Sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
is an important part of
German culture
The culture of Germany has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. Historically, Germany has been called ''Das Land der Dichter und Denker'' (the country of poets and thinkers). German cultu ...
and their society.
In 2006 about 28 million people were members of the more than 2
sport club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
s in Germany. Almost all sports clubs are represented by the
German Olympic Sports Federation.
History
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn
(11August 177815October 1852) was a German gymnastics educator and nationalist whose writing is credited with the founding of the German gymnastics (Turner) movement as well as influencing the German Campaign of 1813, during which a coalition of ...
known as ''Turnvater Jahn'' (father of gymnastics) was born in 1778 and worked as an assistant teacher in Berlin. At Berlin's Hasenheide Friedrich Ludwig Jahn opened the first German gymnastics field ('Turnplatz'), or open-air gymnasium, in spring 1811. His activities were particularly pointed at the youth, with whom he went to the gym field in free afternoons. The German gymnastics, understood by Jahn as a whole of the physical exercises.
Jahn developed well-known gymnastic equipment, invented also new apparatuses. Particularly by his main writing "Die Deutsche Turnkunst" (1816) the apparatus gymnastics developed to an independent kind of sport, and so the gym activities were not only limited to simple physical exercises, which he quoted as following: "Going, running, jumping, throwing, carrying are free exercises, everywhere applicable, as free as fresh air."
With the national gymnastics festivals in Coburg in 1860, in Berlin in 1861 and in Leipzig in 1863, the memory of Jahn's ideas returned into the people's consciousness. The inscription at the gable of his house "Frisch, Fromm, Fröhlich, Frei", translated as 'fresh, pious, cheerful, free", which originated in Jahn's time, became the basic idea of the German gymnastics movement.
In 1934, the Nazi government founded the
Deutscher Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, later the
Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen
The National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise (german: Nationalsozialistischer Reichsbund für Leibesübungen, abbreviated NSRL) was the umbrella organization for sports and physical education in Nazi Germany. The NSRL was kn ...
, as the official sports governing body of the Third Reich. All other German sport associations gradually lost their freedom and were coopted into it. The organization was disbanded in 1945 by the American military government.
Olympics
![Berlin Olympiastadion aussen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Berlin_Olympiastadion_aussen.jpg)
In the
all-time Olympic Games medal count
The all-time medal table for all Olympic Games from 1896 to 2022, including Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, and a combined total of both, is tabulated below. These Olympic medal counts do not include the 1906 Intercalated Games whic ...
through 2006 Germany ranks fifth,
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
seventh and
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
twenty-first. If all the medals are combined Germany ranks third.
If only winter olympic medals count, from all German states (East, West, united team and united Germany), it is the nation with the most medals.
Germany has hosted the
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
twice, in Berlin in
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
and in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
. Germany hosted the
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...
in
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
when they were staged in the
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n twin towns of
Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...
and
Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the Ob ...
.
Germany claimed the most, if not, gold medals and the most total medals during the 1992, 1998, 2002 and
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
in
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
.
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
claimed the most gold medals at
1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...
.
Association football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
is the most popular sport in Germany. With a total of 26,000 clubs and 178,000 teams the German football sport is financed by means of state funding and state contributions, voluntary service, private sponsors and membership fees.
Germany's top level
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
league, known as the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
, has the highest
average attendances of any association football league in the world; among all professional sports leagues, its average attendance is second only to
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
's
NFL. As of the 2019–20 season, the Bundesliga is placed third in
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
rankings
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...
, which are based on the performance of clubs in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
and the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
.
Football in Germany is (like in most European countries) the number one attended and practiced sport. Besides the national league, the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
and
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
have much attention among its population.
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
(German: ''Bayern München'') is the most successful German football club, with 30 national championships, 20 National Cups and 6 European Champions titles (three
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
s and three Champions Leagues) to its credit, as well as several other international titles. Like many other German football clubs, Bayern Munich is a multi-sport club.
![Beckenbauer shirt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Beckenbauer_shirt.jpg)
The
German national football team
The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deuts ...
is one of the traditional powers of international football. It won the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 and the
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
in 1972 and 1980 as West Germany hosted the
UEFA Euro 1988
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA.
The tournament crowned Netherlan ...
and in 1996 as Germany. The country will also host the upcoming
UEFA Euro 2024
The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, will be the 17th edition of the UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football cham ...
. They also won the
FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
in 2017.
