Sport in
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
consists of a wide range of team and individual sports. The most popular team sports are
football,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
,
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
, and
handball. While the most popular individual sports are
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...
,
ski jumping
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...
,
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
,
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...
, and
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
. Slovenia has competed at fifteen
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
since its inaugural appearance at the
1992 Winter Olympics
)
, nations = 64
, athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women)
, events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines)
, opening = 8 February 1992
, closing = 23 February 1992
, opened_by = President François Mitterrand
, cauldron ...
and is also known for its
extreme sport
Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...
athletes, such as
ultramarathon swimmer
Martin Strel and
extreme skier
Extreme skiing is performed on long, steep (typically from 45 to 60+ degrees, or grades of 100 to 170 percent) slopes in mountainous terrain. The French coined the term 'Le Ski Extreme' in the 1970s. The first practitioners include Swiss skier ...
Davo Karničar.
Team sports
Association football
The highest level of association football in Slovenia is the
Slovenian PrvaLiga
The Slovenian PrvaLiga ( sl, Prva slovenska nogometna liga, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten club ...
, which consists of ten teams. The
Slovenia national football team
The Slovenia national football team ( sl, Slovenska nogometna reprezentanca) represents Slovenia in men's international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia, the governing body for football in Slovenia. The squad ...
have qualified for two
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 ...
s (
2002 and
2010) and two
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 conte ...
s (
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
and
2024
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's f ...
). Notable Slovenian international players include
Samir Handanović
Samir Handanović (born 14 July 1984) is a Slovenian professional footballer who serves as captain and plays as a goalkeeper for club Inter Milan.
Before moving to Italy, Handanović played in his home country of Slovenia. In 2004, he was acqui ...
,
Milivoje Novaković
Milivoje Novaković (; sr-Cyrl, Миливоје Новаковић, ; born 18 May 1979) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Club career
Novaković spent his youth career at Olimpija where he remained unti ...
,
Josip Iličić
Josip Iličić (; born 29 January 1988) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor.
Iličić began his professional career with Slovenian club Bonifika, later also playing for Interblock ...
,
Benjamin Šeško
Benjamin Šeško (, born 31 May 2003) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg and the Slovenia national team. He will join German Bundesliga club RB Leipzig in July 2023.
...
,
Boštjan Cesar
Boštjan Cesar (born 9 July 1982) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
Cesar played in Slovenia, Croatia, France, England and Italy. With 101 international appearances, he is Slovenia's most capped player of ...
,
Jan Oblak
Jan Oblak (born 7 January 1993) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and captains the Slovenia national team. He is frequently ranked as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
O ...
,
Bojan Jokić
Bojan Jokić (born 17 May 1986) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back. Jokić amassed 100 caps with the Slovenia national team between 2006 and 2019.
Club career
Jokić made his senior debut in 2003 wi ...
,
Valter Birsa
Valter Birsa (born 7 August 1986) is a retired Slovenian association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger.
Club career
Born in Šempeter pri Gorici, he spent his childhood in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Birsa's career began ...
,
Brane Oblak,
Danilo Popivoda
Danilo Popivoda ( sr-cyr, Данило Попивода; 1 May 1947 – 9 September 2021) was a football player and manager.
On the international level he played for the Yugoslavia national team (20 matches and five goals) and was a participa ...
,
Srečko Katanec,
Džoni Novak, and
Zlatko Zahovič
Zlatko Zahovič (; born 1 February 1971) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
After making a name for himself in Europe in Portugal, most notably with Porto and Benfica where he amassed Primeira ...
.
Basketball
![Luka Dončić 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Luka_Don%C4%8Di%C4%87_2021.jpg)
The highest level of basketball in Slovenia is the
Slovenian Basketball League. The
Slovenia national basketball team
The Slovenia men's national basketball team ( sl, Slovenska košarkarska reprezentanca) represents Slovenia in international basketball competitions, and is managed by the Basketball Federation of Slovenia. Since the independence of Slovenia in ...
has appeared in four
FIBA World Cups (
2006,
2010,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
) and fourteen
EuroBasket tournaments, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in
2009 and the gold medal in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
. Notable Slovenian basketball players include
Goran Dragić
Goran Dragić (born 6 May 1986) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Dragon", he had played professional basketball in Slovenia and Spain before entering ...
