Sport in Czechia (Czech Republic)
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Czechia (also known as the Czech Republic). See also Sport in Czechoslovakia. Czechia is a Central European country that is landlocked and bordered by Germany (west), Austria (south), Slovakia (south-east) and Poland (north-east).
Most Czechs are loyal supporters of various sports like soccer, basketball, volleyball, kickball and tennis but ice hockey is by far the most popular sport. Their national ice hockey team is one of the very best in the world. They regularly compete in the World Championships as well as the Winter Olympics Games and even the Euro Hockey Tour. As a matter of fact, their very first Winter Olympic gold medal was from ice hockey in 1988 held in Nagano, Japan. They went on to win six World Championships medals which includes a three-peat championship from 1999 to 2001. Their national ice hockey team had quite a roster that included Aleš Hemský, Dominik Hašek, Milan Michálek, Jaromír Jágr, Patrik Eliáš, Tomáš Kaberle and team captain Robert Lang. This team was winning medals for the country up until the 2010 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships where they took the gold.
They first participated in the Winter and Summer Olympic Games as an independent state in 1994 and 1996 respectively and have collected a total of 68 Olympic medals, 24 medals (7 gold, 9 silver and 8 bronze) from the Winter Games and 44 (14 gold, 15 silver and 15 bronze) from the Summer Games.
Popular sports of Czechia
- Ice Hockey, Football (Soccer), basketball, volleyball, team handball, track and field, floorball, kickball and tennis.
Traditional or Regional Sports
- Czech handball — a ball game crated in Prague, Czech Republic in 1905.
Czechia Sporting Success
- Ice hockey gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
- Won six ice hockey World Championship medals from 1996 to 2001, including three consecutive gold from 1999 to 2001.
Famous Athletes from Czechia
- Jaromír Jágr (ice hockey)
- Dominik Hašek (ice hockey)
- Jan Železný (javelin)
- Roman Šebrle (decathlon)
- Pavel Nedvěd (football)
Czechia Sports trivia
Czechia at major events
- Czechia at the Summer Olympics
- Czechia at the Winter Olympics
- Czechia at the FIFA World Cup
- Czechia at the UEFA Euros
Past sporting events hosted in Czechia
- 1914 and 1939 FIL European Luge Championships, Liberec
- 1958 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Prague
- 2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, Liberec
Upcoming sporting events in Czechia
Annual sporting events held in Czechia
- Ski Jumping World Cup event, Liberec
- Tennis: Czech Open in Prostějov and Prosperita Open in Ostrava (men), the Sparta Prague Open (women), and the Strabag Prague Open (men and women)
Sporting Facilities in Czechia
- Strahov Stadium in Prague, Czechia, a stadium which is no longer used for competitive sports events (mainly large concerts!). It has a capacity of 220,000 (56,000 seated).
- Eden Arena (football)
- Generali Arena (football)
- O2 Arena (ice hockey)
- Tipsport arena (ice hockey)
Other
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