house".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
However, unlike much of Latin America, the US refused to condemn the coup, changing its position only after a popular uprising led Carmona to resign.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
The British daily The Guardian was told in April 2002 by Wayne Madsen, a conspiracy theorist and blogger, that his country's navy had lent assistance to coup organizers by providing them with intelligence from its vessels in the Caribbean. Its sister paper, The Observer, established that the coup was "tied to senior officials in the US government" after receiving information from OAS officials that the US was not only aware of the coup, but also gave sanction to its organizers. The paper names Elliot Abrams, who had been convicted of deceiving Congress during the Iran Contra Affair, as being the one who greenlit the coup.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
In December 2004, The New York Times reported on the release of newly declassified intelligence documents that showed that the CIA and Bush administration officials had advance knowledge of an imminent plot to oust President Chávez, although the same documents do not indicate the United States supported the plot.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
According to Chávez activist and author Eva Golinger in her 2006 book The Chávez Code, on 5 March 2002, the US Embassy cabled Washington to report that Fedecámaras, the CTV, and the Catholic Church had reached an agreement named "Bases for a Democratic Accord", which the cable described as "ten principles on which to guide a transitional government". An Embassy official, commenting in the cable, said of the accord "another piece falls into place... This accord... may well form the frame of reference and code of conduct for a transitional government."


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
Also in March 2002, the CIA was briefing US officials that a coup might be planned, and on 6 April it issued another brief saying efforts to mount a coup were possibly being stepped up. The 6 April brief noted that "To provoke military action, the plotters may try to exploit unrest stemming from opposition demonstrations slated for later this month or ongoing strikes at the state-owned oil company PDVSA." The United States embassy in Venezuela then allegedly informed Chávez of a possible coup, though Chávez ignored their warnings.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
The New York Times notes that the documents used by Golinger do not show direct involvement of the U.S. government in the coup attempt; instead, they show that U.S. officials issued "repeated warnings that the United States will not support any extraconstitutional moves to oust Chávez," whilst nonetheless talking only "broadly" to Mr. Chávez about opposition plans, and "provid[ing] few hard details of the looming plot".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
The documents were obtained, through Freedom of Information Act requests, and released by Eva Golinger "as part of an offensive by pro-Chávez activists to show that the United States government has, at least tacitly, supported the opposition's unconstitutional efforts to remove the president". In addition to the CIA documents, The New York Times reported that Golinger also obtained "reams of documents from the National Endowment for Democracy, a nonprofit agency financed by the United States government, that show that $2.2 million was spent from 2000 to 2003 to train or finance anti-Chávez parties and organizations".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
Bush Administration officials acknowledged meeting with some of the planners of the coup in the several weeks prior to 11 April but have strongly denied encouraging the coup itself, saying that they insisted on constitutional means. However, the purpose of the meetings was not clarified, and it is also not known why US officials and the Venezuelan opposition broached the subject of a coup months before the attempted ousting took place. In addition, The New York Times quotes an anonymous Defense Department official in charge of developing policy towards Venezuela as saying that, "We were not discouraging people. ... We were sending informal, subtle signals that we don't like this guy. We didn't say, 'No, don't you dare'", though he denied the Defense Department offered material help, such as weaponry.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
Because of the allegations, an investigation conducted by the US Inspector General, at the request of US Senator Christopher Dodd, requested a review of American activities leading up to and during the coup attempt.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, US role and alleged involvement
The OIG report found no "wrongdoing" by US officials either in the State Department or in the Embassy, and concluded that "While it is clear that NED’s, DOD’s, and other U.S. assistance programs provided training, institution building, and other support to organizations and individuals understood to be actively involved in the events of 11–14 April, we found no evidence that this support directly contributed, or was intended to contribute, to those events. NED is, however, mindful of the fact that, in some circumstances, its efforts to assist specific organizations, or foster open elections, could be perceived as partisan."


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
The majority of the violence that took place on 11 April 2002 was near the Llaguno Overpass. There is no consensus as to who was responsible for the deaths on that day, and this remains a very controversial issue. The opposition version of events puts the blame on Chávez, or at least on his supporters. Many groups of the Bolivarian Circles gathered near the Llagano Overpass before the march reached the area.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
A Venevisión camera positioned on a rooftop that afternoon captured images of people using handguns to shoot from the pro-Chávez counter-march being held on the Llagano Overpass, an overpass that crosses one of central Caracas's busiest avenues; it is unclear who they are shooting at, but the opposition narrative is that they were shooting at the opposition march and responsible for the deaths.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
Supporters of Chávez have alleged that the opposition conspired to cause casualties during the incident with Chávez allies such as Jorge García Carneiro and Lucas Rincón Romero claiming that CNN correspondent Otto Neustald said that on the morning of 11 April he recorded a video message from a number of high-ranking military officers, led by Vice Admiral Héctor Ramírez, which was broadcast later in the day. The message held Chávez responsible for massacring innocent people using snipers, referring to at least six dead and dozens wounded.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
According to Neustald, the message was recorded at least two hours before the killings started. However, this claim has never been proven and is contested by the rest of the reporters present, such as Javier Ignacio Mayorca, Mayela León and Adrián Criscaut, who affirmed that the military officers were informed of the death of Tortoza during the filming of the message. The Chavista gunmen that were seen shooting off the bridge argue that they were, in fact, returning fire at unknown snipers and Metropolitan Police firing towards them.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
There are reports that claim seven were arrested at the Hotel Ausonia and that they were later freed in the chaos of the coup while there was also empty shells found at the Hotel Edén. According to Chávez supporter Gregory Wilpert, video and audio recordings were allegedly provided at the trial of Metropolitan Police leaders which suggested plainclothes police had infiltrated the La Nacional building and were allegedly sniping on the opposition marchers and police below. The La Nacional building housed the offices of pro-Chávez mayor Freddy Bernal.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
Bernal, a Chávez supporter and former leader of an elite police force, was accused by a Venezuelan military officer of complying with orders from the Defense Ministry to shoot opposition demonstrators. It was also reported that the National Guard, which was firing tear gas and combatting the opposition protesters, did not pay any attention to the gunmen on the La Nacional building and that it was the Metropolitan Police who had attempted to go to the building. Bernal dismissed the allegations as "totally false".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
The 2003 documentary titled The Revolution Will Not Be Televised contradicts claims by private media in Venezuela that the pro-Chávez group was firing on the opposition protest from Llagano Bridge. In the documentary, footage captured from another angle by an amateur cameraman shows pro-Chávez gunmen firing over an empty street with no apparent opposition protesters below. Further, the film makers claim that the opposition march never went down that street.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
While this documentary has been criticized by another called X-Ray of a Lie and American academic Brian Nelson, who argue that the footage is manipulated and obscures Metropolitan Police on the street below, it's not clear whether this is relevant to the veracity of the claim that pro-Chávez gunmen were not firing on opposition protesters from the bridge.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
The 2004 documentary Puente Llaguno: Claves de una Masacre claimed that the Chavistas on the bridge did not begin shooting until 4:38 pm, by which time most of the opposition deaths had already occurred. Some of the victims, both opposition and Chavistas, were claimed to be shot in locations not reachable from the bridge, being around corners from the main street with an eyewitness with military experience, who was shot himself, reported most victims being killed with precise head shots.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
In addition, most of the opposition deaths were at least 300 yards away from the bridge, supposedly too far to be killed by the Chavistas' pistols with the precise head shots witnessed. According to Nelson, such claims are false showing that opposition demonstrator Jesús Arellano was killed just before 2:30 pm, with photos showing Chavistas further up the street brandishing firearms and closer than purported by the earlier sources.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
Within the next 15 minutes, two other opposition demonstrators were shot at 2:45 and 4:30 pm, the Metropolitan Police responded to the Chavista gunfire by going between the marchers and the Chavistas. The Chavistas responded to the Metropolitan Police by moving further up the street and at around 4:35 pm, began firing down from Llagano Bridge onto Baralt Avenue below. Police responded to the Chavista gunfire, with one Chavista who was lying on the bridge being shot in the face, with his body positioning of lying down and facing the Metropolitan Police below possibly resulting in the headshot.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence
Ricochets were also possible from Chavistas ranks firing through the spokes of the railing on the bridge. After 5:30 pm when most of the gunfire concluded, the filmmakers of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised used manipulated footage, according to Nelson, in order to show an empty Baralt Avenue that Chavistas were overlooking. A vehicle used by the Metropolitan Police later showed that approximately 600 bullets impacted the vehicle's side that was facing north toward the Puente Llaguno bridge.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence, Criminal investigation
The people filmed shooting from the Puente Llaguno bridge were initially identified as being pro-Chávez political activists Rafael Cabrices, Richard Peñalver, Henry Atencio, and Nicolás Rivera. They were captured by the police and jailed for one year as they awaited trial, but charges were dropped before the trial began. Rafael Cabrices died from a heart attack three years later, in August 2005.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence, Criminal investigation
Under the 1999 Constitution, military officers are entitled to a pre-trial hearing before the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice to rule on whether they should be charged with a crime. In such a hearing on 14 August 2002, the Tribunal ruled by an 11–9 margin (with two justices recused) that four high-ranking military officers charged with rebellion should not stand trial, arguing that what took place was not a "coup" but a "vacuum of power" that had been generated by the announcement of Chávez's resignation made by Gen. Lucas Rincón Romero.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence, Criminal investigation
After Chávez took over of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice and filled it with his supporters, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, however, ruled on 12 March 2004 that the recusals were unconstitutional, making the hearing invalid and which meant that the military officers (by then retired) should stand trial.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence, Criminal investigation
After a trial that had begun back in March 2006 which had seen "265 expert testimonies, 5,700 photos, 20 videos and 198 witnesses", in April 2009, the ten Metropolitan Police officers were convicted of crimes leading to the deaths of three demonstrators back on 11 April 2002. Six of them, charged with homicide, were sentenced to 30 years each in prison. Only one officer was found "not guilty".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence, Criminal investigation
Former President of the Supreme Court (TSJ), Eladio Aponte Aponte, who fled Venezuela in 2012 after the Venezuelan government accused him of alleged ties to drug trafficking and removed him from his post, reportedly told U.S. authorities that he was personally ordered by President Chávez to use the full weight of the court to condemn the officers.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence, Criminal investigation
On 18 November 2004, a leading state prosecutor Danilo Anderson was assassinated shortly before he was scheduled to bring charges against individuals for their alleged participation in the coup. The Venezuelan government claimed individuals from Florida planned the assassination, though other reports suggested that Anderson and others were involved in an extortion racket. Carmona was arrested on 16 April and later placed under house arrest. He would later request political asylum to the Colombian embassy in Caracas.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Responsibility for violence, Criminal investigation
In December 2007, Chávez issued a pardon covering more than 60 people who had drafted or signed the Carmona Decree.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
Before the coup, the relationship between Chávez's government and the media were in dispute over press freedom, with the Venezuelan government threatening to revoke licenses of media organizations. Venezuelan media officials stated that the majority of the media supported Chávez and the change he promised when originally elected in 1998, but after they reported the "negative realities" occurring in Venezuela, the Venezuelan government began to portray the media as an enemy. After Chávez removed many of the traditional political elements that were barriers to his power, the Venezuelan media, like other forms of media in Latin America, began to criticize the government.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
In 2001 and 2002, relations between the media and Chávez deteriorated quickly. The Chávez-controlled Supreme Court ruled in June 2001 that the media could be held accountable for "half-truths", a ruling which Chávez used to threaten media organizations by saying he would be revoking their licenses. As conformations began to grow, both parties became more biased, with media owners down to reporters feeling threatened with Chávez even calling out individual journalists by name in speeches.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
By January 2002, Chávez supporters were attacking independent reporters, with the headquarters of El Universal assaulted by hundreds of Chavistas, Globovision reporters attacked while they were attempting to record Aló Presidente and a bomb attack on newspaper Así Es la Noticia. As a result of being "besieged" by Chávez, the media lost its perspective and began to increase its political involvement assisting the opposition.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
According to Le Monde diplomatique, mainstream Venezuelan media outlets such as El Universal, El Nacional, El Nuevo País, Globovisión, Televen, CMT and RCTV supported the coup and anti-government demonstrations, accusing the media of only disseminating the anti-Chávez point of view in the news reports of international media agencies and organizations.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
Following the coup attempt, the Venezuelan media was blamed as being a major contributor to the unrest in Venezuela with one Foreign Policy article, supporting the statements by Le Monde diplomatique about the media's involvement, stating, "Never in the history of Latin America had the media played quite so prominent a role in facilitating the overthrow of a democratically elected government," noting that "the majority of private outlets in Venezuela were owned by wealthy families with an interest in ousting Chávez."