,
Zoran Dragić
Zoran Dragić (born June 22, 1989) is a Slovenian professional basketball player who plays for Cedevita Olimpija of the Slovenian League and the ABA League. He also represents the Slovenian national basketball team internationally. Standing a ...
,
Luka Dončić
Luka Dončić ( ; ; born February 28, 1999) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Slovenian national team.
Born in Ljubljana, Dončić shone ...
,
Sasha Vujačić,
Radoslav Nesterović
Radoslav () is a common Slavic masculine given name, derived from ''rad-'' ("happy, eager, to care") and ''slava'' ("glory, fame"), both very common in Slavic dithematic names. It roughly means "eager glory". It is known since the Middle Ages. Th ...
,
Vlatko Čančar,
Beno Udrih,
Matjaž Smodiš
Matjaž Smodiš (born December 13, 1979) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. Standing at a height of 2.05 m (6'8 ") tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. During his pro club playing career, he played in seve ...
,
Marko Milič,
Ivo Daneu
Ivo Daneu (born 6 October 1937) is a retired Slovenian professional basketball player and coach. During his playing career, at a height of 1.91 m (6'3") tall, he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions. He represented the Yugoslav ...
,
Peter Vilfan,
Vinko Jelovac
Vinko Jelovac (alternate spelling: Vinto Jelovac) (born 18 November 1948 in Pazin, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia) is a former Slovenian-Croatian professional basketball player and coach. At a height of 2.08 m (6'10") tall, and a weight of 95 kg (210 lbs ...
,
Aljoša Žorga
Aljoša Žorga (born 25 February 1947) is a former Slovenian basketball player who competed for Yugoslavia in the 1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the ...
,
Primož Brezec
Primož Brezec (born October 2, 1979) is a Slovenian retired professional basketball player. He is a 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall center. Brezec has played eight seasons in the NBA.
Professional career
Europe/Asia
Brezec grew up in Sežana, ...
,
Boštjan Nachbar,
Sani Bečirović
Sani may refer to:
* Sani (surname), a list of people
*Sani Ahmed, Nigerian basketball coach
* Sani, Mauritania
* Sani Pass, pass in the Drakensberg linking Lesotho to South Africa
*Shani, in Hindu astrology, Saturn
* Sani, a village in Zanskar
...
and
Jaka Lakovič
Jaka Lakovič (born 9 July 1978) is a Slovenian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for Gran Canaria of the Liga ACB, as well as an assistant coach of the Slovenia national team.
Standing at , ...
.
Ice hockey
![Anze Kopitar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Anze_Kopitar.jpg)
The highest level of ice hockey is the
Slovenian Ice Hockey Championship. The
Slovenia men's national ice hockey team
The Slovenia men's national ice hockey team is the ice hockey team representing Slovenia internationally. It is governed by the Ice Hockey Federation of Slovenia. As of September 2022, Slovenia is ranked 19th in the world by the IIHF World Rankin ...
has competed at 29
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 annual ...
between 1993 and 2023, with 10 appearances in top division. One of Slovenia's most notable athletes is
Anže Kopitar
Anže Kopitar (, born 24 August 1987) is a Slovene professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). The 11th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Kopitar became the first Slovene to ...
, who plays for the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
of the
National Hockey League
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 ...
. 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
Jan Muršak (born 20 January 1988) is a professional Slovenian ice hockey player for Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Muršak first played hockey in Slovenia as a member of HDK Maribor before he left to spend one season in the Cze ...
,
David Rodman,
Marcel Rodman,
Rok Tičar,
Žiga Pance
Žiga Pance (born January 1, 1989) is a Slovenian professional ice hockey forward who is currently a free agent having last played for DVTK Jegesmedvék of the Slovak Extraliga. He participated at several IIHF World Championships as a member of ...
,
Žiga Jeglič,
Tomaž Vnuk,
Dejan Kontrec and
Bojan Zajc.