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Austrian Footb ...
is the leading goal scorer for the national team with 71 goals, but his fame is perhaps eclipsed by that of
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
who is one of the few men in the world who have won the World Cup both as a coach and a player. Germany also hosted the World Cup in
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
and
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, finishing third in 2006 after losing a close semi-final contest to eventual cup winners
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
The
women's national team is also a world power, with its wins of the
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...
in 2003 and 2007, making Germany the only nation to win both the men's and women's World Cup and European titles.
[Germany set the record straight](_blank)
FIFA. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
Handball
![SAP Arena Handball ausverkauft](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/SAP_Arena_Handball_ausverkauft.jpg)
Germany together with
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
is regarded as the birthplace of
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
. The first match of the modern era was officially recorded on 29 October 1917 in Berlin, Germany.
Carl Schelenz is credited developing most rules of modern handball. Outdoor Handball had its only Olympic Games appearance in the
1936 Berlin Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
. The first international match recorded was played on 3 September 1925 between Germany and Austria.
Handball is widely regarded to be the second most popular team sport in Germany and when a study conducted by Repucom asked people which sport besides football they preferred a total of 33% voted handball, while basketball came in second with 25% of the votes, ice hockey got 24%, and volleyball got 11%. It is also the second-most played team sport in Germany with approximately 750,000 active registered players around the country as of 2016.
The German men's national team have won the
IHF World Men's Handball Championship
The IHF Men's Handball World Championship has been organized indoor by the International Handball Federation since 1938.
In the twenty-seven tournaments held, eleven nations have won the title. France men's national handball team, France is t ...
three times, the very first world cup in
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
, the West Germany team won it in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
and the united German team won it at home in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
. They also have been crowned European champions twice first in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
and then in the
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
rendition of the tournament. In the Olympic Games their efforts have resulted in one gold medal (
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
), two silver medals (
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
and
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
) and one Bronze medal (
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
).
The German
Handball Bundesliga is considered to be the most competitive professional league in the world and several teams have won the
EHF Champions League
The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...
. A total of 19 times have a team from Germany won the Champions League as of 2017 which is the most out of any nation. The most successful team in Germany is by far
THW Kiel
THW Kiel is a handball club from Kiel, Germany. Currently, they compete in the Handball-Bundesliga and are the record champion with 22 titles.
2007 and 2012 were the most successful years in the club's history, as THW completed the treble, win ...
which have won 20 German titles as well as 3 Champions League titles. They are the only team in German sport history to have managed to go a whole season without losing any points, this feat was achieved during the
2011–2012 season. Traditionally the teams in the league have been situated in smaller cities where the competition from football have not been so tough (
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
and
Flensburg
Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...
for example), but during the 21st century more teams from larger cities have emerged such as
HSV Hamburg
Handball Sport Verein Hamburg is a handball club from Germany, located in Hamburg. Currently, Handball Hamburg competes in the Handball-Bundesliga. The full name in German is ''Handball Sport Verein Hamburg e.V.'' but the club has traditionally b ...
,
TSV Hannofer-Burgdorf,
TVB Stuttgart,
SC DHfK Leipzig
SC DHfK Leipzig e. V. ''(Sportclub Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur Leipzig e. V.)'' is a sports club in Leipzig, Germany. Until the closure of the sports university DHfK, the club was part of the DHfK. Established was the club in 1954 as ...
and
Füchse Berlin.
Uwe Gensheimer
Uwe Gensheimer (born 26 October 1986) is a German handball player for Rhein-Neckar Löwen.
He made his international debut on 25 November 2005 against Slovenia. In 2021 he announced the end of his time in the national team, where he was the ca ...
is a popular German handball player.
The sport attracts large television viewership; around 16 million TV viewers watched as Germany beat Poland in the 2007 World Cup as well as 13 million during the 2016 European Cup final. During the
2014–15 HBL season the game between the
Rhein-Neckar Löwen
Rhein-Neckar Löwen is a professional handball club founded in 2002, based in Mannheim, Germany. The club competes in the German Handball-Bundesliga and continentally in EHF European League. Rhein-Neckar Löwen play their home games in SAP Aren ...
and
HSV Hamburg
Handball Sport Verein Hamburg is a handball club from Germany, located in Hamburg. Currently, Handball Hamburg competes in the Handball-Bundesliga. The full name in German is ''Handball Sport Verein Hamburg e.V.'' but the club has traditionally b ...
broke the world record for most spectators in a handball game with 44,189 spectators in the
Commerzbank-Arena
The Waldstadion (, ''Forest Stadium''), currently known as the Deutsche Bank Park for sponsorship purposes, and formerly known as the Commerzbank-Arena, is a retractable roof sports stadium in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. The home stadium of the ...
in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
beating the previous record of 36,651 spectators during the 2011
Danish league final between
AG København
AG København (former name: AG Håndbold) was a Danish handball club from Glostrup and Albertslund, two suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. In the season 2010/2011 it plays in the Danish Handball League. Their head coach was former Danish national t ...
and
Bjerringbro-Silkeborg.
