Sport in Belarus
Belarus was part of the former USSR and has been very active in sports and has been participating in international competitions and the Olympics since the early 50’s. It is hard to choose what sport is the favorite among the Belarusian because they love so many. But in general, they love ice-hockey, athletics, wrestling, football tennis and swimming.
Traditionally, Belarusians love board games like chess and checkers but they have moved on to more “active” sports like ice-hockey and football. Ice-hockey is one sport that they do very well and in international competitions including the Olympics.
In 1952, Belarus first participated in the Olympics as part of the former USSR. After it was disbanded, Belarus became part of the four country coalition called the Unified Team that joined in the 1992 Winter Olympics in France.
Belarus first competed as an independent state in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway. From 1952 all the way to 2006, 168 Belarusian athletes took home 200 Olympic medals. There are simply too many names to mention when it comes to Olympic medals but in the 2012 London Olympics, Sergei Martynov won the gold for the men’s 50m rifle shooting (prone) and the another gold for Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka took it home in the mixed doubles for tennis.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Belarus, formerly part of the USSR. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.
Popular sports of Belarus
- Football (Soccer), biathlon, tennis, ice-hockey, track and field, wrestling, swimming.
Belarus Sporting Success
- The national ice hockey team placed 6th at the 2006 World Championship in Riga.
Great athletes from Belarus
- Victoria Azarenka (tennis)
- Yulia Nestsiarenka (T&F) - winner of 100m at Athens Olympic Games
- Olga Korbut (gymnastics) - won 4 Olympic Gold medals
- Maxim Mirny (tennis)
- Vitaly Shcherbo (gymnastics). Gold medalist Spain, 1992. European Champion 10 times.
- Darya Domracheva (biathlon)
- Alexander Medved (freestyle wrestling) - Olympic Champion (1964, 1968, 1972) and World Champion (1962, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1969–1971).
Belarus Sports trivia
- Belarusians first took part in the Olympics in the 1952 Helsinki games, as part of a combined USSR team.
- In 1972 Olga Korbut was named Best Sportswoman in the World.
- Ruslan Salei is Belarus' first ice hockey player to be promoted to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Belarus at major events
Past sporting events hosted in Belarus
- 2013 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Minsk
- 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Minsk
- 2019 European Games in Minsk
- 2023 Games of the Commonwealth of Independent States
Upcoming sporting events in Belarus
Annual sporting events held in Belarus
- Extraleague - division 1 ice hockey league.
- National Winter Olympic Training Center in Raubichi - one of the best biathlon centers in the world
Sporting Facilities in Belarus
- Minsk-Arena - ice hockey
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