Handball
Handball is a popular sport in Slovenia. The
Slovenia men's national handball team
The Slovenia national handball team represents Slovenia in international handball matches. Their biggest success is the silver medal from the 2004 European Men's Handball Championship, as well as claiming third place at the 2017 World Men' ...
has participated at ten
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
, 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
Rokometni klub Celje ( en, Celje Handball Club), currently named Celje Pivovarna Laško due to sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as RK Celje or simply Celje, is a handball club from Celje, Slovenia. They were the winners of the Ch ...
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 men ...
in
2004, when they beat
SG Flensburg-Handewitt
SG Flensburg-Handewitt is a professional handball club from Flensburg and Handewitt in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Currently, they compete in the Handball-Bundesliga and EHF European League. They play home matches at Flens-Arena. Since form ...
in the final. Other notable Slovenian teams are
RD Slovan, which reached the final of the
1980–81 European Cup
The 1980–81 European Cup was the 26th season of the European Cup football club tournament, and was won for a third time by Liverpool, who beat six-time champions Real Madrid in the final. In the 11 seasons up to and including this one, there wer ...
,
RK Gorenje
Rokometni klub Gorenje Velenje ( en, Gorenje Velenje Handball Club), commonly referred to as RK Gorenje Velenje or simply Gorenje, is a Slovenian handball club from Velenje that competes in the Slovenian First League, the top tier of Slovenian h ...
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
The Slovenia national rugby union team is governed by the Rugby zveza Slovenije, and has yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
The national side is ranked 76th in the world (as of 4 April 2022).
Current players
Record
Below is a table of ...
is currently ranked 43rd by
World Rugby
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...
.
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
Bohinj (; german: Wochein), or the Bohinj Valley ( sl, Bohinjska dolina) or Bohinj Basin ( sl, Bohinjska kotlina), is a 20 km long and 5 km wide basin in the Julian Alps, in the Upper Carniola region of northwestern Slovenia. It is trav ...
, 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
The FIS Ski Jumping World Cup is the world's highest level of ski jumping and the FIS Ski Flying World Cup as the subdivisional part of the competition. It was founded by Torbjørn Yggeseth for the 1979/80 season and organized by the Internatio ...
in 1979,
SR Slovenia was a regular host of matches in
Planica
Planica () is an Alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking ...
. The most successful ski jumper of the time was
Primož Ulaga
Primož Ulaga (born 20 July 1962) is a Yugoslav/Slovenian former ski jumper.
Career
Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won a silver medal in the team large hill competition at Calgary in 1988. Ulaga also won a silver medal at the FIS Ski-Fly ...
, who had nine wins for Yugoslavia. In both 1997 and 1998,
Primož Peterka won the World Cup. Other notable ski jumpers are
Peter Prevc
Peter Prevc (; born 20 September 1992) is a Slovenian ski jumper. He won the 2016 Ski Jumping World Cup overall title and four Olympic medals, including gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the mixed team event. He also won the 2016 Four Hill ...
,
Jurij Tepeš,
Robert Kranjec
Robert Kranjec (born 16 July 1981) is a Slovenian former ski jumper.
Career
Kranjec won a bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in the team large hill event. He won his first World Cup event at Kuusamo, Finland in 2005. ...
,
Rok Benkovič,
Jernej Damjan
Jernej Damjan (born 28 May 1983) is a Slovenian former ski jumper.
Career
Damjan won a bronze medal in the team normal hill event at the 2005 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, and finished 6th in the individual normal hill ev ...
,
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 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, 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 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, World Championship golds in FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2017 – Women's downhill, 2017 and FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2019 – Women's downhill, 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 Gorizia, 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 Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, has passed through Slovenia seven times in its history: 1922 Giro d'Italia, 1922, 1971 Giro d'Italia, 1971, 1994 Giro d'Italia, 1994, 2001 Giro d'Italia, 2001, 2004 Giro d'Italia, 2004, 2021 Giro d'Italia, 2021, and 2022 Giro d'Italia, 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 Tour de France, 2020.
Athletics
Athletics started as a recreation activity in the late 19th century due to the Slovenian Sokol movement, 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 (skier), 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 Ljubljana Sports Park, 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 Records, 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 Summer Olympics, 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, Petra Nareks, Matjaž Ceraj, Anamari Velenšek, Tina Trstenjak, Rok Drakšič and Sašo Jereb.
Sailing
Slovenia has had multiple successful sailors, including Gašper Vinčec and Olympic medalist Vasilij Žbogar.
