Sports play a significant part in the life of many

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...

who are generally loyal supporters of their favourite teams or individuals. The two leading sports in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

are football and

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 ...

, both drawing the largest attention of both the media and supporters. The many other sports with professional leagues and structures include basketball, volleyball,

team 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 ...

Czech handball Czech handball (Czech: ''česká házená'', also known as ''národní házená'' – ''national handball'') is an outdoor ball game which was created in 1905 in Prague and is still played today. This sport is very similar to team handball. ...

, athletics, floorball and others. Sport is a source of strong waves of patriotism, usually rising several days or weeks before an event and sinking several days after. The events considered the most important by Czech fans are: the

Ice Hockey World Championship 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 ...

, the Olympic ice hockey tournament, the European football championship, the football

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

and

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

matches for such events. In general, any international match involving the Czech ice hockey or football national team draws attention, especially when played against a traditional rival: Germany in football; Russia, Finland, Sweden and Canada in ice hockey; and Slovakia in both. Summer and winter

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 ...

are also both very popular.

Ice hockey

Ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in the Czech Republic O2 Arena, od Českomoravské

The Czech national team

The Czech national team is one of the top teams in the world, regularly competing in the

World Championship 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, ...

, 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 h ...

and the

Euro Hockey Tour The Euro Hockey Tour (EHT) is an annual ice hockey tournament open to only the national men's teams of Czechia, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden. Most of the teams use the competition as a preparation for the upcoming World Championships or Olym ...

. The national team captured their first Olympic Gold at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. From 1996 to 2001, the Czech Republic won six World Championship medals, including three consecutive gold from

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

to 2001. Prominent Czech players include

Jaromír Jágr Jaromír Jágr (; born 15 February 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger for and the owner of Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguin ...

Dominik Hašek Dominik Hašek (, ; born January 29, 1965) is a Czech former ice hockey goaltender who mostly played for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Widely regarded as one of the best goaltenders of all time, Hašek also played for ...

Patrik Eliáš Patrik Eliáš (; born 13 April 1976) is a Czech former professional hockey winger who played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils. Eliáš is the franchise's all-time leader in points, goals and assists, a ...

, Tomáš Plekanec,

Aleš Hemský Aleš Hemský (, born 13 August 1983) is a Czech former professional ice hockey player. He most recently played for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally a member of the Edmonton Oilers, who selected him i ...

, Tomáš Kaberle,

Milan Michálek Milan Michálek (; ; born 7 December 1984) is a Czech former professional ice hockey left winger who most recently played under contract to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted sixth overall by the San Jos ...

and Robert Lang, who captained the 2006 Olympic team to a bronze medal. The team last won gold at the

2010 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships The 2010 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 74th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Teams representing 48 countries participated in four levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for ...

Extraliga

The Extraliga is the highest ranking ice hockey competition in the Czech Republic.

KHL

The team

HC Lev Praha Hockey Club Lev Praha (stylized as HC LEV Praha) was a professional ice hockey team located in Prague, Czech Republic, which played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. In their two seasons played, ...

played two seasons in the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL) league, beginning with the 2012–13 season. The team qualified for the playoffs, but was eliminated by

HC CSKA Moscow HC CSKA Moscow (1946–present, russian: ЦСКА Москва, Центральный Спортивный Клуб Армии, ''Central Sports Club of the Army, Moscow'') is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. The club i ...

. In the 2013–2014 season they reached the final where they lost the

Gagarin Cup The Gagarin Cup (russian: Кубок Гагарина, Kubok Gagarina) is the trophy presented to the winner of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, and is named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. The Cup was ...

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk (russian: Металлург Магнитогорск) is a professional ice hockey team based in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League. They ...

Football

Football has been a popular sport amongst the locals. Previously the old Czechoslovakia team were a force to be reckoned with, finishing runners-up twice in the World Cup and winning

UEFA Euro 1976 The 1976 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Yugoslavia. This was the fifth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976. Only f ...

. The sport gained even more support when the national team qualified for their first World Cup since the break-up of Czechoslovakia. More recently players such as

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as ...