Ice hockey
![Ehc spiel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Ehc_spiel.jpg)
Ice hockey is one of Germany's most popular sports, although considering its importance and spectator popularity in the nation it is ranked far behind football. There are many leagues but the top one is the 14 team
Deutsche Eishockey Liga
The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...
. The
Germany men's national ice hockey team
The German men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Germany and is controlled by the German Ice Hockey Federation. It first participated in serious international competition at the 1911 European Hockey Championship. Whe ...
has featured several prominent current and former
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
players, including
Hart Trophy
The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was donat ...
winner
Leon Draisaitl
Leon Tim Draisaitl (; born 27 October 1995) is a German professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Draisaitl grew up playing hockey in Germany until he was selected second ove ...
,
Philipp Grubauer
Philipp Grubauer (born 25 November 1991) is a German professional ice hockey goaltender for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL).
He was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the fourth round, 112th overall, of the 2010 NHL Ent ...
,
Tim Stützle,
Dominik Kahun
Dominik Kahun (born 2 July 1995) is a Czech-born German professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with SC Bern of the National League (NL). He previously has played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres ...
,
Christian Ehrhoff
Christian Ehrhoff (born 6 July 1982) is a German former professional ice hockey defenceman. In 2018, he won silver at the Winter Olympics. He played more than 800 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and more than 300 in the Deutsche Eisho ...
,
Jochen Hecht
Jochen Thomas Hecht (born 21 June 1977) is a German ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey player. He has been serving as assistant coach for Adler Mannheim since March 2022.
Hecht played 833 games in the National Hockey League ( ...
,
Dennis Seidenberg
Dennis Marvin Seidenberg (born 18 July 1981) is a Germans, German former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, New Y ...
,
Thomas Greiss
Thomas Greiss (born 29 January 1986) is a German professional ice hockey goaltender for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected 94th overall in the third round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks, he has ...
,
Marcel Goc
Marcel Goc (; born 24 August 1983) is a German former professional ice hockey player.
Goc's father Josef played hockey in his native Czechoslovakia, he has two brothers who also play professional hockey. His older brother Sascha has played for ...
and
Marco Sturm
Marco Johann Sturm (born September 8, 1978) is a German professional ice hockey coach and former winger who played in the National Hockey League and Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He is currently the Head Coach of the Ontario Reign.
Sturm began his ca ...
and NHL prospects like
Alexander Sulzer
Alexander Sulzer (born May 30, 1984) is a German former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Born in Kaufbeuren, West Germany, Sulzer went through the ...
,
Philip Gogulla
Philip Gogulla (born 31 July 1987) is a German professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with Düsseldorfer EG of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Playing career
Gogulla began his professional career with the Krefeld Pinguine ...
,
Korbinian Holzer
Korbinian Holzer (born 16 February 1988) is a German professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He previously played for the Anaheim Ducks, Nashville Predators, and Toronto Maple ...
and
Marcel Müller. The men's national team is currently ranked 8th in the world.
In 2010,
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
and
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
co-hosted the
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...
. Germany defeated the US in the
opening game in front of a record breaking crowd of 77,803 in
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...
's
Veltins-Arena
Arena AufSchalke (), currently known as Veltins-Arena () for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for Bundesliga club FC Sc ...
. Germany finished the tournament in fourth place, the nation's best finish since 1953. German goaltender
Dennis Endras
Dennis Endras (born 14 July 1985) is a German professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing with Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
Playing career
Endras began playing for EHC Bayreuth in the Oberliga, the third-tier o ...
was named the tournament's top goaltender by the
IIHF
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...
directors and the top goaltender and most valuable player by the media.
Basketball
![Dirk Nowitzki 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Dirk_Nowitzki_2.jpg)
Together with football, ice hockey and handball, basketball in Germany is among the most popular spectator sports.. The
Basketball Bundesliga
The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...
is the
highest level league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
of
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises
...
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
One of the most popular non-football athletes to come out of Germany is
Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gr ...
, who played as power forward for the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
in his 21-year career in the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
. He was a 14-time
NBA All-star
The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of al ...
and was a part of 12
All-NBA teams
The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...
. In , he became the first player trained totally outside the U.S. to be named
league MVP, and in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
led the Mavericks to their first NBA title and earned a
Finals MVP doing so.