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
Senior Research Fellow for the leftist thinktank Council on Hemispheric Affairs and Chávez supporter Nikolas Kozloff wrote that Venevisión owner Gustavo Cisneros was "widely reported" to have bankrolled the coup and that he had hosted the coup plotters, including Carmona, at both his mansion and network offices, supposedly leading Newsweek to place Cisneros "at the vortex of the whole mess." Opposition legislator Pedro Pablo Alcántara later said of Carmona's regime, "This government was put together at Gustavo Cisneros' office." Such allegations of Venezuelan media owners' active involvement in the coup has never been proven, but the media's actions in supporting the anti-Chávez movements hurt its credibility in the future.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
Media outlets denied allegations of any political bias or involvement, stating that coverage was impeded by the confusion of the coup. This included the confusion from rumors such as "Chávez had resigned, been arrested, was fleeing to Cuba, that the military had revolted, that the military high command had resigned" as well as the violent targeting of media personnel that left six cameramen shot, with one of those mortally wounded.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
Media outlets that both opposed and supported Chávez reported difficulties in reporting due to the potential danger their reporters faced, stating that journalists were afraid to cover pro-Chávez demonstrations since the media was targeted. Venevison reported that only 5 of 18 reporters went out to cover events during the coup while a newspaper considered pro-Chávez stated that they had to remove their logo from cars so they would not be attacked by Chávez supporters. It was also reported that the Chávez supporting Bolivarian Circles surrounded media buildings which prevented their reporters from leaving the area.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
According to a declassified document from the United States State Department, then-Congressmen Cass Ballenger and William Delahunt met with five media outlet owners and presidents following the coup attempt to encourage the media "to contribute to a climate that would make possible the dialogue and reconciliation that President Chávez has called for." The media owners and presidents, who admitted there may have been mistakes during the coup attempt, said "the media is democratic" and was opposed to any coup.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Analysis
The media officials also stated that they were attempting to give Chávez a second chance but remained skeptical, noting his 14 April speeches after returning to power where he admitted errors and asked for forgiveness, but later gave a "fiery speech" where he said to his supporters that those responsible for the coup attempt, including the media, "must pay".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Media changes
Chávez said after his reinstatement as president, "This coup d'etat would not have been possible without the help of the news media, especially television", and began a campaign to establish a "media hegemony" to prevent similar media conduct from happening in the future. To do so, Chávez used a "two-pronged strategy" in which his government strengthened its own media and "closed, browbeaten or infiltrated almost every independent outlet".


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Media changes
In 2004, the Law on Social Responsibility on Radio and Television was passed, allowing the government to censor media in order to "promote social justice and further the development of the citizenry, democracy, peace, human rights, education, culture, public health, and the nation’s social and economic development". The law, which was extended to the Internet and social media in 2010, requires media companies to "establish mechanisms to restrict, without delay, the dissemination of messages."


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Aftermath, Media, Media changes
Violators can be fined up to US$3,000 or 10 percent of one's yearly income, or face suspension of service, while journalists can be arrested with vague charges, including "conspiracy against the state" for criticizing the government. In 2007, Chávez revoked the license of leading anti-government broadcaster RCTV, and other stations began toning down dissent to avoid a similar fate. In 2009, 34 radio stations were closed for "technical and administrative reasons". By the time of Chávez's death in 2013, he left a transformed media atmosphere in Venezuela with the media organizations that opposed him being silenced and an expanding state media as a result. Media workers face legal barriers, defamation lawsuits from Venezuelan officials or are targets of violence.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Documentary films
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, also known as Chávez: Inside the Coup, is a 2003 documentary which focuses on events in Venezuela leading up to and during the April 2002 coup d'état attempt, which saw Chávez removed from office for several days. The film focuses on Venezuela's private media and examines multiple incidents, including the opposition's formation of an interim government, headed by business leader Pedro Carmona; and the Carmona administration's collapse.


2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, Documentary films
Another documentary made by Venezuelans Wolfgang Schalk and Thaelman Urgelles, X-Ray of a Lie, discusses what they allege as manipulation of the Irish production of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. A documentary by Calle y Media, Venezuela Bolivariana, covers the events from 1989 to the 2002 coup attempt. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles.


2002 Vermont elections
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Vermont on November 5, 2002. All of Vermont's executive officers were up for election as well as Vermont's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives.


2002 Vermont elections, Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Doug Racine (since 1997) did not run again for a fourth term, instead ran for governor.


2002 Vermont elections, Lieutenant Governor, Republican primary
Brian E. Dubie was unopposed in the Republican primary. He previously ran for lieutenant governor as the Republican nominee in 2000.


2002 Vermont elections, Lieutenant Governor, Democratic primary
State Senator Peter Shumlin was unopposed in the Democratic primary.


2002 Vermont elections, Lieutenant Governor, Progressive primary
Anthony Pollina, Progressive nominee for Governor in 2000 and U.S. Representative in 1984, ran unopposed in the Progressive primary.


2002 Vermont elections, Lieutenant Governor, Grassroots nomination
Sally Ann Jones, activist, ran unopposed for the Grassroots State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Secretary of State
Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz (since 1999) ran again for a third term.


2002 Vermont elections, Secretary of State, Progressive primary
Markowitz also ran unopposed in the Progressive primary as a write-in candidate.


2002 Vermont elections, Secretary of State, Liberty Union nomination
Leslie Yvonne Scaffidi, Liberty Union nominee for Secretary of State in 2000, ran unopposed for the Liberty Union State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Secretary of State, Grassroots nomination
Tina M. Thompson ran unopposed for the Grassroots State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Treasurer
Incumbent Republican treasurer Jim Douglas (since 1995) did not run again for a fifth term, instead ran for governor.


