Sportacus ( is, Íþróttaálfurinn, meaning “The Athletic Elf”) is a fictional character from the Icelandic children's television show '' LazyTown'', created and portrayed by Magnús Scheving. His name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsSpartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...

and the word

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 ...

, which represents his athleticism. Sportacus humbly describes himself as a "slightly above-average hero", though his friends have a higher opinion of him, calling him a "

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

". Sportacus encourages the children of LazyTown to eat fruits and vegetables (which he calls "sports candy") and play outside instead of sitting around indoors and eating unhealthy food. He wants to make sure LazyTown is happy, and knows that its residents have to be healthy and fit if they want to be happy. He is opposed by the sinister (yet perhaps equally energetic)

Robbie Rotten Robbie Rotten ( is, Glanni Glæpur, , reckless crime) is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Icelandic children's program '' LazyTown''. He is also the series' primary comic relief character. He is a ruthless, selfish and lazy, ...

, who seeks to return LazyTown to its former state: a lazy town. Sportacus is so engaged in his life of physical activity that he does

parkour Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...

just to get from place to place—even doing acrobatic flips just to get from one side of his kitchen table to the other—and the children have to instruct him on how to relax. Sportacus lives in a large

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

above LazyTown, which contains his bed, food, and other equipment. Including a signed autograph from Jackie Chan. This is an Easter egg to the actors portrayal of the villain in ''

The Spy Next Door ''The Spy Next Door'' is a 2010 American spy action comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jonathan Bernstein, James Greer and Gregory Poirier, produced by Robert Simonds with music by David Newman. The film stars Jackie Chan, with a s ...

''.

History of the character

In the original

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic play on which the television series was based, ''Áfram Latibær!'' (''Go LazyTown!'') in 1996, Sportacus was an elf called ''Íþróttaálfurinn'' (The Athletic Elf) who possessed magical powers and wore a navy-blue tunic, baggy green trousers, and a large burnt umber hat. He also had a large, thick, blond moustache and

goatee A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on one's chin but not the cheeks. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture. Description Until the late 20th century, the term ''goatee'' was used to refer sol ...

beard. Sportacus is called Íþróttaálfurinn in all of his Icelandic language appearances, including the Icelandic dub of the TV series. In the second play, ''Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ'' (''

in LazyTown''), Sportacus became more similar to his current version. He traveled around in a

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...

and wore a brown-and-yellow version of his current outfit, albeit with a larger, looser hat and sculpted chest piece. In the TV show, Sportacus wore a blue and white tracksuit, a blue vest, a blue stocking cap with a thick white stripe and thin black stripe on it, light blue goggles, deep blue boots with red, black and white stripes running down them, blue metal bracers on his arms, and a black pointed mustache.

Reception

Sportacus has taken part in several health campaigns. In 2010, Sportacus and then first lady of the USA

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

visited the Bruce Monroe school in Washington as part of the

Let's Move! Let's Move! is a public health campaign in the United States led by First Lady Michelle Obama. The campaign aimed to reduce childhood obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle in children. The initiative had the initially stated goal of "s ...

campaign. In 2012 Sportacus visited Wareham Wareham Children’s Centre as part of the Change4Life campaign in the UK. In 2013 Sportacus was the only character from LazyTown that attended a sport campaign in

Egilsstaðir Egilsstaðir () is a town in east Iceland on the banks of the Lagarfljót river. It is part of the municipality of Múlaþing and the largest settlement of the Eastern Region with, as of 2020, a population of 2,522 inhabitants. Formerly Egilss ...

and

Borgarnes Borgarnes () is a town located on a peninsula at the shore of Borgarfjörður in Iceland and is the largest town in the Borgarbyggð municipality with a population of about 3800 residents. It is a main junction in Iceland and the gateway to the S ...

in Iceland as part of the European ''Move week'' campaign.Metnaðarfull dagskrá og góð þáttaka víða um land
Skinfaxi (in Icelandic), p. 23. In 2006 Magnús Scheving, the Sportacus actor and creator, hired Dýri Kristjánsson as the stuntman for the Sportacus role. In 2014 Dýri took completely over the role of Sportacus, as Magnús was becoming too old for the role.

References

External links

* {{LazyTown LazyTown Fictional elves Television characters introduced in 2004 Fictional male sportspeople Television superheroes Icelandic superheroes Fictional Icelandic people Film and television memes Internet memes Internet memes introduced in 2016 Theatre characters introduced in 1996