The
Germany national basketball team
The Germany men's national basketball team (german: Deutsche Basketballnationalmannschaft or ''Die Mannschaft'') represents Germany in international basketball competition. The team is directed by the German Basketball Federation (''Deutscher B ...
's biggest successes are the victory in the
European Championship of 1993 at home in Germany, the silver medal in the
2005 European Championships and the
bronze medal
A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
in the
2002 FIBA World Championship
The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in ...
.
Motorsport
![MichaelSchumacherHO2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/MichaelSchumacherHO2005.jpg)
Germany is one of the leading motorsports countries in the world. While countless race winning cars have come from Germany, only
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
,
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
and
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fi ...
have been Formula One world champions (they have won 12 titles combined) and
Walter Röhrl
Walter Röhrl (; born 7 March 1947) is a German rally and auto racing driver, with victories for Fiat, Opel, Lancia and Audi as well as Porsche, Ford and BMW. Röhrl has scored 14 victories over his career, with his notable achievements including ...
being the sole
World Rally Champion
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...
from Germany (he won two titles).
Jochen Rindt
Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s
*Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II
*Jochen Babock (born 1953), East G ...
, who was F1 world champion in 1970, was born in Germany but raced with an Austrian licence for his whole career. One other German driver came close to winning the title:
Wolfgang von Trips
Wolfgang Alexander Albert Eduard Maximilian Reichsgraf Berghe von Trips (; 4 May 1928 – 10 September 1961), also known simply as Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips and nicknamed 'Taffy' by friends and fellow racers, was a German racing driver. He w ...
. Unfortunately, he died in a crash in the last race of the season at
Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...
in 1961, giving the championship to his
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
teammate
Phil Hill
Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American automobile racing driver. He was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, and the only one who was born in the United States ( ...
.
Schumacher is tied with
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...
for the most
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Drivers championships with 7. In 2003, Schumacher set a new record for driver's championships when he surpassed
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...
's total of 5 championships, a record that had stood for 46 years since 1957. He was also the highest paid athlete in sports history, with an annual salary of some U.S. $70 million from the Ferrari team, and an estimated $25–30 million more coming from endorsements. In 2005, he became the world's first billionaire athlete, according to Eurobusiness magazine. He is regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time; when he first retired at the end of the 2006 season, he held 7 championships and every significant F1 record. He returned to F1 in 2010, celebrated his completion of 20 years in F1 in August 2011, and retired for a second time at the end of the 2012 season.
![Sebastian Vettel 2011 Sebastian Vettel in Yokohama Infiniti event](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Sebastian_Vettel_2011_Sebastian_Vettel_in_Yokohama_Infiniti_event.jpg)
In 2010, Vettel became the youngest driver ever to win the world championship, he also successfully defended the title in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Before winning his first F1 drivers' championship, Vettel had already been the youngest ever to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, earn F1 world championship points, start from pole position in an F1 race, and finish as runner-up for the drivers' championship.
In 2016,
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fi ...
became the third German driver to win the Formula One World Championship.
The
DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) is the national touring car series. It is considered one of the best touring car series in the world. Many Formula 1 drivers have made the switch to the series, including,
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three For ...
,
Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver of Italian origin. After successes in minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, ...
and others. From 1995, only German
marque
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
s of cars are allowed to compete in the series. Currently only
Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
,
BMW and
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
compete, but
Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...
and
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
have a history in the sport. The races are held mainly in Germany, but some races occur elsewhere in Europe. The races draw monster crowds and television ratings and many celebrities have attended race days.
Situated in Germany is the
Nürburgring
The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
with its historical Nordschleife course. Since 1970 it is host to the annual
24 Hours Nürburgring
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
endurance race, one of the biggest motorsports events in the world with over 200 participating teams and over 800 drivers, many of them touring car legends and veterans, among hundreds of thousands of live spectators camping along the race track.
In sports car racing,
Stefan Bellof
Stefan Bellof (20 November 1957 – 1 September 1985) was a German racing driver. Bellof was the winner of the Drivers' Championship in the 1984 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving for the factory Rothmans Porsche team. His lap record ...
and
Hans-Joachim Stuck
Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1 January 1951), nicknamed "Strietzel", is a German racing driver who has competed in Formula One and many other categories. He is the son of pre-WW2 racing driver Hans Stuck
Life and career
He was born in Garmisch-Parte ...
won the
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.
The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and No ...
in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
and
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, whilst more recently
André Lotterer
André Lotterer (born 19 November 1981) is a German professional racing driver currently racing for Avalanche Andretti Formula E in the FIA Formula E Championship. He is best known for his success in endurance racing with the works Audi team, ...