2002 Vermont elections, Treasurer, Republican primary
John V. Labarge, Member of the Vermont House of Representatives (1993-2003), ran unopposed in the Republican primary.


2002 Vermont elections, Treasurer, Liberty Union nomination
Jerry Levy, Liberty Union nominee for U.S. Senate in 2000, 1998, 1994, 1992, 1988, 1986, and 1982, Vermont Secretary of State in 1984, and auditor in 1980, ran unopposed for the Liberty Union State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Treasurer, Grassroots nomination
Claude Bouchard, Republican candidate for State Representative from Franklin-3 in the 2002 primary, ran unopposed for the Grassroots State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Attorney General
Incumbent Attorney General William H. Sorrell (since 1997) ran again for a fourth term.


2002 Vermont elections, Attorney General, Republican primary
Larry Drown, Republican nominee for Secretary of State in 2000, Democratic nominee for State Representative from Washington-1 in 1998, and Reform Party nominee for State Senator from Washington County in 1996, ran unopposed in the Republican primary.


2002 Vermont elections, Attorney General, Liberty Union nomination
After losing the Progressive primary, Boots Wardinski ran unopposed for the Liberty Union State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Attorney General, Libertarian nomination
Christopher Costanzo, Libertarian nominee for State Senator in 2000, for Attorney General in 1998, and for Secretary of State in 1996, ran unopposed for the Libertarian State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Attorney General, Grassroots nomination
Mann Ward ran unopposed for the Grassroots State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Auditor of Accounts
Incumbent Democratic Auditor Elizabeth M. Ready (since 2001) ran again for a second term.


2002 Vermont elections, Auditor of Accounts, Republican primary
Bruce Hyde, former State Representative (1995-2001), ran unopposed in the Republican primary.


2002 Vermont elections, Auditor of Accounts, Liberty Union nomination
Murray Ngoima, Liberty Union nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1996 and for Treasurer in 1994, 1992, and 1990, ran unopposed for the Liberty Union State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Auditor of Accounts, Libertarian nomination
Dennis Lane, Libertarian nominee for Secretary of State in 1998, and Grassroots nominee for Governor in 1996 and 1994, ran unopposed for the Libertarian State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont elections, Auditor of Accounts, Grassroots nomination
Lynn Appleby ran unopposed for the Grassroots State Committee's nomination.


2002 Vermont gubernatorial election
The 2002 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democratic Governor Howard Dean did not run for re-election to a sixth full term as Governor of Vermont. Republican Jim Douglas defeated Democratic candidate Doug Racine and independent candidate Cornelius Hogan, among others, to succeed him. Since no candidate received a majority in the popular vote, Douglas was elected by the Vermont General Assembly per the state constitution.


2002 Vermont gubernatorial election, General election, Results
The race was very close, with Douglas prevailing by just under 6,000 votes or 2.56%. In Vermont for statewide/executive races if no candidate receives 50% then the Vermont General Assembly picks the winner. However, Racine declined to contest it further and conceded to Douglas. Ultimately it was Douglas's strong performance in Montpelier and Rutland that carried him to victory. Racine did do well in populous Burlington and greater Chittenden County, but it ultimately did not suffice. Racine called Douglas at 12:38 P.M. EST and conceded defeat. Douglas would go on to be reelected three more times. Racine would run for Governor one last time in 2010, but narrowly lost the Democratic Primary to Peter Shumlin. After the close contest, Shumlin chose Racine to be his Secretary of Human Servies. Racine stepped down from that post in 2014.


2002 Victorian state election
The 2002 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 30 November 2002, was for the 55th Parliament of Victoria. It was held to elect the 88 members of Victorian Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-member Legislative Council.


2002 Victorian state election
The Labor government led by Premier Steve Bracks was returned for a second term with a landslide, taking 62 seats, a gain of 20. It was easily the biggest majority that Labor had ever won in Victoria, and one of Labor's best-ever performances at the state level in Australia. Additionally, it was only the third time that a Labor government had been reelected in Victoria. Labor also recorded 57.8 percent of the two-party preferred vote, their highest on record for a Victorian election.


2002 Victorian state election
Jeff Kennett had resigned as Liberal leader soon after his shock defeat in 1999, and was succeeded by former Health Minister Denis Napthine. However, Napthine was unable to get the better of Bracks, and was ousted in August 2002 by Shadow Health Minister Robert Doyle. With just a few months before the writs were dropped, Doyle was unable to recover any significant ground. The Liberals saw their seat more than halved, to 17 seats — their worst result since the 1952 election. Labor also won a majority of seats in the Legislative Council for the first time in its history and secured the largest majority government in Victorian history. The Nationals (who after breaking off their Coalition with the Liberals renamed themselves the 'VicNats') retained the seven seats they held from 1999.


2002 Victorian state election
Labor was assisted by a strong economy and by the popularity of Steve Bracks, while the Liberal Party was badly divided between the Kroger and Kennett factions. The Liberal campaign was also damaged by the revelation that the shadow treasurer, Robert Dean, was ineligible to run. Dean's electorate of Berwick had been abolished and merged into the new electorate of Gembrook. Dean won Liberal preselection for Gembrook, but failed to update his address after moving to his new electorate. As a result, he was no longer on the electoral roll; Victorian law requires candidates to be registered voters. Treasurer John Brumby loudly wondered if the Liberals could be trusted to manage Victoria's economy if their shadow treasurer could not manage his own affairs.


2002 Victorian state election
This was the last Victorian election where the Legislative Council was elected using preferential voting in single-member districts (while each province has two members, they were elected at alternate elections). The Constitution (Parliamentary Reform) Act 2003 abolished the electoral provinces and divided Victoria into eight regions each electing five members using proportional representation, with all seats being vacated each election.


2002 Victorian state election, Results, Legislative Assembly
Victorian state election, 30 November 2002Legislative Assembly << 1999–2006 >>


2002 Victorian state election, Results, Legislative Council
The following voting statistics exclude the two mid-term by-elections held on the same day, at which one seat each was retained by the Liberal and National parties.


2002 Victorian state election, Results, Legislative Council
Victorian state election, 30 November 2002Legislative Council << 1999–2006 >>


2002 Vietnamese legislative election
Parliamentary elections were held in Vietnam on 19 May 2002. A total of 759 candidates, including 125 independents, contested the election. The Vietnamese Fatherland Front was the only organisation to nominate candidates, with 634 coming from the Communist Party of Vietnam and 125 being non-party members. The Communist Party won 447 of the 498 seats. Voter turnout was reported to be 99%.


2002 Villanova Wildcats football team
The 2002 Villanova Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the Villanova University in the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their 18th season under head coach Andy Talley, the Wildcats compiled an 11–4 record (7–1 against conference opponents), outscored opponents by a total of 448 to 278, and was ranked No. 4 in  The Sports Network I-AA Poll. The team advanced to the Division I-A playoffs, defeating Furman in the first round and Fordham in the quarterfinals, before losing to McNeese State in the semifinals. The Wildcats played their home games at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pennsylvania.


2002 Virginia Cavaliers football team
The 2002 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Al Groh. They played their home games at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.


2002 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
The 2002 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented the Virginia Tech in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer.


2002 Virginia ballot measures
The 2002 Virginia State Elections took place on Election Day, November 5, 2002, the same day as the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House elections in the state. The only statewide elections on the ballot were two constitutional referendums  to amend the Virginia State Constitution and two government bond referendums. Because Virginia state elections are held on off-years, no statewide officers or state legislative elections were held. All referendums were referred to the voters by the Virginia General Assembly.


2002 Virginia ballot measures, Question 1
The Judicial Power and Jurisdiction Act spells out in detail when and how a convicted felon may petition the Virginia Supreme Court (and thus bypass lower courts) to issue a writ of actual innocence. The petition must claim that the petitioner is actually innocent of the crime for which he or she was convicted, set out an exact description of the human biological or DNA evidence and testing supporting his or her innocence, and explain that the evidence was not available when the petitioner was convicted. The Supreme Court may dismiss or grant the petition and may overturn or modify the conviction after it considers the petition and the Commonwealth's response, the previous records of the case, and other evidence it may require.


2002 Virginia ballot measures, Question 2
The proposed amendment authorizes local governments in the state to create a tax exemption for certain properties by an ordinance and eliminates the need for action by the General Assembly. The amendment provides that the local governing body may adopt an ordinance to exempt property "used by its owner for religious, charitable, patriotic, historical, benevolent, cultural, or public park and playground purposes." The General Assembly continues to have authority to enact laws setting out restrictions and conditions on these tax exemptions.


2002 Virginia ballot measures, Bond Question 1
The Educational Facilities Act allows the Commonwealth to sell a maximum of $900,488,645 dollars in bonds for the purpose of raising funds to pay for capital projects at state-supported colleges, universities, museums and other educational facilities.


2002 Virginia ballot measures, Bond Question 2
The Parks and Recreational Facilities Act allows the Commonwealth to sell a maximum of $119,040,000 dollars in bonds for the purpose of raising funds to pay for capital projects at state-supported parks and recreational facilities.