Tomáš Rosický Tomáš Rosický (; born 4 October 1980) is a Czech former professional footballer who was the captain of the Czech Republic national team for a ten-year period. He played club football for Sparta Prague, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal. He s ...

and

Pavel Nedvěd Pavel Nedvěd (; born 30 August 1972) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is regarded as one of the most successful players to emerge from the Czech Republic, winning domestic and European accolades with Ital ...

have gone on to achieve great success at top European clubs and have become national icons. In domestic football, the

Czech First League The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically r ...

is the top-level in the Czech football league system. The most successful clubs are the two capital-based sides

Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...

and

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in ...

. For a long time, Sparta Prague has supplied the national team with players such as

Libor Sionko Libor Sionko (born 1 February 1977) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. At club level he started in his home town of Ostrava, playing for the youth teams of TJ Vítkovice and Baník Ostrava. Professionally, he ...

Jaromír Blažek Jaromír Blažek (; born 29 December 1972) is a Czech former professional football goalkeeper. Club career Born in Brno, Blažek started his career in Slavia Prague, where he got to play his first league games. After two years during which he ...

Zdeněk Grygera Zdeněk Grygera (; born 14 May 1980) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Early career Grygera began his career at Petra Drnovice before moving to Sparta Prague. Ajax In July 2003, he was signed ...

, and

. Sparta Prague has been a regular participant 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 competi ...

, and recently also joined

FC Viktoria Plzeň Football Club Viktoria Plzeň () is a Czech professional football club based in Plzeň. They play in the Czech First League, the top division of football in the country. As runners-up in the 1970–71 Czechoslovak Cup, the club gained the righ ...

and Slavia Prague.

Basketball

Basketball is a popular sport in the Czech Republic. As the heir to the successful

Czechoslovakia men's national basketball team The Czechoslovakia national basketball team ( cz, Československá basketbalová reprezentace, sk, Československé národné basketbalové mužstvo) represented Czechoslovakia in international basketball from 1932 to 1992. After the Dissoluti ...

, the Czech national team has at times struggled to keep up to the expectations. For the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Czech national team qualified for the first time. Notable Czech players include

Tomáš Satoranský Tomáš Satoranský (born 30 October 1991) is a Czech professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Standing at , he primarily plays at the point guard position, but he can also play as a shooting ...

, Jan Veselý, Jiří Welsch and George Zidek. The National Basketball League is the country's top division.

Floorball

Floorball became a very popular sport in the last two decades in the Czech Republic. Czech Floorball, which is officially the Czech floorball association and a member of

IFF In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, "if and only if" (shortened as "iff") is a biconditional logical connective between statements, where either both statements are true or both are false. The connective is bicon ...

, was established in 1992. In 2018 it had more than 70,000 members. This places Czech Floorball in third position between

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and Switzerland in number of members worldwide. Since 1996, when the first

Men's World Floorball Championship The Men's World Floorball Championship is an international floorball competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Floorball Federation, International Floorball Federation (IFF), the sport's global gov ...

took place, until 2019, the Czech Republic men's national floorball team have achieved one second place and two third-place finishes. In the 2019 and 2021 Czech juniors won the gold medal in the U19 world championship in Halifax and Brno. The Superliga florbalu is the highest Czech floorball league. Many Czechs also play floorball in their free time at an amateur level.

American Football

The domestic league Czech League of American Football that features four levels of play and also a woman's division. The Czech Bowl is the final of the top league. The

Prague Black Panthers The Prague Black Panthers (formerly the Prague Panthers) are an American football team based in Prague, Czech Republic. The Prague Black Panthers are one of the most successful teams in Central Europe, having been named the Champions of the Czec ...

founded in 1991 have won 18 Czech league championships and has competed in European Football League. There is also a National team representing the country in international competition.

Motocycle racing

Speedway

Speedway has been run a league since the mid-1950s. The main stadium of Marketa in Prague 6 today hosts a round of the World Championship Grand-Prix series and is the only ever present in the competition. The major league teams are Olympic Prague, Pardubice and

Slaný Slaný (; german: Schlan) is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administ ...

Longtrack

Longtrack racing has always had a major following in the country. The home of longtrack is

Mariánské Lázně Mariánské Lázně (; german: Marienbad) is a spa town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Most of the town's buildings come from its Golden Era in the second half of the 19th centu ...

which is about two hours west of Prague. It hosts both domestic and international meetings and had held many of the World Championship finals and Grand-Prix rounds.