,
Timo Bernhard
Timo Bernhard (born 24 February 1981) is a former driver from Germany. He was a sports car driver from Porsche, but was seconded to Audi for selected events in 2009 and 2010. He is a winner of the Triple Crown in endurance racing. On 29 June 20 ...
and
Marc Lieb
Marc Lieb (born 4 July 1980) is a former German Porsche factory motor-racing driver. He won the FIA GT Championship in 2003 and 2005, and the European Le Mans Series in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. He won the 24 Hours Nürburgring four times, one t ...
won the
World Endurance Championship World Endurance Championship may refer to:
* FIA World Endurance Championship, an auto racing series held since 2012
* World Sportscar Championship, an auto racing series which used the title World Endurance Championship from 1981 to 1985
* Endura ...
in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
,
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
and
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
respectively.
The
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
is a prestigious annual race held in France.
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
has won the race 16 times, far more than any other constructor. Second on the list is
Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
, who have dominated the race in recent years, scoring 11 wins since their first in the year 2000. Audi driver
Frank Biela
Frank Stanley Biela (born 2 August 1964 in Neuss) is a German auto racing driver, mainly competing in touring cars and sportscar racing. He has raced exclusively in cars manufactured by the Audi marque since 1990.
Career
Biela started his care ...
was one of the most successful drivers in touring and sports cars in the 1990s and 2000s, winning the
FIA World Touring Car Cup in 1995 and the
Guia Race
The WTCR Race of Macau, previously Guia Race of Macau and WTCC Guia Race of Macau, is an international touring car race, and currently a round of the World Touring Car Cup. It is held on the temporary 6.2 km Guia Circuit on the streets of Mac ...
in 1996, as well as the German, French and British Touring Car titles, before winning the Le Mans 24 Hours five times and the
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...
four times.
Winter sports
![Magdalena Neuner Vancouver 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Magdalena_Neuner_Vancouver_2010.jpg)
Germany is one of the most successful winter sport nations. Its dominance in
sledding
Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled (North American), a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, skele ...
disciplines can be attributed to it being the only country in the world to have four bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks. These tracks are located in
Altenberg,
Königssee
The Königssee is a natural lake in the extreme southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park.
Description
Situated within the Berchte ...
,
Oberhof, and
Winterberg
Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland.
Geography
Winterberg is located in the middle of ...
.
Germany has long been dominant in the sport of
Bobsled
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...
ding having won more medals in the
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
than any other nation except Switzerland. However, if medal wins by East Germany and West Germany from 1949 through 1990 are combined, Germany's medal count is nearly double that of Switzerland. At the
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
in Turin,
André Lange
André Lange (; born 28 June 1973) is a retired German bobsledder and the most successful bob pilot of all time. Competing at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, he has won four gold and one silver medals. Lange originally started his sledd ...
piloted both the two-man and four-man sleds to gold, sweeping the men's bobsledding events.
In
luge
A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...
, Germany is dominant like no other nation, stretching from luge's foundation in the early 20th century with dominance in the
European championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
to the
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
. Noted lugers include
Georg Hackl
Georg Hackl (often named: Hackl Schorsch, ; born 9 September 1966) is a German former luger who was three time Olympic and World Champion. He is known affectionately as ''Hackl-Schorsch'' or as the ''Speeding Weißwurst'' a reference to what he ...
,
Klaus Bonsack
Klaus Bonsack (born 26 December 1941), also known as Klaus-Michael Bonsack, is an East German former luger who competed during the 1960s and early 1970s.
He was born in Waltershausen, Thuringia.
He won four Winter Olympic medal in men's luge ...
,
Margit Schumann
Margit Schumann (14 September 1952 – 11 April 2017) was an East Germany, East German luger who competed during the 1970s and early 1980s. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she won two medals in the women's singles event with a gold in 1976 Wi ...
,
David Möller
David Möller (also spelled Moeller, born 13 January 1982) is a German former luger who competed from 2001 to 2014. He won six medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with four golds (Men's singles: 2004, 2007; Mixed team: 2004, 2007), one si ...
,
Felix Loch
Felix Loch (; born 24 July 1989) is a German luger and Olympic champion. He has been competing since 1995 and on the German national team since 2006. He has won fourteen medals at the FIL World Luge Championships with twelve golds (Men's singles ...
,
Silke Kraushaar-Pielach
Silke Kraushaar-Pielach (born Silke Kraushaar on 10 October 1970 in Sonneberg, Thuringia) is a German luger who competed from 1995 to 2008. In June 2008, she was named sports manager for the luge section of Bob- und Schlittenverband für Deutschl ...