2002 Vitim event
The 2002 Vitim event or Bodaybo event is believed to be an impact by a bolide (fireball) in the Vitim River basin. It occurred near the town of Bodaybo in the Mamsko-Chuisky district of Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia, Russia on September 25, 2002 at approximately 22:00 (local time, UTC/GMT +9 hours: ISO 8601 format 2002-09-25T13:00Z). The event was detected by a US military missile-defense satellite.


2002 Vitim event, Analysis
Attempts were made to define the magnitude of the explosion. U.S. military analysts calculated it was around 0.86 terajoules (0.21 kilotonnes of TNT). Peter Brown estimates the total yield of both Bodiabo and Tagish Lake at about 2 kilotons—a factor of roughly 10,000 less than the Tunguska event. Russian physicist Andrey Olkhovatov estimates it at 4–5 kilotons.


2002 Vitim event, Analysis
Information about the event appeared in the mass media and among scientists after only a week. A small expedition, sent by the Institute of Sun–Earth Physics (Irkutsk), tried to find a meteorite within about 10 km from Bodaybo town (people told them– "it has fallen beyond the nearest mountain").


2002 Vitim event, Expeditions
Official expeditions in 2002–2003 never reached the impact site, situated in remote Siberian taiga.


2002 Vitim event, Kosmopoisk expedition
As reported by the ufology organization Kosmopoisk, in May 2003 an expedition, performed by Kosmopoisk (leader — Vadim Chernobrov) reached a presumed impact point (about 50 km from Vitimsky settle point). The situation there looked similar to that of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River after the Tunguska event in 1908. Snow and water samples were analyzed and found to contain an abnormal amount of tritium, as well as radioactive isotopes of cobalt and caesium. Chernobrov suggested that the Vitim event could be caused by a low density comet nucleus with a diameter of about 30–100 meters.


2002 Vodacom Cup
The 2002 Vodacom Cup was the 5th edition of this annual domestic cup competition. The Vodacom Cup is played between provincial rugby union teams in South Africa from the Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions.


2002 Vodacom Cup, Competition
There were 14 teams participating in the 2002 Vodacom Cup. These teams were divided into two sections of equal strength; Section X and Section Y, both with seven teams. Teams would play all the other teams in their section once over the course of the season, either at home or away.


2002 Vodacom Cup, Competition
Teams received four points for a win and two points for a draw. Bonus points were awarded to teams that score four or more tries in a game, as well as to teams losing a match by seven points or less. Teams were ranked by points, then points difference (points scored less points conceded).


2002 Vodacom Cup, Competition
The top four teams in each section qualified for the Vodacom Top Eight competition, while the bottom three teams in Sections X and Y qualified for the Vodacom Shield competition. For both the Vodacom Top Eight and Vodacom Shield competitions, all points already scored against teams that progressed to the same competition were carried forward. Teams then played once against the teams that qualified from the other section, with the top four teams in each competition advancing to the quarter-finals.


2002 Vodacom Cup, Competition
In the quarter finals, the teams that finished first in each competition had home advantage against the teams that finished fourth and the teams that finished second in each competition had home advantage against the teams that finished third. The winners of these quarter finals then played each other in the semi-finals, with the higher placed team having home advantage. The two semi-final winners then met in the final for each competition.


2002 Vodacom Cup, Competition
The top six teams in the Vodacom Top Eight competition and the top team in the Vodacom Shield competition qualified for the 2003 Vodacom Cup, while the bottom two teams in the Vodacom Top Eight competition and remaining five teams in the Vodacom Shield competition qualified for the lesser 2003 Vodacom Shield competition.


2002 Vodacom Cup, Teams, Team Listing
The following teams took part in the 2002 Vodacom Cup competition:


2002 Volta a Catalunya
The 2002 Volta a Catalunya was the 82nd edition of the Volta a Catalunya cycle race and was held from 17 June to 23 June 2002. The race started in Sant Jaume d'Enveja and finished in Barcelona. The race was won by Roberto Heras of the U.S. Postal Service team.


2002 Volta a Catalunya, Teams
Sixteen teams of up to eight riders started the race:


2002 Volta a Portugal
The 64th Volta a Portugal/PT Comunicações was a men's road bicycle race held from 2 August to 15 August 2002. The race, rated as a 2.2 event, started with a team time trial in Maia and finished in Sintra.


2002 Volta a Portugal
Møller (3rd) going into the final-stage time trial had to overcome a 48-second lead held by teammate Horrach to win the overall classification and, alongside Rui Sousa, complete an all Milaneza–MSS podium.


2002 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
The 2002 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana was the 60th edition of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana road cycling stage race, which was held from 26 February to 2 March 2002. The race started in Calpe and finished in Valencia. The race was won by Alex Zülle of Team Coast.


2002 Volvo PGA Championship
The 2002 Volvo PGA Championship was the 48th edition of the Volvo PGA Championship, an annual professional golf tournament on the European Tour. It was held 23–26 May at the West Course of Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England, a suburb southwest of London.


2002 Volvo PGA Championship
Anders Hansen won by five strokes over Colin Montgomerie and Eduardo Romero to claim his first Volvo PGA Championship.


2002 Volvo Women's Open
The 2002 Volvo Women's Open was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Pattaya, Thailand. It was part of Tier V of the 2002 WTA Tour. It was the 12th edition of the tournament and was held from 4 November through 10 November 2002. Unseeded Angelique Widjaja won the singles title and earned $16,000 first-prize money.


2002 Volvo Women's Open, Finals, Doubles
Kelly Liggan /  Renata Voráčová defeated  Lina Krasnoroutskaya /  Tatiana Panova, 7–5, 7–6(9–7)


2002 Voyageurs Cup
The 2002 Voyageurs Cup was the inaugural Voyageurs Cup tournament which was started by the Canadian supporters group The Voyageurs. The 2002 Edition of the tournament saw four participating teams: Calgary Storm, Montreal Impact, Toronto Lynx and Vancouver Whitecaps.


2002 Voyageurs Cup
The 2002 competition was dominated by the Toronto Lynx and Montreal Impact. Calgary was not competitive in the competition, and Vancouver lost two close games in July to Toronto and Montreal putting them too far behind the two frontrunners. Toronto led the competition with thirteen of a possible fifteen points after five of their six games. In Toronto's last game at home against Montreal Impact, they only need a draw to win the first Voyageurs Cup. Montreal, however, jumped out to an early 0–2 lead after seven minutes and held on for the win. Montreal Impact won their last three games of the competition, including 1–2 over Toronto, to overcome Toronto's lead and win the augural competition.


2002 Voyageurs Cup, Format
Each team played two matches (home and away) against each other team. All of these matches are drawn from the USL A-league's 2002 regular season; the final match played between each pair of teams in each city is counted as a Voyageurs Cup 2002 match. In each match, 3 points are awarded for wins (even if it comes in extra time), 1 point is awarded for a draw, and 0 points are awarded for losses (even if it comes in extra time). There are no bonus points awarded as there are in the A-league.


2002 Voyageurs Cup, Format
In 2002 the A-League points system was 4 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss + 1 bonus point when scoring three or more goals in a game. The four teams are ranked according to the total number of points obtained in all Voyageurs Cup 2002 matches.


2002 Voyageurs Cup, Format
The team ranked highest after all matches have been played is the champion, and will be awarded the Voyageurs Cup.


2002 Voyageurs Cup, Format, Tiebreakers
If two or more teams are tied on points then they are ranked relative to each other by applying the following tiebreakers:


2002 Vuelta Ciclista de Chile
The 25th edition of the Vuelta Ciclista de Chile was held from March 12 to March 24, 2002.


2002 Vuelta a Andalucía
The 2002 Vuelta a Andalucía was the 48th edition of the Vuelta a Andalucía (Ruta del Sol) cycle race and was held on 17 February to 21 February 2002. The race started in Huelva and finished in Granada. The race was won by Antonio Colom.


2002 Vuelta a Asturias
The 2002 Vuelta a Asturias was the 46th edition of the Vuelta a Asturias road cycling stage race, which was held from 15 May to 19 May 2002. The race started and finished in Oviedo. The race was won by Leonardo Piepoli of the iBanesto.com team.


2002 Vuelta a Burgos
The 2002 Vuelta a Burgos was the 24th edition of the Vuelta a Burgos road cycling stage race, which was held from 12 August to 16 August 2002. The race started and finished in Burgos. The race was won by Francisco Mancebo of the iBanesto.com team.


2002 Vuelta a Castilla y León
The 2002 Vuelta a Castilla y León was the 17th edition of the Vuelta a Castilla y León cycle race and was held on 2 May to 6 May 2002. The race started in Ávila and finished in Benavente. The race was won by Juan Miguel Mercado.


2002 Vuelta a Colombia
The 52nd edition of the Vuelta a Colombia was held from June 30 to July 14, 2002.


2002 Vuelta a España
The 57th Edition Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 7 September to 29 September 2002. It consisted of 21 stages covering a total of 2,957 km (1,837 mi), and was won by Aitor González of the Kelme-Costa Blanca cycling team.