Riders

Some of the most famous to have competed in both sports are Aleš Dryml Sr. and his son Aleš Dryml Jr., Roman Motoušek, Zdeněk Schneiderwind, Antonín Šváb, Luboš Tomíček and

Václav Verner Václav Verner (1949-2018) was an international speedway rider. Speedway career He was the individual champion of Czechoslovakia, after winning the Czechoslovakian Championship in 1971, finished runner-up five time (1970, 1976, 1977, 1978, 19 ...

Shooting sports

Sport shooting 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 ...

is the third most widespread sport in the Czech Republic. Among notable shooters is

Kateřina Emmons Kateřina Emmons (also Emmonsová), née Kůrková (; born 17 November 1983) is a Czech sport shooter who won three Olympic medals. She competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, where she won a bronze medal, and the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she w ...

, who won the gold in 2008 Summer Olympics.

Baseball

Baseball is growing in popularity but is still considered a minor sport. The Czech Republic hosted the

2009 Baseball World Cup The 2009 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 38th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through t ...

. A few Czech have signed contracts and are now playing in Minor League Baseball. The Czech Republic was invited to compete in the qualifying round of the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike t ...

Cricket

Cricket has been played in the Czech Republic since 1997, however, as a sports body, joined the ICC

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the ' ...

in 2000. The

Czech Cricket Union Czech Cricket Union (Czech: Českomoravský Kriketový Svaz, ČMKS) is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Czech Republic. Its current headquarters is in Prague, Czech Republic. Czech Cricket Union is the Czech Republic's rep ...

is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Czech Republic. Its current headquarters is in Prague. The Czech Cricket Union is the Czech Republic's representative at the International Cricket Council and is an affiliate member. It is also a member of the European Cricket Council.

Rugby union

Josef Rössler-Ořovský, who introduced a number of sports in the then

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, among others

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 ( ...

and tennis, was originally credited with starting rugby union as well back in 1895. He went to England and brought back a rugby ball with him. Efforts were made to play the game at the Czech Yacht Club, but a public struggle ensued, and rugby subsequently never really caught on. Czechoslovakia was a founder member of

FIRA Firá ( el, Φηρά, pronounced ) is the modern capital of the Greek Aegean island of Santorini (Thera). A traditional settlement,http://www.visitgreece.gr Greek National Tourism Organisation "Firá" derives its name from an alternative pron ...

in 1934, and joined the IRB in 1988.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p66 Currently, Brno in Moravia, and the capital

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

are considered to be the centres for Rugby Union in the country.

Rugby League

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

in the Czech Republic was started in 2006. The Czechs received government funding before a game was played there, and in their first game on August 5, 2006, in

, the Czechs went down 34–28 to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 2007 the Czech Republic took part in the European Shield tournament. This included two other 2nd tier nations; Germany and Serbia. Czech national team lost both their matches, v Germany 22–44 in Prague (4 August) and v Serbia 16–56 in Belgrade (18 August), and finished third. In 2011, the

Czech Rugby League Association The Czech Rugby League Association is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in Czech Republic. The Association was formed during 4 October 2005. In 2011, the Czech Rugby League Association was admitted to affiliate membership ...

was admitted to affiliate membership of the

Rugby League European Federation The European Rugby League (ERL) is the Umbrella organization, umbrella body for nations playing the sport of rugby league football across Europe. In the absence of other continental federations, ERL also controls rugby league in North America (in ...

after reforming its governance.

Bandy

The national bandy team made its

Bandy World Championship The Bandy World Championship is a competition between bandy-playing nations' men's teams. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy. It is distinct from the Bandy World Cup, a club competition, and from the W ...

debut in 2016. In

Nymburk Nymburk (; german: Nimburg, Neuenburg an der Elbe) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...

an annual international

rink bandy Rink bandy is a variant of the larger sport of bandy. Unlike bandy which is played on a large bandy field, rink bandy is played on significantly smaller ice hockey sized ice rinks. While a bandy field is about the same size as a football pitc ...

tournament is organised. In 2017

Federation of International Bandy The Federation of International Bandy (FIB; french: Fédération internationale de bandy, russian: Международная федерация хоккея с мячом, sv, Internationella Bandyförbundet) is the international governing bo ...

decided to make it an official one. As of 2019, four teams are playing in the national rink bandy league. It is already decided that more will participate in 2019. In terms of licensed athletes, bandy is the second biggest winter sport in the world.