,
Sylke Otto, Tatjana Hüfner and Natalie Geisenberger. Since the 1964 Olympic Games Germany has won 87 of 153 medals. German athletes even won 38 of 51 Olympic gold medals (75%).
In Skeleton (sport), skeleton, Germany has been dominant with the likes of Kerstin Jürgens and Anja Huber.
Biathlon has become one of the most popular winter sports in Germany in recent years, and enjoys some of the highest TV ratings in Germany for any sport aside from association football. Germany has won 59 Olympic medals in biathlon, more than any other nation, and is the joint most successful nation in terms of Olympic golds won, with Germany and Russia having won 20 golds each. Some of Germany's most successful biathletes include Frank-Peter Roetsch, Michael Greis, Sven Fischer, Ricco Groß and Frank Luck among the men and Uschi Disl, Andrea Henkel, Kati Wilhelm, Magdalena Neuner and Laura Dahlmeier among the women.
Tobias Angerer has enjoyed success in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing, winning consecutive overall FIS Cross-Country World Cups in 2005/06 and 2006–07 FIS Cross-Country World Cup, 2006/07. Other notable cross-country skiers include Peter Schlickenrieder, Axel Teichmann and Jens Filbrich.
Along with biathlon, ski jumping is the most popular winter sport in Germany, with TV broadcasts regularly attracting five million viewers, and the country has produced a number of top jumpers. Jens Weißflog is Germany's most successful ski jumper and was one of the top competitors in the world from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Other notable athletes include Hans-Georg Aschenbach, Sven Hannawald, Martin Schmitt and Severin Freund. Two of the four rounds of the prestigious Four Hills Tournament are held on German hills, at Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
German athletes have been competitive in Nordic combined. Title-winning competitors include Georg Thoma, Ulrich Wehling, Hermann Weinbuch, Ronny Ackermann and Eric Frenzel.
Germany has enjoyed great success in alpine skiing, although the most successful German alpine skiers have tended to be female. One notable male alpine skier was Markus Wasmeier. Felix Neureuther is Germany's most successful male skier in terms of World Cup race wins with 13. Rosi Mittermaier, Katja Seizinger and Maria Höfl-Riesch have won multiple world-level titles on the women's circuit.
In speed skating Germany has been a major power, particularly in women's competition. Four of the five most prolific winners in the women's ISU Speed Skating World Cup are German – Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, Jenny Wolf, Anni Friesinger-Postma and Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt. Claudia Pechstein won nine Olympic medals in long track speed skating, more than any other skater, male or female. Successful male German speed skaters have included Erhard Keller and Uwe-Jens Mey. Success in short track speed skating has been harder to come by, however Tyson Heung did win the overall ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup in 2006–07 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup, 2006/07.
Germany has a heritage in figure skating extending to the early days of international competition – Oskar Uhlig won the inaugural European Figure Skating Championships in 1891 European Figure Skating Championships, 1891, while the first male and pairs World Champions were Gilbert Fuchs in 1896 World Figure Skating Championships, 1896 and the pairing of Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger in 1908 World Figure Skating Championships, 1908 (Hübler and Burger were also the first Olympic gold medalists in pairs competition at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Pairs, 1908 Games). Germany's best-known figure skater is Katarina Witt, a double Olympic gold medalist in the 1980s. Other notable German competitors include Manfred Schnelldorfer, Jan Hoffmann, Gabriele Seyfert, Anett Pötzsch and the pairings of Ria Baran and Paul Falk, Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, and Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy.
Germany has been a regular competitor in Olympic Curling since the sport was reintroduced at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The German men's and women's teams both won World Curling Championships in 1992 and 1994. A related sport, known as Eisstockschiessen or ice stock sport, is played in southern Germany.
While a minor sport in the country, Germany national bandy team has qualified for Division A of the 2017 Bandy World Championship. In terms of licensed athletes, bandy is the second biggest winter sport in the world.
Tennis
![Steffi Graf (Wimbledon 2009) 13](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Steffi_Graf_%28Wimbledon_2009%29_13.jpg)
The two most successful German tennis players of all time are Steffi Graf and Boris Becker.
Becker became the youngest champion in the history of the men's singles at Wimbledon, won six-time Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal together with Michael Stich.
Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players. In 1988, she became the first and only tennis player (male or female) to achieve the Calendar Year Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year.