2002 Vuelta a España
Joseba Beloki, the second-place finisher of the 2002 Tour de France was part of the winning ONCE-Eroski team that won the opening team time trial of the race. Beloki held the lead until the fifth stage when he lost it to a teammate but on the sixth stage which was won by Roberto Heras. Beloki lost considerable time to other general classification contenders Óscar Sevilla, Aitor González and Heras. Sevilla took the leader's jersey which he had worn for much of the previous edition of the Vuelta.


2002 Vuelta a España
After the first individual time trial, his teammate Aitor González was within one second of the jersey. On stage 15, González increased the pace of the group and put Sevilla in difficulty. Heras profited from this and attacked to take the stage win and the lead. Heras kept the lead until the final day when there was an individual time trial. Heras started the day with a lead of one minute and eight seconds over González but he lost this in the first 25 km of the time trial. González took the lead and won the Vuelta, Heras came second and Beloki recovered to eventually finish third overall. The Vuelta was also marked by three stage wins of Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini who retired from the race after his third stage win to prepare for the World Championships.


2002 Vuelta a España
During stage 15 riders climbed the Alto de l'Angliru in rain. Team cars stalled on the steepest part, some unable to restart because their tires slipped on messages painted by fans. Riders were caught behind them and others had to ride with flat tires because mechanics could not reach them. David Millar crashed three times and protested by handing in his race number a metre from the line. The judges ruled he had not finished the stage and he left the race. He regretted his temper - he had been ninth - and apologised to his team.


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11
The 2002 Vuelta a España was the 57th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Vuelta began in Valencia, with a team time trial on 7 September, and Stage 11 occurred on 18 September with a stage to Collado Villalba. The race finished in Madrid on 29 September.


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
7 September 2002 — Valencia , 24.6 km (15.3 mi) (TTT)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
8 September 2002 — Valencia to Alcoy, 144.7 km (89.9 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
9 September 2002 — San Vicente del Raspeig to Murcia, 134.2 km (83.4 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
10 September 2002 — Águilas to Roquetas de Mar, 149.5 km (92.9 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
11 September 2002 — El Ejido to Sierra Nevada, 198 km (123 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
12 September 2002 — Granada to Sierra de la Pandera, 153.1 km (95.1 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
13 September 2002 — Jaén to Málaga, 196.8 km (122.3 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
14 September 2002 — Málaga to Ubrique, 173.6 km (107.9 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
15 September 2002 — Córdoba to Córdoba, 130.2 km (80.9 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
16 September 2002 — Córdoba to Córdoba, 36.5 km (22.7 mi), (ITT)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
18 September 2002 — Alcobendas to Collado Villalba, 166.1 km (103.2 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
The 2002 Vuelta a España was the 57th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Vuelta began in Valencia, with a team time trial on 7 September, and Stage 12 occurred on 19 September with a stage from Segovia. The race finished in Madrid on 29 September.


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
19 September 2002 — Segovia to Burgos, 210.5 km (130.8 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
20 September 2002 — Burgos to Santander, 189.8 km (117.9 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
21 September 2002 — Santander to Gijón, 190.2 km (118.2 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
22 September 2002 — Gijón to Alto de l'Angliru, 176.7 km (109.8 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
24 September 2002 — Avilés to León, 154.7 km (96.1 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
25 September 2002 — Benavente to Salamanca, 146.6 km (91.1 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
26 September 2002 — Salamanca to La Covatilla, 193.7 km (120.4 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
27 September 2002 — Béjar to Avila, 177.8 km (110.5 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
28 September 2002 — Avila to Warner Bros. Park, 141.2 km (87.7 mi)


2002 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
29 September 2002 — Warner Bros. Park to Madrid (Santiago Bernabéu Stadium), 41.2 km (25.6 mi) (ITT)


2002 Vuelta a Murcia
The 2002 Vuelta a Murcia was the 18th professional edition of the Vuelta a Murcia cycle race and was held on 6 March to 10 March 2002. The race started and finished in Murcia. The race was won by Víctor Hugo Peña.


2002 Vuelta a Venezuela
The 39th edition of the annual Vuelta a Venezuela was held from September 3 to September 15, 2002. The stage race started in Puerto Ordaz, and ended in Barquisimeto. There were a total number of 134 competitors, with 69 cyclists actually finishing the stage race.


2002 WABA Champions Cup
The WABA Champions Cup 2002 was the 5th staging of the WABA Champions Cup, the basketball club tournament of West Asia Basketball Association. The tournament was held in Beirut, Lebanon between March 8 and March 10. The winner qualify for the 2002 ABC Champions Cup.


2002 WABA Champions Cup
Sagesse from Lebanon won the tournament by a 3–0 record and advanced to the final round in Kuala Lumpur.


2002 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2002 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament was held in the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The winners of the tournament were the #1 seeded Hawaii Warriors.


2002 WAFF Championship
The 2002 West Asian Football Federation Championship took part in Syrian Capital of Damascus. Iraq won the final against Jordan 3–2 after extra time coming back from 0–2 at half time. The 6 entrants were Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and host nation Syria. The draw was held on 13 August in Kuala Lumpur.


2002 WAFF Championship, Statistics, Goalscorers
There have been 22 goals scored in 10 matches, for an average of 2.2 goals per match.


2002 WAFF Championship squads
The 2002 WAFF Championship is an international football tournament held in Syria from 30 August to 7 September 2002. The six national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 23 players, including three goalkeepers. Only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.


2002 WAFL season
The 2002 WAFL season was the 118th season of the West Australian Football League. It saw East Perth, despite the end of the first host club scheme that was thought to have unfairly favoured the Royals, win their third successive premiership for the first hat-trick in the WA(N)FL since Swan Districts between 1982 and 1984. The Swans themselves had a disastrous season as chronic financial troubles, which had plagued the club for almost a decade were combined with disastrous results on the field. The black and whites were within two points of a winless season in the seniors and did little better in the lower grades.


2002 WAFL season
Cinderella club Peel Thunder, despite going within two minutes of the first goalless score in senior WAFL football for over eighty-six years and being voted out of the competition by seven of the other eight clubs at a meeting to extend their licence on 6 May, achieved their best overall record to date and their first tangible honours as diminutive on-baller Allistair Pickett won the Sandover Medal. The Thunder, remarkably, provided in Daniel Wells the joint runner-up in the Medal as well as the winner.


2002 WAFL season
The loss of these players, and of financial support given to prevent Peel from folding, was to see the Thunder after three years of relatively promising on-field form including wins against three finalists in 2002 again hit rock-bottom the following season.


2002 WAFL season
The league’s most famous club, East Fremantle, aided by two lower grade premierships from 2001, rebounded from their disastrous senior record that season to make the finals aided by the only ruck division able to rival the Royals, but this was to be their last finals appearance for the decade as the Sharks reached depths not experienced at any point during the twentieth century over the subsequent four seasons, winning a mere nineteen of eighty matches.


2002 WAFL season
Even apart from Peel’s near-goalless score, 2002 was notable for low scoring, with the high score of 22.13 (145) the lowest in the WAFL since 1927, and the average of 80.83 points the lowest since 1954, in an era when Perth received rainfall much greater than under present-day greenhouse gas concentrations.


2002 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 2
Subiaco’s acquisition of David Sierakowski, David Haynes and Josh Wooden due to the end of the host club scheme helps it come back from five goals down to beat the two-time premiers.


2002 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 7
Swan Districts win their only game after a fifty-metre penalty to Craig de Corsey for an off-the ball incident not seen by the crowd gives them an easy goal.


2002 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 10 (Foundation Day)
Swan Districts kick their lowest score against Subiaco, beating out 4.10 (34) from 1964.


2002 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 13
Swans hit the front late in the third quarter, but waste opportunities before East Fremantle kick 8.5 (53) to nothing in the last.


2002 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 15
Peel went within two minutes of becoming the first senior WAFL team to score no goals in a match since West Perth did so against soon-defunct Midland Junction in the opening round of 1916. Brandon Hill kicked the Thunder’s only goal from a long shot 23 minutes into the last quarter.


2002 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 16
Big Shark ruckmen Aaron Sandilands and Simon Eastaugh give East Fremantle a win that essentially ends Perth’s finals hopes, despite a second-half fadeout that sees them kick only 4.2 (26) to 10.11 (71).


2002 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 17
After an appalling first half in fine weather, East Fremantle kick 5.5 (35) to 2.3 (15) into the breeze to move to second and end a second team’s finals hopes.


2002 WAFL season, Home-and-away season, Round 18
Claremont record the third lowest aggregate score in their history and the lowest since 1966.


2002 WAFL season, Finals, First semi-final
Two goals each to Todd Curley and Corey Johnson snatch the game after the Falcons were nineteen points down entering time-on in the last quarter.


2002 WAFL season, Finals, Preliminary final
The switch of Adam Curley into attack proved decisive for the Falcons who overpowered Subiaco in the last quarter.


2002 WAFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Tony Micale wins his fourth premiership in five years (he won with East Fremantle in 1998) as West Perth are strangled completely up forward before rain affects the second half and the Royals coast.


2002 WAFU Nations Cup
The 2002 WAFU Nations Cup was supposed to be the first edition of the tournament, held in the Ivory Coast, but was postponed multiple times for various reasons before eventually being cancelled due to the outbreak of a civil war in the country.