Horse racing

Among the most famous horse races in the country are the Velká pardubická in Pardubice, as well as the Czech Triple Crown of flat racing, which takes place at Prague-Velká Chuchle Racecourse.

Lacrosse

The Czech Republic has sent national teams to the

World Lacrosse Championship The World Lacrosse Championship (WLC) is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years. The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as ...

, the World Lacrosse Women's World Championship and the

Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships The Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships (U-19) are held separately for men and women every four years to award world championships for the under-19 age group in men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse. The tournaments are sanctioned by World Lacrosse ...

Beach volleyball

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

Individual sports

Liberec (german: link=no, Reichenberg) hosted the

FIL European Luge Championships The FIL European Luge Championships, part of the International Luge Federation (FIL) have taken place since 1914. From 1914 to 1934, these championships were part of the Internationaler Schlittensportsverband (ISSV - International Sled Sport Federat ...

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

and 1939.

hosted the

1958 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 1958 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. This event was held under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation. The men's competition consisted of four Canadian (canoe), Canadian (single paddle, open ...

in 1958. In 2009, Liberec hosted the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship eve ...

and the

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 Internation ...

always comes here in January.

Figure skating

Tomáš Verner Tomáš Verner (; born 3 June 1986) is a former Czech figure skater. He is the 2008 European champion, a medalist at two other European Championships (2007 silver, 2011 bronze), and a ten-time (2002–2004, 2006–2008, 2011–2014) Czech nati ...

is the 2008 European champion, a medalist at two other European Championships ( 2007 silver, 2011 bronze), and a ten-time (2002–2004, 2006–2008, 2011–2014) Czech national champion. He has won six senior Grand Prix medals, including the

2010 Cup of Russia The 2010 Cup of Russia was the fifth event of six in the 2010–11 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena in Moscow on November 18–21. Medals were awarde ...

title. He has represented the

at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. He has qualified for the

Grand Prix Final The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (formerly Champions Series Final), often shortened to ''Grand Prix Final'' and abbreviated as ''GPF'', is a senior-level international figure skating competition. Medals are awarded in men's singles, ladies ...

three times (

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 2009 and 2010). His highest placement in the World Championships is fourth which he achieved twice in 2007 and 2009.

Michal Brezina Michal (; he, מיכל , gr, Μιχάλ) was, according to the first Book of Samuel, a princess of the United Kingdom of Israel; the younger daughter of King Saul, she was the first wife of David (), who later became king, first of Juda ...

has represented the

at the 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

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...

. He is the 2013 European bronze medalist, 2011

Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: men ...

champion, 2009 World Junior silver medalist, and four-time Czech national champion. He is also the winner of the 2014-15 ISU Challenger Series. He has qualified for the

twice ( 2011 and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

). His younger sister,

Eliška Březinová Eliška Březinová (born 19 February 1996) is a Czech figure skater. She is the 2019 EduSport Trophy champion, the 2014 New Year's Cup champion, the 2015 Santa Claus Cup champion, a two-time Four Nationals champion (2014, 2018), and a nine- ...

, competes in ladies' single skating.

Skiing and snowboarding

The Czech Republic has produced a number of successful competitors in various skiing disciplines in recent years. Šárka Záhrobská has been a successful

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

, specialising in the slalom. She has won four

medals in the discipline: a gold in 2007, a silver in 2009 and bronzes in 2005 and 2015. She also won a bronze in the slalom at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

. At the

, Ester Ledecká won the gold medal in the

super-G Super giant slalom, or super-G, is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. Along with the faster downhill, it is regarded as a "speed" event, in contrast to the technical events giant slalom and slalom. It debuted as an official World Cup event d ...

. Ledecká also took another gold at the same Games in the snowboard parallel giant slalom, becoming the first woman to take gold medals in two different sports at the Winter Olympics. She also took Snowboarding World Championship golds in

parallel slalom Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of I ...

in 2015 and in

parallel giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up the ...

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 ...

. Ledecká also won the overall parallel and parallel giant slalom World Cup titles in 2015-16 and took another overall parallel World Cup in

2016-17 16-17 is a band from Basel, Switzerland. Their music combines punk rock, hardcore punk, jazz and industrial music. Biography 16-17 was founded in 1983 by Alex Buess, Knut Remond and Markus Kneubühler. When the group played its first con ...

