Sport in Peru
Peruvians are quite enthusiastic about sports and they play a wide range of sports. The most sought out sports in Peru are soccer and volleyball while traditionally, they played cockfighting, bull-fighting, and racing.
The Peruvian National Football team has played in the FIFA World Cup five times, and has won two Copa America trophies.
The country also won in Women’s Volleyball. Their national team won silver medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics. Also, they won twelve times in the South American Championship and runner-ups in the Volleyball World Championships.
Peru has other sports that are gaining popularity like taekwondo which was introduced in the 1970s where Cesar Landeo, a black belter, is well known at this sport. In Tennis, Luis Horna and Jaime Yzaga are the most well-known Peruvian tennis players.
fans of Zarzuela CuscoFor travelers and athletes across the world, Peru offers waves to everyone. The exciting Peru International Surfing Championship has given the locals one of the sport’s biggest and most prestigious events ever held in their country. The competition started 1956, unfortunately ended in 1974.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Peru.
Popular sports of Peru
- football (soccer), volleyball, tennis
Traditional or Local Sports
- Paleta Frontón — a wall based racquet sport that originated in Peru
Peru Sporting Success
- Olympics: Edwin Vásquez, Gold medalist at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games.
- Surfing: Felipe Pomar (1965 world surfing champion), Sofía Mulánovich (World champion in 2004)
- Volleyball: South American Champions 12 times, 10 times runners-up.
Great athletes from Peru
- Teófilo Cubillas (football)
- Sofia Mulanovich (surfing) - Women's World Champion in 2004
- Luis Horna (tennis)
- Alejandro Olmedo (tennis) - Davis Cup and Wimbledon winner (Peru-born, but played for the USA)
- Natalia Málaga (volleyball)
- Kina Malpartida (boxing)
Peru Sports trivia
- Peru born Alex Olmedo won the Wimbledom singles title in 1959, representing USA.
- Peru takes part in the Bolivarian Games, a multi-sport competition involving athletes from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Rugby promotion for the 2019 Pan American Games in LimaPeru at major events
Past sporting events hosted in Peru
- 1965 ISF World Surfing Championships, Lima.
- 2004 Copa America
- 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship
- 2019 Pan American Games in Lima
Upcoming sporting events in Peru
- 2027 Pan American Games in Lima
Annual sporting events held in Peru
Sporting Facilities in Peru
- Estadio Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (known as Estadio Garcilaso) - Cusco's principal stadium and the home venue of the local football team Cienciano.
- The Estadio Nacional of Peru - a multi-purpose stadium located in Lima, Peru, capacity 40,000.
- Peru Institute of Sport.
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