2002 WAFU Nations Cup, Overview
The tournament featured players from local leagues only. The qualifying phase was completed from 7 April to 7 July 2001. The final phase was originally scheduled to be played in Dakar, Senegal, from 28 September to 7 October 2001. The beginning of the tournament was first postponed to October, however, after the Confederation of African Football had refused to give approval of the initial date due to claims it was being played too close to the start of the 2002 African Cup of Nations (set to kick off on 19 January 2002). After WAFU argued that their tournament was for home-based players only, approval was obtained, and the tournament then moved to Abidjan, to be held in October 2001. It was then postponed again because the main sponsors, TV Africa, pulled out.


2002 WAFU Nations Cup, Overview
The tournament was finally arranged for 18 to 29 September 2002, to be held in Ivorian cities Abidjan and Bouaké, with the latter venue being added at the last moment. Unfortunately, one day into the tournament on 19 September, the First Ivorian Civil War broke out, leading to an indefinite postponement of the competition with the teams stranded in the country. The teams lodged in Bouaké were trapped there for over a week before being able to leave. Following this, the tournament would eventually be cancelled.


2002 WAFU Nations Cup, Overview
Eight years later, the first successful WAFU Nations Cup would finally be played in Nigeria.


2002 WAFU Nations Cup, Cancelled matches
Eight teams were planned to participate in the final tournament. The groups were:


2002 WAFU Nations Cup, Cancelled matches
Only two matches in the tournament were played, both on 18 September 2002: Senegal 1–0 Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast 5–0 Gambia. All further matches were cancelled due to the civil war.


2002 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2002 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the 43rd conference playoff in league history and 49th season where a WCHA champion was crowned. The 2002 tournament was played between March 8 and March 16, 2002 at five conference arenas and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, the home of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. By winning the tournament, Denver was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament.


2002 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The first round of the postseason tournament featured a best-of-three games format. All ten conference schools participated in the tournament with teams seeded No. 1 through No. 10 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top five seeded teams each earned home ice and hosted one of the lower seeded teams.


2002 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The winners of the first round series advanced to the Xcel Energy Center for the WCHA Final Five, the collective name for the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. The Final Five uses a single-elimination format. Teams were re-seeded No. 1 through No. 5 according to the final regular season conference standings, with the top three teams automatically advancing to the semifinals.


2002 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2002 WDF Europe Cup
The 2002 WDF Europe Cup was the 13th edition of the WDF Europe Cup darts tournament, organised by the World Darts Federation. It was held in Mechelen, Belgium from 17 Oct-19 Oct.


2002 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
The 2002 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship was a golf tournament that was played from February 20–24, 2002 at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. It was the fourth WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the first of four World Golf Championships events held in 2002.


2002 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
Kevin Sutherland won his first and only World Golf Championships event by defeating Scott McCarron 1 up in the 36 hole final. It was also the only PGA Tour win for Sutherland.


2002 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Brackets
The Championship was a single elimination match play event. The field consisted of the top 64 players available from the Official World Golf Rankings, seeded according to the rankings. José Cóceres (ranked 23) withdrew  because he was recovering from a broken arm and Thomas Bjørn (ranked 24) withdrew to rest an injured shoulder. They were replaced by John Cook (ranked 65) and Peter O'Malley (ranked 66).


2002 WGC-American Express Championship
The 2002 WGC-American Express Championship was a golf tournament that was contested from 19–22 September at Mount Juliet Golf Course in Thomastown, Kilkenny, Ireland. It was the third WGC-American Express Championship tournament, following the cancellation of the 2001 edition in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and the third of four World Golf Championships events in 2002.


2002 WGC-American Express Championship
World number 1 Tiger Woods won the tournament, to capture his second WGC-American Express Championship and his fifth World Golf Championship. He set the tournament record for score to-par at 25 under. Woods also went the first 71 holes of the tournament without making a bogey, only bogeying the 18th hole in the final round.


2002 WGC-American Express Championship, Field
Robert Allenby (2), Stuart Appleby, Paul Azinger, Rich Beem (2), Thomas Bjørn (3), Ángel Cabrera (3), Mark Calcavecchia, Michael Campbell (3), Darren Clarke, José Cóceres, John Cook, Chris DiMarco (2), David Duval, Ernie Els (2,3), Bob Estes (2), Niclas Fasth (3), Brad Faxon (2), Fred Funk (2), Jim Furyk (2), Sergio García (2,3), Retief Goosen (2,3,5), Pádraig Harrington (3), Scott Hoch, Jerry Kelly (2), Bernhard Langer, Paul Lawrie (3), Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard (2), Peter Lonard, Davis Love III (2), Steve Lowery (2), Shigeki Maruyama (2), Len Mattiace (2), Scott McCarron (2), Rocco Mediate (2), Phil Mickelson (2), Colin Montgomerie (3), Craig Parry (4), Kenny Perry (2), Nick Price (2), Chris Riley (2), Eduardo Romero (3), Justin Rose (3,5), Adam Scott (3), Vijay Singh (2), David Toms (2), Scott Verplank, Mike Weir, Tiger Woods (2)


2002 WGC-American Express Championship, Field
Gary Evans, Anders Hansen, Søren Hansen, Trevor Immelman, Stephen Leaney, Carl Pettersson


2002 WGC-NEC Invitational
The 2002 WGC-NEC Invitational was a professional golf tournament, held August 22–25 at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington. It was the fourth WGC-NEC Invitational tournament, and the second of four World Golf Championships events held in 2002. It was the only time the event was not held at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Sahalee hosted the PGA Championship four years earlier in 1998.


2002 WGC-NEC Invitational
Craig Parry won the tournament, four strokes ahead of runners-up Robert Allenby and Fred Funk, for his first victory on the PGA Tour. It was Parry's only win in a World Golf Championship event, and the first WGC-NEC Invitational which Tiger Woods did not win; his winning streak was stopped at three as he finished in fourth, five strokes back. Rich Beem, winner of the PGA Championship the previous week, finished in a tie for sixth.


2002 WGC-NEC Invitational
With the win, Parry moved to 45th in the Official World Golf Ranking, up 73 spots from the previous week.


2002 WGC-NEC Invitational, Field
Rich Beem (4), Ángel Cabrera (4), José Cóceres (4), John Cook (4), Chris DiMarco (4), Bob Estes (4), Brad Faxon, Fred Funk, Toshimitsu Izawa, Jerry Kelly (4), Justin Leonard (4), Peter Lonard, Steve Lowery, Len Mattiace (4), Scott McCarron, Rocco Mediate (4), José María Olazábal (4), Kenny Perry, Eduardo Romero (4), Justin Rose (4), Kevin Sutherland (4)


2002 WGC-NEC Invitational, Field
K. J. Choi, John Daly, Tobias Dier, Joel Edwards, Matt Gogel, Ricardo González, Anders Hansen, Søren Hansen, Matt Kuchar, Paul Lawrie, Graeme McDowell, Craig Parry, Craig Perks, Chris Smith


2002 WGC-World Cup
The 2002 WGC-World Cup took place 12–15 December at the Vista Vallarta Club de Golf, Nicklaus Course in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was the 48th World Cup and the third as a World Golf Championship event. 24 countries competed and each country sent two players. The prize money totaled $3,000,000 with $1,000,000 going to the winning pair. The Japanese team of Toshimitsu Izawa and Shigeki Maruyama won. They won by two strokes stroke over the American team of Phil Mickelson and David Toms.


2002 WGC-World Cup, Qualification and format
18 teams qualified based on the Official World Golf Ranking and were joined by host country, Mexico, and five teams via qualifiers in Malaysia and Mexico.


2002 WGC-World Cup, Qualification and format
The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team event with each team consisting of two players. The first and third days were fourball play and the second and final days were foursomes play.


2002 WNBA All-Star Game
The 2002 WNBA All-Star Game was played on July 15, 2002 at MCI Center in Washington, D.C. This was the 4th annual WNBA All-Star Game.


2002 WNBA All-Star Game, The All-Star Game, Coaches
The coach for the Western Conference was Los Angeles Sparks coach Michael Cooper. The coach for the Eastern Conference was Charlotte Sting coach Anne Donovan.


2002 WNBA Finals
The 2002 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2002 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Los Angeles Sparks, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Los Angeles' second title.


2002 WNBA Finals
As of 2020, this is the last time a WNBA franchise has won back to back championships. Coincidentally 2 months before the finals, the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA would win their 14th title by sweeping a New York Metro team, the New Jersey Nets 4-0.


2002 WNBA Finals
The Liberty made their fourth appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sparks made their second straight Finals appearance.


2002 WNBA Finals
The Sparks went into the series as defending champions. 2002 marked their second WNBA championship. (The Houston Comets hold the record with four championships won.)


2002 WNBA Finals
The Sparks had a 25–7 record (.781), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Liberty (18–14).


2002 WNBA Finals
To date, this is the last time the New York Liberty have reached the WNBA Finals.


2002 WNBA Finals, Game summaries, Game 2
Nikki Teasley hit a series-winning three pointer with 2.1 seconds left. Teresa Weatherspoon tried to repeat history by trying to make a halfcourt heave at the buzzer, but the shot was blocked, and the Sparks won their second consecutive title.