. Eva Samková won the gold medal in the snowboard cross at the 2014 Winter Olympics and was World Cup snowboard cross champion in

. Šárka Pančochová took the overall freestyle and slopestyle World Cup titles in the 2013-14 season. In cross-country skiing

Kateřina Neumannová Kateřina Neumannová () (born 15 February 1973) is a Czech retired cross-country skier. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics, in the 30 km freestyle event. She is one of five cross country skiers to have competed at s ...

and

Lukáš Bauer Lukáš Bauer (; born 18 August 1977) is a Czech cross-country skier who has competed since 1996. Biography On 17 February 2006 he won the Winter Olympics silver medal for the 15 km cross-country classical. His best finish at the FIS Nordic ...

have enjoyed success. Neumannová won a gold medal in the 30 kilometre freestyle event 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 ...

, as well as two

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, ...

in the 10 kilometre race in 2005 and 2007. She also won 18 races in the

FIS Cross-Country World Cup The FIS Cross-Country World Cup is an annual cross-country skiing competition, arranged by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1981. The competition was arranged unofficially between 1973 and 1981, although it received provisional recogn ...

. Bauer won the overall and distance World Cups in the 2007–08 seasons, as well as a silver and two bronze medals at the 2006 and

, and a silver in the 15 kilometre classical event at the 2009 World Championships. He is also a double winner of the

Tour de Ski Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

and 2010. In the sport of Biathlon

golds have been won by Kateřina Holubcová (in the 15 kilometre individual event in 2003) and Roman Dostál (in the 20 kilometre individual in 2005). More recently

Gabriela Koukalová Gabriela may refer to: * Gabriela (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian feminine given name * ''Gabriela'' (1942 film), a Czech film * ''Gabriela'' (1950 film), a German film * ''Gabriela'' (1983 film), a Brazilian film * ''Gabriela' ...

enjoyed a breakthrough season in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, scoring four

wins. She subsequently took gold medals at the 2015 World Championships as part of the Czech mixed relay team, and at the 2017 Worlds in the sprint. She was also overall World Cup champion in 2015-16.

Tennis

The Czech Republic hosts a number of tennis events each year, the most notable of which is the

WTA Prague Open The Prague Open (currently branded as the Livesport Prague Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional women's tennis tournament held in Prague, Czech Republic. It began in 2010, initially as an ITF Circuit $50,000 event upgraded to $100,000. ...

, which has WTA International status since 2015. The Czech Open in

Prostějov Prostějov (; german: Proßnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is known for its fashion industry. The historical city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural ...

, the

Prosperita Open The Prosperita Open is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Ostrava, Czech Republic, since 2004. In 2004, ...

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...

and the

Prague Open In tennis, Prague Open may refer to: * Prague Open (1987–1999) * ATP Prague Open * WTA Prague Open * Sparta Prague Open Challenger The Sparta Prague Open Challenger is a professional tennis tournament played on Tennis court#Clay courts, clay cou ...

are part of the

ATP Challenger Tour The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP T ...

, while the Prague Open is also part of the

ITF Women's Circuit The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players. History It serves as a developmental ...

. The

Czech Republic Davis Cup team The Czech Republic men's national tennis team represents the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup and is governed by the Czech Tennis Federation. The Czech team was started in 1993, following the break-up of Czechoslovakia. The team competed in t ...

has won twice in 2012 and 2013, whereas the and

Czech Republic Fed Cup team The Czech Republic women's national tennis team is the representative national team of the Czech Republic in Billie Jean King Cup competition. The Czech Republic team in its current incarnation began competing in 1993. It is seen as the primary ...

has won six times in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. The best tennis players from the Czech Republic include

Jaroslav Drobný Jaroslav Drobný (; 12 October 1921 – 13 September 2001) was a World No. 1 amateur tennis and ice hockey champion. He left Czechoslovakia in 1949 and travelled as an Egyptian citizen before becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom in 1959, w ...

Ivan Lendl Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech–American former professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl was ranked world No. 1 in singles for 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. ...

Jan Kodeš Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time major singles champion, Kodeš was one of the premier players in the early 1970s. Kodeš's greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French ...