The German Open Hamburg was part of the Grand Prix Super Series from 1978 to 1989, and the ATP Masters Series from 1990 to 2008, whereas the Eurocard Open was part of the ATP Masters Series from 1995 to 2001. The German Open Hamburg is an ATP World Tour 500 since 2009, and the Halle Open was upgraded to that category in 2015. Also, the ATP Tour World Championships and Grand Slam Cup were played in Germany from 1990 to 1999. Meanwhile, the German Open (WTA), Women's German Open was a Tier I tournament from 1988 to 2008, and the Women's Stuttgart Open is a WTA Tier II / Premier tournament since 1990.
Cycling
Cycle sport, Cycling is a popular sport in Germany and one of the greatest riders of recent times Jan Ullrich dominated the Tour de France in 1997. He finished a full 9 minutes in front of second place rider Richard Virenque. Jan was regarded as Lance Armstrong's only consistent rival, finishing second to him several times in the Tour de France. Recently Tony Martin (cyclist), Tony Martin has emerged as one of the top Individual time trial specialists in the world, winning the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in 2011 UCI Road World Championships, 2011, 2012 UCI Road World Championships, 2012, 2013 UCI Road World Championships, 2013 and 2016 UCI Road World Championships, 2016. André Greipel has been one of the most prolific winners among Cycling sprinter, road sprinters since his breakthrough in the late 2000s, while fellow sprinters Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb have also enjoyed major success from the early 2010s. In the three-year period from 2014 to 2016, Germany took more stage wins than any other nation in the Tour de France.
Germany also topped the medal table at the 2016 UCI Road World Championships. In 2017 Germany hosted the start of the Tour de France for the fourth time, and for the first time since the race started in West Berlin in 1987 Tour de France, 1987, with the first two stages starting in Düsseldorf.
Chess
Chess is a popular sport in Germany. There are about 84 Grandmaster (chess), Grandmasters and 242 International Masters in Germany. Emanuel Lasker was a famous German chess player who was World Chess Champion for 27 years.
Golf
![Martin Kaymer wint BMW Open 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Martin_Kaymer_wint_BMW_Open_2008.jpg)
As recently as 2007 European Tour, 2007, Germany hosted three events on golf's PGA European Tour, European Tour—the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe, the Mercedes-Benz Championship (European Tour), Mercedes-Benz Championship and the BMW International Open. However, since 2010 European Tour, 2010, the only European Tour event in Germany has been the BMW International Open. The Players Championship was scrapped after 2007; the Mercedes-Benz Championship was not held in 2008 European Tour, 2008, resumed in 2009 European Tour, 2009, and dropped again in 2010. In 2015, the European Open (golf), European Open was revived as a German tournament.
The Solheim Cup, the women's counterpart to the Ryder Cup, was hosted by Germany in 2015 Solheim Cup, 2015.
Two-time Masters Tournament, Masters champion Bernhard Langer is the first German to have won a Men's major golf championships, major championship and is a former Official World Golf Rankings, World No. 1. Since turning 50 in 2007, he has played mainly on the U.S. senior circuit, PGA Tour Champions; he has led that tour in prize money in 10 of his 11 full seasons, and has won a record 10 Senior major golf championships, senior majors in his career (The Tradition in 2016 and 2017; the Senior PGA Championship in 2017; the United States Senior Open, U.S. Senior Open in 2010; the Senior Players Championship in 2014, 2015, and 2016; and The Senior Open Championship in 2010, 2014, and 2017). Langer is also the only golfer to have won all five of the current senior majors. Martin Kaymer became the second German to win a major championship by winning the 2010 PGA Championship in Whistling Straits, Wisconsin, and in 2011 rose to World No. 1. In 2014 he also won the U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst No. 2, North Carolina.
Boxing
![Max-schmeling](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Max-schmeling.jpg)
Boxing is among the most watched TV sports in Germany with both male and female fights enjoying regular spots on national television. Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko are among the two most popular boxers in Germany. German television network RTL has listed the Klitschko brothers as their most important asset next to football. In recent years Germany has become a hub for boxing, the Vegas of Europe, and many international fighters travel to fight out of the country.
Henry Maske is a successful recent German box champion.
Max Schmeling was List of heavyweight boxing champions, heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing, and became worldwide social events because of their national associations. He was ranked 55 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
Rugby union
The first German rugby team was formed at Heidelberg College, Neuenheim College around 1850. ''Heidelberger Ruderklub von 1872'' founded in 1872 is the oldest German rugby club. The German Rugby Federation was set up in 1900. Germany was Olympic silver medallist in rugby union in 1900. Today the Germany national rugby union team competes in the top division of the European Nations Cup (rugby union), European Nations Cup.