2002 WNBA Playoffs
The 2002 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2002 season which ended with the  Western Conference champion and defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks beating the Eastern Conference champion New York Liberty, 2-0. Lisa Leslie was named the MVP of the Finals.


2002 WNBA draft
The 2002 WNBA draft was the first to implement a lottery that arranges the order of the first four overall picks. The lottery gave four teams with the identically worst record of 10–22 from the 2001 season an equal chance to own the first overall selection, which the Seattle Storm did.


2002 WNBA draft
Four of the top six draft picks, Sue Bird (#1), Swin Cash (#2), Asjha Jones (#4) and Tamika (Williams) Raymond (#6) were from the same team, the 2002 NCAA champion University of Connecticut.


2002 WNBA draft, UConn Fab Four
Connecticut Huskies players Tamika Williams, Sue Bird, Asjha Jones and Swin Cash were all selected in the first round of the draft. Each player had immediate impacts with their 2002 WNBA Teams. Cash, Bird and Williams accounted for 21.3, 19.9 and 17.3 percent, respectively, of their teams’ total points, rebounds and assists. Jones, a reserve, posted 8.8 percent of the Mystics' total output in those three key categories.


2002 WNBA season
The 2002 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's sixth season. The season ended with the Los Angeles Sparks winning their second WNBA championship.


2002 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The WPA 9-Ball World Cup 2002 was the 13th edition of the WPA World Championship for 9-Ball Pool. It took place from July 18 to 24, 2002 in Cardiff, Wales.


2002 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The event was won by American Earl Strickland with a 17:15 victory in the final against Francisco Bustamante. Defending champion Mika Immonen was defeated in the round of 64 against Shannon Daulton.


2002 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Format
The 128 participating players were divided into 16 groups, in which they competed in round robin mode against each other. The top four players in each group qualified for the final round played in the knockout system.


2002 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Format, Prize money
The event's prize money stayed similar to that of the previous years, with winner Earl Strickland winning $65,000.


2002 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Preliminary round
The following 64 players dropped out in the group stage:


2002 WTA Brasil Open
The 2002 WTA Brasil Open was a WTA tennis tournament held in Bahia, Brazil from 9–14 September 2002, organised for women's professional tennis. It was a Tier 2 tournament and was part of the 2002 WTA Tour. The prize money was US$ 650,000.


2002 WTA Brasil Open
Russian Anastasia Myskina won the singles and Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suárez won the doubles title.


2002 WTA Brasil Open, Champions, Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual /  Paola Suárez defeated  Émilie Loit /  Rossana de los Ríos 6–4, 6–1


2002 WTA Brasil Open – Doubles
Amanda Coetzer and Lori McNeil were the defending champions, but none competed this year.


2002 WTA Brasil Open – Doubles
Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez won the title, defeating Émilie Loit and Rossana de los Ríos 6–4, 6–1 in the final. It was the 17th title for Ruano Pascual and the 25th title for Suárez in their respective careers. It was also the 7th title for the pair during this season.


2002 WTA Brasil Open – Singles
Monica Seles was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Eleni Daniilidou.


2002 WTA Brasil Open – Singles
Anastasia Myskina won in the final, beating Daniilidou 6–3, 0–6, 6–2.


2002 WTA Brasil Open – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2002 WTA German Open – Doubles
Els Callens and Meghann Shaughnessy were the defending champions, but chose to play on separate teams for this year. Callens played alongside Chanda Rubin and were eliminated in the quarterfinals, while Shaughnessy teamed up with Magdalena Maleeva and lost in the second round.


2002 WTA German Open – Doubles
Elena Dementieva and Janette Husárová won the title by defeating Daniela Hantuchová and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 0–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–2 in the final. It was the 1st title for Dementieva and the 11th title for Husárová in their respective doubles careers.


2002 WTA German Open – Doubles, Seeds
The first four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2002 WTA German Open – Singles
Amélie Mauresmo was the defending champion, but lost in Quarterfinals to Serena Williams.


2002 WTA German Open – Singles
Justine Henin won the title, defeating Serena Williams 6–2, 1–6, 7–6(7–5) in the final.


2002 WTA German Open – Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2002 WTA Tier I Series
The table below shows the 2002 WTA Tier I Series schedule.


2002 WTA Tour
The 2002 Sanex WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2002 tennis season. The WTA Tour calendar comprised the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)), the WTA Tier I-V Events, the Fed Cup (organized by the ITF) and the year-end championships.


2002 WTA Tour
New tournaments created for the 2002 season included the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium; a new green clay event, the Sarasota Clay Court Classic, in Sarasota, U.S.; and the Nordea Nordic Light Open held in Espoo, Finland. Another new tournament was created to be held in Aarhus, Denmark, but was later cancelled. Also, the French Community Championships moved cities from Knokke-Heist to Brussels, and the Kroger St. Jude Championship was moved from Oklahoma City, U.S. to a new location in Memphis.


2002 WTA Tour, Season summary
Serena Williams was the outright player of the year, ascending to No. 1 for the first time in July and holding it for the rest of that season. She missed the Australian Open due to injury, having won her second, third and fourth Grand Slam singles titles at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, beating her sister Venus in all three finals. This would lead to her non-calendar Grand Slam (dubbed the "Serena Slam") which she would complete at the Australian Open the following year. Her win-loss record for the year was 56–5. Venus also ascended to the No. 1 ranking in February, and finished the season at No. 2 . Jennifer Capriati defended her Australian Open title to win her third Grand Slam title, after the two she won in 2001.


2002 WTA Tour, Season summary
Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez were the doubles team of the year, and finished the season as the top 2 on the individual rankings. Their titles at the French Open and the U.S. Open represented their second and third Slam titles together. The Williams sisters won their fifth Grand Slam doubles title together at Wimbledon, and Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova won their second doubles title together at the Australian Open, with it being Hingis' 9th overall.


2002 WTA Tour, Season summary
Former No. 1 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario announced her retirement at the end of the season, although she returned in 2004 to play doubles tournaments.


2002 WTA Tour, Rankings
Below are the 2002 WTA year-end rankings in both singles and doubles competition:


2002 WTA Tour Championships
The 2002 WTA Tour Championships, also known by its sponsored name Home Depot Championships Presented by Porsche, was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States. It was the 32nd edition of the year-end singles championships, the 27th edition of the year-end doubles championships, and was part of the 2002 WTA Tour. The tournament was held between November 6 and November 11, 2002. Fifth-seeded Kim Clijsters won the singles event and earned $765,000 first-prize money as well as 485 ranking points. Total attendance for the event, held for the first time at the Staples Center, was 56,862.


2002 WTA Tour Championships
Amélie Mauresmo and Martina Hingis had qualified for the tournament but withdrew due to injuries.


2002 WTA Tour Championships, Finals, Doubles
Elena Dementieva /  Janette Husárová defeated  Cara Black /  Elena Likhovtseva, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3.


2002 WTA Tour Championships – Doubles
Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs were the defending champions, but lost in the semifinals.


2002 WTA Tour Championships – Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the final to Kim Clijsters.


2002 WUSA Draft
The 2002 WUSA College Draft took place on February 11, 2002. It was the second college draft held by Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) to assign the rights of college players to the WUSA teams.


2002 WUSA Founders Cup
The 2002 WUSA Founders Cup, also known as Founders Cup II, was the second championship match in Women's United Soccer Association history, played between the Carolina Courage and the Washington Freedom to decide the champion of the league's inaugural season. The game was played at  Herndon Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on August 24, 2002. The Carolina Courage defeated the Freedom 3–2.


2002 WUSA Founders Cup, Pre-match
Ticket prices for the final started at $15 and were also available at $30 and $45, with a discount for group purchases. The game was broadcast live to a national audience of over 90 million households via PAX TV in the United States and several other countries.


2002 WWF draft lottery
The 2002 World Wrestling Federation (WWF) draft lottery, the initial WWF draft, took place at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania, on March 25. The first half of the draft was televised live on TNN for two hours, as part of the WWF's program, Raw. The second half was conducted over the Internet on WWF's official website, WWF.com. There were thirty draft picks, with sixty wrestlers drafted overall by co-owners of the WWF, onto their respective brands, Raw and SmackDown!. The remaining wrestlers were divided randomly in a draft lottery, with each brand receiving a grand total of thirty wrestlers.


2002 WWF draft lottery, Background
On March 17, 2002, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Chairman Vince McMahon announced that the company would represent its business of professional wrestling through two distinct brands named after the WWF's weekly television programs, Raw and SmackDown!. This was a direct result of the acquisition of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), the WWF's primary rival corporations throughout the 1990s, that resulted in the addition of numerous talent to the extensive WWF roster.


2002 WWF draft lottery, Background
In terms of storyline, Ric Flair had become fifty percent owner of the WWF following Survivor Series 2001 after Shane and Stephanie had sold their stocks to him in order to purchase WCW and ECW, respectively, a campaign to launch The Invasion. Original full WWF owner Vince McMahon detested having to share his creation with Flair and sought to dissolve their partnership. Simultaneously, Flair was engaged in a feud with The Undertaker and wanted to conclude it with a bout at WrestleMania X8. However, the WWF Board of Directors would only allow the match if Flair returned full ownership back to McMahon. Flair agreed, but the Board stated that it would review the WWF's status and ownership following WrestleMania.