Petr Korda Petr Korda (born 23 January 1968) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He won the 1998 Australian Open and was runner-up at the 1992 French Open, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 2 in February 1998. Korda tested positive for dopin ...

Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champi ...

Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...

, Martina Navratilova, Hana Mandlíková, Helena Suková,

Jana Novotná Jana Novotná (; 2 October 1968 – 19 November 2017) was a Czech professional tennis player. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. Novotná won the women's singles title at Wimbl ...

Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová, OLY ( , ; born 8 March 1990) is a Czech professional tennis player. Known for her powerful left-handed groundstrokes and variety, Kvitová has won 29 career singles titles, including two major titles at Wimbledon in 2011 and ...

Karolína Plíšková Karolína Hrdličková (née Plíšková; ; born 21 March 1992) is a Czech professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in singles, reaching the top of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings on 17 July 2017 and holding the posi ...

Lucie Šafářová Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2015 Australian Open, 2015 ...

and

Barbora Krejčíková Barbora Krejčíková (; born 18 December 1995) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2, achieved on 28 February 2022, and on 22 October 2018, she became world No. 1 in doubles. Krejčíková ...

Major sports facilities

Important Czech arenas and stadiums: Stadion Eden, od severozápadu (01)

Football

Eden Arena Fortuna Arena (formerly known as Sinobo Stadium, Eden Aréna and Synot Tip Arena) is a football stadium, in Prague-Vršovice, Czech Republic. The stadium has a capacity of 19,370 people and it is the biggest and the most modern football stadiu ...

– Located in Prague's

Vršovice Vršovice is a district of Prague. All of Vršovice lies within the Prague 10 administrative district. Vršovice is located south-east of the city centre. It borders Vinohrady to the north, Nusle to the south-west, Michle to the south and Stra ...

district, Synot Tip Arena has a seated capacity of 20,800. It is the home stadium of football team

SK Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

and was opened in 2008.

Generali Arena Generali may refer to: People Generali is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Pietro Generali (basketball), Italian basketball player *Pietro Generali, Italian composer Other uses *Assicurazioni Generali and Generali Ita ...

– home to

AC Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...

, has a seated capacity of 19,416 and was opened in 1917 and rebuilt in 1994.

Ice hockey

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...

– Located in the

Libeň Libeň (german: Lieben) is a cadastral area and district of Prague, Czech Republic. It was incorporated into Prague in 1901. People * Reinhard Heydrich, assassinated here * Herz Homberg, born here * Ernestine Schumann-Heink, born here * Bo ...

district of Prague, the O2 Arena is the largest Czech multi-functional hall. Its capacity is 18,000 seats.

HC Sparta Praha Hockey Club Sparta Praha, commonly known as HC Sparta Prague, is a Prague-based Czech ice hockey team playing in the Czech Extraliga. The club has won four Czech championships (most recently in 2007) and four Czechoslovak championships, as w ...

play their games there.

Ostravar Aréna OSTRAVAR Aréna (previously ČEZ Aréna, due to sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena used mainly for ice hockey matches, in Vítkovice (Ostrava), Vítkovice, Ostrava, Czech Republic. It opened in 1986, and underwent a Euro, € 23.3 million re ...

– Located in

and opened in 1986, the arena has hosted

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 ...

in 2004 and 2015. Tipsport arena – former home to Sparta Praha, has a seated capacity of 13,150 and was opened in 1962.

Tennis

Tennis area Štvanice – The compound located on

Štvanice Štvanice is an island on the Vltava river between the Prague districts of Holešovice and Karlín. At the end of the 17th century, a wooden arena was built there. Until 1816, the island was used for dog hunts involving various animals such as be ...

island in Prague has 14 outdoor courts and 10 indoor courts. Its centre court has a capacity of 8,000 and hosts ATP and WTA tournaments on an annual basis.

The Olympic games

Among the most attractive events for Czech fans are the Ice hockey Olympics, especially against traditional rivals like Russia, Finland, Sweden, Canada, USA and Slovakia. The greatest achievements include gold medals at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games.

Youth sport

In 2014, just under 340,000 youths were registered with the Czech Union of Sport, representing a fall of more than a third since 1989's

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports Czech Republic and Twitter: https://twitter.com/msmtcr

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sport In The Czech Republic cs:Česko#Sport