Rugby league
Rugby league is a minor sport in Germany, having been introduced in August 2004 by Simon Cooper who was born in Halifax, England and whose father is German. Prior to that it had been played informally by expat players associations such as British servicemen and students. The national governing body for the sport, Rugby League Deutschland, is an associate member of the Rugby League European Federation. The country's Germany national rugby league team, national team are regular competitors in the Rugby League European Shield, European Shield, winning the competition in 2006 and 2011.
Water sports
Water sports like sailing (sport), sailing, rowing (sport), rowing, Swimming (sport), swimming, windsurfing, wind- and kitesurfing, wakeboarding, underwater diving, fishing, powerboating water aerobics and yachting are popular in Germany, especially with large annual events such as Kiel Week or Hanse Sail in Rostock.
American football
The history of American football in Germany began in 1977, when the Frankfurter Löwen were formed as the first club to play the game in Germany. The German Football League (GFL) is the elite league for
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
in Germany and was formed in 1979 and is among the best leagues in Europe. Playing rules are based on those of the American National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''American-Football-Bundesliga'' to ''German Football League''.
[Geschichte]
AFVD website, accessed: 29 December 2010
European League of Football, European league of football was officially created in November 2020, and kicked off its inaugural season in June 2021.
The majority of teams in this league are based in Germany.
Lacrosse
Lacrosse has been played in Germany since 1992, with roughly 5,000 players registered in the German Lacrosse Association (DLAXV - Deutscher Lacrosse-Verband e.V.). It is growing fast, with youth hotbeds being at the SC 1880 Frankfurt and the Berliner Hockey Club.
Germany has sent national teams to the Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships.
Bandy
Bandy was played in Germany in the early 20th century, but the players and audience then turned to football and ice hockey instead. The sport was reintroduced in the 21st century, with the German Bandy Federation being founded in 2013. A List of German rink bandy champions, national championship has been played every winter since 2014/15.
Beach volleyball
Germany featured a men's national team in beach volleyball that competed at the 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.
See also
* Baseball in Germany
* Bundesjugendspiele
References
Further reading
* Carr, Gerald A. "The involvement of politics in the sporting relationships of East and West Germany, 1945-1972." ''Journal of Sport History'' 7.1 (1980): 40-51
online* Ebert, Anne‐Katrin. "Cycling towards the nation: the use of the bicycle in Germany and the Netherlands, 1880–1940." ''European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire'' 11.3 (2004): 347-364.
* Frick, Bernd, and Joachim Prinz. "Crisis? What crisis? football in Germany." ''Journal of Sports Economics'' 7.1 (2006): 60-75.
* Hanssen-Doose, Anke, et al. "Population-based trends in physical fitness of children and adolescents in Germany, 2003–2017." ''European Journal of Sport Science'' (2020): 1-11.
* Koebel, Michel. "The organisation of sport and sports policies in Germany." in ''Sport, Welfare and Social Policy in the European Union'' (Routledge, 2020) pp. 75-85.
* Krüger, Michael. "Historiography, Cultures of Remembrance and Tradition in German Sport." ''International Journal of the History of Sport'' (2014) 31#12 pp 1425-1443.
* Large, David Clay. ''Nazi games: the Olympics of 1936'' (WW Norton & Company, 2007).
* McDougall, Alan. "Whose Game Is It Anyway?" ''Radical History Review'' (May 2016), Issue 125, p35-54; the history of East German football after 1950.
* McDougall, Alan. ''The People's Game: Football, State and Society in East Germany'' (Cambridge University Press, 2014).
* Meier, Henk Erik, and Cosima von Uechtriz. "The Key Role of Sport Policies for the Popularity of Women’s Sports: A Case Study on Women’s Soccer in Germany." ''Sociology of Sport Journal'' 37.4 (2020): 328-345.
* Meier, Henk Erik, Borja García, and Mara Konjer. "Resisting the pressures of globalisation: the repeated failure of elite sport reforms in re-united Germany." ''German Politics'' (2020): 1-21.
* Merkel, Udo. "Football fans and clubs in Germany: conflicts, crises and compromises." ''Soccer & Society'' 13.3 (2012): 359-376
online* Schiller, Kay, and Chris Young. ''The 1972 Munich Olympics and the making of modern Germany'' (Univ of California Press, 2010).
* Schulz, Saskia Sarah, Klaus Lenz, and Karin Büttner-Janz. "Severe back pain in elite athletes: a cross-sectional study on 929 top athletes of Germany." ''European Spine Journal'' 25.4 (2016): 1204-1210.
* Suckow, Christina. "Literature review on brand equity in professional team sport: a German perspective on ice hockey." ''International Journal of sport management and marketing'' 5.1-2 (2009): 211-225.
External links
DOSB siteGerman Football Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sport In Germany
Sport in Germany,