Athletics In Slovenia

Sport in Slovenia consists of a wide range of team and individual sports. The most popular team sports are football, basketball, volleyball, ice hockey, and handball. While the most popular individual sports are skiing, ski jumping, athletics, cycling, and tennis. Slovenia has competed at fifteen Olympic Games since its inaugural appearance at the 1992 Winter Olympics and is also known for its extreme sport athletes, such as ultramarathon swimmer Martin Strel and extreme skier Davo Karničar.

Team sports

Association football

The highest level of association football in Slovenia is the Slovenian PrvaLiga, which consists of ten teams. The Slovenia national football team have qualified for two FIFA World Cups (2002 and 2010) and two UEFA European Championships (2000 and 2024). Notable Slovenian international players include Samir Handanović, Milivoje Novaković, Josip Iličić, Benjamin Šeško, Boštjan Cesar, Jan Oblak, Bojan Jokić, Valter Birsa, Brane Oblak, Danilo Popivoda, Srečko Katanec, Džoni Novak, and Zlatko Zahovič.

Basketball

The highest level of basketball in Slovenia is the Slovenian Basketball League. The Slovenia national basketball team has appeared in four FIBA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2023) and fourteen EuroBasket tournaments, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in 2009 and the gold medal in 2017. Notable Slovenian basketball players include Goran Dragić, Zoran Dragić, Luka Dončić, Sasha Vujačić, Radoslav Nesterović, Vlatko Čančar, Beno Udrih, Matjaž Smodiš, Marko Milič, Ivo Daneu, Peter Vilfan, Vinko Jelovac, Aljoša Žorga, Primož Brezec, Boštjan Nachbar, Sani Bečirović and Jaka Lakovič.

Ice hockey

The highest level of ice hockey is the Slovenian Ice Hockey Championship. The Slovenia men's national ice hockey team has competed at 29 Ice Hockey World Championships between 1993 and 2023, with 10 appearances in top division. One of Slovenia's most notable athletes is Anže Kopitar, who plays for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. In 2012, Kopitar became the first Slovenian to win the Stanley Cup and tied as the top scorer of the respective playoffs. Other notable Slovenian hockey players include Robert Kristan, Jan Muršak, David Rodman, Marcel Rodman, Rok Tičar, Žiga Pance, Žiga Jeglič, Tomaž Vnuk, Dejan Kontrec and Bojan Zajc.

Handball

Handball is a popular sport in Slovenia. The Slovenia men's national handball team has participated at ten World Championships, and its best achievement is third place at the 2017 Championship. The national team has also made fourteen appearances at the European Championships and was the runner-up of the 2004 edition, which was held in Slovenia.

RK Celje won the EHF Champions League in 2004, when they beat SG Flensburg-Handewitt in the final. Other notable Slovenian teams are RD Slovan, which reached the final of the 1980–81 European Cup, RK Gorenje and RK Koper.

Rugby union

Rugby union is a growing sport in Slovenia which is governed by Rugby Zveza Slovenije (Rugby Union of Slovenia). The Slovenia national rugby union team is currently ranked 43rd by World Rugby. There are also many active local clubs, including RAK Olimpija, RFC Bezigrad and RK Ljubljana.

Beach volleyball

Slovenia featured national teams in beach volleyball that competed in the women's and men's section at the 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.

Individual sports

Ski jumping

Ski jumping is another popular winter sport in Slovenia. The first national championship was held in 1921 in Bohinj, when Jože Pogačar won with a nine meter jump. After that, many ski jumpers found success for Yugoslavia, with Jože Šlibar achieving a world record jump in 1961. After the introduction of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in 1979, SR Slovenia was a regular host of matches in Planica. The most successful ski jumper of the time was Primož Ulaga, who had nine wins for Yugoslavia. In both 1997 and 1998, Primož Peterka won the World Cup. Other notable ski jumpers are Peter Prevc, Jurij Tepeš, Robert Kranjec, Rok Benkovič, Jernej Damjan, Peter Žonta, Franci Petek and Špela Rogelj.

Since 2011, the Slovenian men's ski jumping coach is Goran Janus, who has helped revive Slovenian ski jumping results. Under his leadership, the team has many individual wins, earned Olympic and World Cup medals, and set a world record. In 2012, the men's team won their first team event in ski jumping and since then has nine team wins. Furthermore, Peter Prevc won the 2015–2016 Four Hills Tourney, the World Ski-Flying Championship in 2016 and the World Cup title for the 2015–2016 season.

Alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is a popular sport in Slovenia and dates back to the 17th century, while modern competitive skiing began in the 1920s. During the existence of Yugoslavia, its national skiing squad consisted of almost exclusively Slovenes. In addition, the Vitranc Cup races, which are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation and later incorporated into the World Cup, started at Podkoren in 1961 and is now hosted at Kranjska Gora Ski Resort each season. Slovenes Mateja Svet and Jure Franko both won Olympic medals for Yugoslavia, while Jure Košir, Katja Koren, Alenka Dovžan and Tina Maze won medals for independent Slovenia. Ilka Štuhec won back-to-back World Championship golds in 2017 and 2019. Other notable skiers include Boris Strel, Rok Petrovič, Bojan Križaj, Mitja Kunc, Urška Hrovat, Špela Pretnar and Nataša Bokal.