Standup paddleboarding
Slovenia is a destination for standup paddleboarding due to its coastline, lakes and rivers.
Shooting
The most successful Slovenian sport shooter is Rajmond Debevec, won has competed in three Olympic games and won an Olympic gold and two bronze medals. He also hold the world record for the 50 metre rifle three positions event.
Snowboarding
Notable Slovenian snowboarders include Žan Košir, Rok Marguč, Rok Flander, Dejan Košir and Tim-Kevin Ravnjak.
Swimming
Notable List of Slovenian swimmers, Slovenian swimmers include Sara Isakovič, Peter Mankoč, Borut Petrič, Darjan Petrič, Anja Klinar, Alenka Kejžar, Nataša Kejžar, Emil Tahirovič, Damir Dugonjič and Anja Čarman.
Tennis
![Katarina Srebotnik](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Katarina_Srebotnik.jpg)
Notable Slovenian tennis players include Grega Žemlja, Tamara Zidanšek, Katarina Srebotnik, Blaž Kavčič, Polona Hercog, Maša Zec Peškirič and Nastja Kolar.
Canoeing and kayaking
Slovenia has won numerous titles in canoeing and kayaking and hosts competitions at Tacen Whitewater Course. The most successful canoeists and kayakers are Peter Kauzer and Benjamin Savšek.
Mountain climbing
Slovenia has a major presence in alpinism, with notable Slovene alpinists including Tomaž Humar, Tomo Česen, Julius Kugy, Jakob Aljaž, Klement Jug,
Davo Karničar, Nejc Zaplotnik, Miha Valič, Aljaž Anderle, Viki Grošelj, Pavle Kozje, and Igor Škamperle.
Rowing
Since Slovenia's independence in 1991, rowers have found excellent results in international competition. Notable rower in Slovenia include Iztok Čop, Milan Janša, Jani Klemenčič, Rok Kolander, Sašo Mirjanič, Sadik Mujkić, Miha Pirih, Matjaž Pirih, Denis Žvegelj, Matej Prelog and Luka Špik.
Climbing
Since the mid-2000s Slovenia has had some of the most successful sports climbers in the world, including Mina Markovič and Janja Garnbret who won the IFSC Climbing World Cup#Lead 2, overall lead and IFSC Climbing World Cup#Combined 2, overall combined titles in multiple consecutive years each. Garnbret also won gold at the first Sport climbing at the 2020 Summer Olympics, sport climbing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Other successful athletes are Jernej Kruder, Domen Škofic, Klemen Bečan, Luka Potočar, Gregor Vezonik, Natalija Gros, Martina Čufar, Mia Krampl, Katja Debevec, Lučka Rakovec and Vita Lukan.
Olympics
Slovenia has achieved impressive Olympic success relative to its size, having earned 28 medals (eight gold, nine silver and eleven bronze) at eight Summer Olympics, and 24 medals (four gold, eight silver and twelve bronze) at nine Winter Olympics. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Slovenia's three medals, at roughly one medal for every 681,000 Slovenes, was the third best per capita medal ratio behind only Norway and Austria.
Prior to 1991, Slovenian athletes competed for other countries. The first medal won by an ethnic Slovenian was Rudolf Cvetko, who won silver in fencing in 1912 Summer Olympics, 1912 representing Austria. After World War I, when the Habsburg monarchy collapsed and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was formed, Slovenian athletes won all of their medals for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. At the 1924 Summer Olympics, Leon Štukelj won two gold medals in gymnastics. At the 1928 Summer Olympics, Štukelj won a gold medal, Josip Primožič won a silver medal and Stane Derganc won a bronze medal. In addition, their team won bronze in the Gymnastics at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's team, team event. At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Štukelj, at the age of 38, won the silver at men's rings. After World War II, Slovenians would continue to win Olympic medals under the Yugoslav flag.
Mediterranean Games
Slovenia has competed in the Mediterranean Games since 1993. It is ranked twelfth in the all-time rankings and as of 2016, Slovenia has won 136 medals (40 gold, 39 silver and 57 bronze).
See also
*List of Slovenian sportspeople
References
External links
Sport in Slovenia
{{Sport in Europe
Sport in Slovenia,