2002 WWF draft lottery, Background
In continuation with storyline, the Board's ultimate decision was to split the entire WWF roster into two separate entities, with McMahon in control of the SmackDown! brand and Flair in control of the Raw brand. All WWF wrestlers were to be assigned to a brand based on random selections conducted through a mock-draft lottery. On the March 25, 2002 episode of Raw, the WWF Draft was held, in which each owner received a total of thirty picks.


2002 WWF draft lottery, Selections
On the March 25, 2002, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon won a coin toss to determine who would receive the first draft selection.


2002 WWF draft lottery, Aftermath
The brand extension was officially enforced on April 1, 2002. Stone Cold Steve Austin was made exempt from the draft by Linda McMahon, but later opted to sign with Raw. A month later, the WWF was sued by the World Wildlife Fund over the WWF initialism. This resulted in the company being renamed from "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc." to simply "World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.", which caused all of the WWF's assets to be properly renamed and branded.


2002 WWF draft lottery, Aftermath
The Flair and McMahon feud came to an end on the edition of June 10, 2002 of Raw, when McMahon became the sole owner of WWE by defeating Flair in a No Holds Barred match. Following the situations with the brand extension and name change, by having two brands in place, the WWE was able to increase the number of live events held each year from 200 to 350, including tours in several new international markets. Even after the end of the first brand extension in 2011, WWE continued to have two touring live event shows. The brand extension returned in 2016.


2002 WWF draft lottery, Aftermath
After McMahon became the sole owner, the owner role was replaced by "General Managers". For Raw, he announced the new General Manager for Raw would be Eric Bischoff, and for SmackDown!, Stephanie McMahon. On the same night when he announced Stephanie as new General Manager, he also stated that a free agent period has started and any Superstar could sign with the other brand. This continued until the fall of 2002. On the September 23 edition of Raw, Bischoff announced that the roster was frozen and the only way for a wrestler to move was to ask for a trade.


2002 Wagner Seahawks football team
The 2002 Wagner Seahawks football team represented Wagner College in the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC). The Seahawks were led by 22nd-year head coach Walt Hameline and played their home games at Wagner College Stadium. Wagner finished the season 7–4 overall and 4–3 in NEC play to place third.


2002 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
The 2002 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team was an American football team that represented Wake Forest University during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Jim Grobe, the Demon Deacons compiled a 7–6 record and finished in a tie for seventh place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.


2002 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election
The 2002 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council in West Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party kept overall control of the council.


2002 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election, Campaign
Before the election the council had 55 Labour, 4 Conservative, 3 Independent and 1 Liberal Democrat members. Each of the Labour and Conservative parties stood candidates in all 21 wards, along with 11 Liberal Democrats and 15 other candidates from various parties. Labour were defending 20 seats in the election, with two seats being contested in Pontefract South due to the resignation of a councillor, while the other 2 seats were held by independents. One of the 2 independents who was defending his seat in Wakefield South was Norman Hazell, a former leader of the Conservatives in Wakefield, who had defected from the party in 2001.


2002 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election, Campaign
During the campaign an investigation was started by West Yorkshire Police after allegations of fraud in South Kirkby ward. Here over a quarter of the 900 postal vote applications had been found to be invalid.


2002 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election, Election result
The Labour party remained firmly in control of the council and were pleased with only losing 2 seats in the election. The Conservatives gained Wakefield Rural, while the Liberal Democrats took Ossett. Meanwhile, both independents held their seats, with Norman Hazell's defence of Wakefield South as an independent being seen as a surprise result. Overall turnout in the election was 23.5%.


2002 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa
The 2002 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa was a series of matches played in June 2002 in South Africa by Wales national rugby union team.


2002 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa, First test
In the first test, Wales led after the first twenty minutes, but two tries from Marius Joubert and Bob Skinstad gave the first advantage (15-11) for the victorious Springboks.


2002 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa, First test
South Africa: 15. Ricardo Loubscher, 14. Stefan Terblanche, 13. Marius Joubert, 12. André Snyman, 11. Breyton Paulse, 10. André Pretorius, 9. Bolla Conradie, 8. Bobby Skinstad (cap. ), 7. AJ Venter, 6. Warren Britz, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Jannes Labuschagne, 3. Willie Meyer, 2. James Dalton, 1. Daan Human – replacements: Brent Russell, Faan Rautenbach, Joe van Niekerk, Ollie le Roux, Adrian Jacobs – Not used: Quinton Davids, Craig DavidsonWales': 15. Kevin Morgan, 14. Rhys Williams, 13. Mark Taylor, 12. Andy Marinos, 11. Craig Morgan, 10. Stephen Jones, 9. Dwayne Peel, 8. Colin Charvis (cap. ), 7. Martyn Williams, 6. Michael Owen, 5. Steve Williams, 4. Gareth Llewellyn, 3. Ben Evans, 2. Robin McBryde, 1. Iestyn Thomas – replacements: Robert Sidoli, Richard Parks, Tom Shanklin, Neil Jenkins, Ryan Powell, Mefin Davies, Martyn Madden


2002 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa, Second Test
Wales again lost, but played a "fiercely contested" match as per BBC Sport. The tour showed the improvement that the coach Steve Hansen was waiting for.


2002 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa, Second Test
South Africa : 15. Brent Russell, 14. Stefan Terblanche, 13. Marius Joubert, 12. De Wet Barry, 11. Breyton Paulse, 10. Andre Pretorius, 9. Bolla Conradie, 8. Bobby Skinstad (cap. ), 7. AJ Venter, 6. Corne Krige, 5. Jannes Labuschagne, 4. Quinton Davids, 3. Willie Meyer , 2. James Dalton, 1. Daan Human – replacements: Faan Rautenbach, Craig Davidson, Ollie le Roux, Hottie Louw, Joe van Niekerk – Not used: 21. Adrian Jacobs, 22. Werner Greeff |Formazione 2=15. Kevin Morgan, 14. Rhys Williams, 13. Mark Taylor, 12. Andy Marinos, 11. Craig Morgan, 10. Stephen Jones, 9. Dwayne Peel, 8. Colin Charvis (cap. ), 7. Martyn Williams, 6. Michael Owen, 5. Steve Williams, 4. Gareth Llewellyn, 3. Ben Evans, 2. Robin McBryde, 1. Iestyn Thomas – replacements: Ryan Powell, Tom Shanklin, Gavin Thomas, Robert Sidoli, Neil Jenkins, Mefin Davies


2002 Wallis and Futuna Territorial Assembly election
Legislative elections for the Territorial Assembly were held in Wallis and Futuna on 10 March 2002. The result was a victory for the coalition of Rally for the Republic and Voice of the Wallis and Futuna Peoples, which won 13 of the 20 seats.


2002 Wallis and Futuna Territorial Assembly election, Results
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2002 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2002 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2002 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election, Background
Before the election the council was run by a coalition between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, after Labour had run the council from 1995 to 2000. The candidates at the election were 20 each from the Labour and Conservative parties, 10 Liberal Democrats, 7 independents, 4 UK Independence Party and 3 Green Party.


2002 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election, Background
A significant issue at the election was a report from the Audit Commission in January 2002, which had made many criticisms of the council, with the council having almost been taken over by the national government 2 months before the election.


2002 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election
Elections to Waltham Forest Council were held in May 2002. The whole council was up for election for the first time since the 1998 election. These elections were the first held on new ward boundaries which increased the total number of Councillors by 2, from 58 to 60.


2002 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election
Waltham Forest local elections are held every four years, with the next due in 2006.


2002 Waltham Forest London Borough Council election, Results by ward
The ward results listed below are based on the changes from the 1998 elections, not taking into account any mid-term by-elections, party defections or boundary changes. Where boundary changes have increased the number of Councillors in a ward, they will be listed as a party gain from Vacant.


2002 Wandsworth London Borough Council election
The 2002 Wandsworth London Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Wandsworth London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1998 reducing the number of seats by 1. The Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.


2002 Wandsworth London Borough Council election
The election saw an experiment in leaving polling stations open for a longer period. Along with neighbouring Westminster City Council polling stations were open from 7am to 10pm instead of the standard 8am to 9pm.


2002 Washington Huskies football team
The 2002 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its fourth season under head coach Rick Neuheisel, the team compiled a 7–6 record, finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Pacific-10 Conference, and outscored its opponents by a combined total of 398 to 342. Cody Pickett and Ben Mahdavi were selected as the team's most valuable player offensive and defensive players, respectively.


2002 Washington Huskies football team, Team players in the NFL
No Washington players were selected in the 2003 NFL Draft.


2002 Washington Huskies football team, Team players in the NFL
The following finished their college career in 2002, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.


2002 Washington Mystics season
The 2002 WNBA season was the fifth for the Washington Mystics. This was the first time in franchise history (and, until 2017, the only) that the Mystics won a playoff series.


2002 Washington Mystics season
None of Washington's "big four" teams would accomplish the feat of reaching the semifinals in their respective leagues until the Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup, with the only trips to the semifinals between Capitals' Stanley Cups being this season and 2017 for the Mystics.


2002 Washington Mystics season, Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average