Cycling

Cycling has a long tradition in Slovenia. The first cycling club was founded by Germans in Ljubljana in 1885 and the Slovenian Cycling Club was formed two years later. Cycling then spread to other cities, including Gorica and Maribor, and slowly developed into a major competitive sport in Yugoslavia after World War I. Slovenian cyclists were not as successful as cyclists from other parts of the country and in the period between the world wars, Josip Šolar and Bruno Faninger were the only Slovenian cycling champions of Yugoslavia, in 1925 and 1935, respectively. After World War II, Slovenian cycling grew with the formation of clubs such as Rog in Ljubljana, Sava in Kranj and Krka in Novo Mesto.

The Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's three-week-long Grand Tours, has passed through Slovenia seven times in its history: 1922, 1971, 1994, 2001, 2004, 2021, and 2022.

Notable cyclists include Borut Božič, Janez Brajkovič, Jure Golčer, Andrej Hauptman, Matej Mugerli, Uroš Murn, Jure Robič, Simon Špilak, Gorazd Štangelj, Tadej Valjavec, Tanja Žakelj, Blaža Klemenčič, Luka Mezgec, Matej Mohorič, Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar. In 2018 Slovenia took more wins on the UCI World Tour ''per capita'' than any other nation. Professional cycling teams in Slovenia include the men's teams and and formerly the women's team . In 2019, Roglič became the first Slovenian Grand Tour winner after finishing first in the 2019 Vuelta a España. Pogačar became the first Slovenian to win the Tour de France in 2020.

Athletics

Athletics started as a recreation activity in the late 19th century due to the Sokol movement. In 1913, when it was introduced as a sport by the SK Ilirija association football club in Ljubljana. It split into its own branch after World War I and was popular in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, with the first Slovenian championship held in 1920. However, international success didn't come until Stanko Lorger earned the first Slovenian European Championship medal in 1958 and Draga Stamejčič set the first Slovenian world record in 1964. The most notable Slovenian athletic clubs are ŽAK in Ljubljana and Kladivar in Celje. Notable athletes include Primož Kozmus, Jolanda Čeplak, Matic Osovnikar, Martina Ratej, Brigita Bukovec, Britta Bilač, Borut Bilač, Gregor Cankar, Sonja Roman, Brigita Langerholc, Helena Javornik, Alenka Bikar, Rožle Prezelj and Boštjan Buč.

Biathlon

Biathlon is a growing sport in Slovenia. However, before Slovenia's independence in 1991, it was a mostly unknown sport and Slovenes achieved no major results until the 1990s. In 1992, Pokljuka began hosting World Cup races and Andreja Koblar won the first race for the Slovenian women's team in 1996, while Janez Marič achieved the same for the men's team in 2003. The most successful biathlete representing Slovenia is the Croatian-born Jakov Fak, who has won several World Championships medals. Other notable biathletes include Teja Gregorin, Andreja Mali, Tomas Globočnik and Klemen Bauer.

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing has, alongside alpine skiing and ski jumping, a long tradition in Slovenia, but competitive success has only come in recent years. The first cross-country competition in Slovenia was organized in Bohinjska Bistrica in 1914. During the existence of Yugoslavia, the best result achieved by a Slovene was Franc Smolej's 10th place finish at the 1936 Winter Olympics. Petra Majdič is the most successful Slovenian cross-country skier, as she has won 24 World Cup races and one Olympic medal. Other notable cross-country skiers include Vesna Fabjan and Katja Višnar.

Motorsport

Motorsport in Slovenia began with the formation of the Ilirija Motorsport Club in 1913 and became popular during the two world wars. ŽSK Hermes built the first motorsport track at ŽŠD Ljubljana and Ludvik Starič became a serial Yugoslav champion in the 1930s. Currently, Slovenia hosts Grand Prix races at Matija Gubec Stadium in Krško and there is also a speedway track at Ilirija Sports Park in Ljubljana. Notable motorsport competitors include Matej Ferjan, Matej Žagar, Sašo Kragelj, Tim Gajser and Miran Stanovnik.

The only woman to have circumnavigated the world on a motorbike is Slovenian Benka Pulko. On June 19, 1997, Pulko departed from her hometown of Ptuj on a BMW F650 motorcycle. She returned to Ptuj on December 10, 2002, having established the Guinness World Record for the longest solo motorcycle ride ever undertaken by a woman in both distance (180,015 km) and duration (2,000 days). In the process she also became the first motorcyclist to reach Antarctica, and the first woman to ride solo across Saudi Arabia.

Fencing

The most notable Slovenian fencer is Rudolf Cvetko, who was a member of the Olympic silver medal-winning team in 1912 for Austria. He was the first Slovenian to win an Olympic medal and a promoter of fencing in Yugoslav Slovenia.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics played an important part in the beginnings of sport in Slovenia through a national revival of the Falcon and Hawk societies which helped young Slovenes socialize and keep their language alive. Slovenians would win eight Olympic medals for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, all in the gymnastics field, which were the only medals Yugoslavia earned prior to World War II. Notable Slovene gymnasts include Leon Štukelj, Mitja Petkovšek, Aljaž Pegan, Stane Derganc, Josip Primožič, Miroslav Cerar, Adela Šajn, Rok Klavora and Sašo Bertoncelj.

Judo

Notable Slovene judo athletes include Urška Žolnir, Lucija Polavder, Raša Sraka