Greece has risen to prominence in a number of sporting areas in recent decades. Football, in particular, has seen a rapid transformation, with the Greek national football team winning the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship. Many Greek athletes have also achieved significant success and have won world and Olympic titles in numerous sports during the years, such as basketball, wrestling, water polo, athletics, weightlifting, with many of them becoming international stars inside their sports.
The successful organisation of the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games led also to the further development of many sports and has led to the creation of many world-class sports venues all over Greece and especially in Athens. Greek athletes have won a total 146 medals for Greece in 15 different Olympic sports at the Summer Olympic Games, including the Intercalated Games, an achievement which makes Greece one of the top nations globally, in the world's rankings of medals per capita. Greece is the country from which the Olympic games originate, so you might suspect that sports are still a rather important part of life in Greece. Let's have a look at what was included in the ancient Olympic games, and which sports the modern Greek play, and which ones they are particularly good at.
This southern European country loves football and their national team have steadily risen to prominence in the international stage starting from their upset in the UEFA Euro 2004 when they beat Portugal when Angelos Charisteas scored the only goal of the game. This is considered as one of the biggest upsets in the international football history. Greece also is considered as one of the world powerhouses for basketball. They are one of the founding members of FIBA and is considered as the fourth best team in the world. The Greek national basketball team has consistently taken the silver medal in the FIBA World Championship since 2006 and are also the EuroBasket bronze winner since 2009. They were the European Champions twice (1987 and 2005) as well as winning two more medals in 1989 (silver) and 1949 (bronze). Greece is one of only four countries that has participated in all Summer Olympic Games since it started in 1896. They even sent athletes to Moscow despite the Greek government's support of the US-led boycott of the 1980 Games.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Greece.
Soccer: Greek love playing soccer, and even though they are not counted as one of the top countries, they surprised (or rather shocked?) everyone when they won the European UEFA Euro 2000 cup.
Basketball: Basketball is almost as popular as soccer, and Greece is actually quite a good country when it comes to this sport. At least you can say that the Greek basketball teams seem to have more regular successes than the Greek soccer teams.
Athletics: Athletics have been popular with the Greek people for thousands of years, and athletics have also been a part of the ancient Olympic games. Today, in the modern Olympic games, Greek athletes show that Greece is still strong when it comes to Athletics.
Water Polo: Water Polo can be seen as the team sport in which Greece stands out as a country in international competitions. Greek players, male as well as female, are powerful players and respected. Greek teams have done well in European as well as other international competitions.
Volleyball: Volleyball is another popular sport in Greece, and though the Greek teams might not be the very best teams in Europe, they are definitely holding their ground and are doing quite well in competitions.
Swimming: Greek swimmers are quite successful in the various European and international competition, and swimming is a popular sport for fitness as well as for fun. Many people swim but do not see it as a competition.
Weightlifting: Weightlifting has been a part of Greek culture for a long time, and it has been a part of the ancient Olympic games. Hence it might not be a big surprise to learn that this sport is the individual sport in which the Greeks are very successful.
Wrestling: Wrestling is another sport that is popular in Greece, and in which the Greek is rather successful on an international level (e.g. during the Olympics). This also does not come as a surprise as Greece is the origin of wrestling. Wrestling was not just a sport for many Greeks, but also a part of normal life as soldiers were required to learn how to wrestle successfully.
Sailing and Rowing: Greece has a lot of sea around it, and of course also the many islands. It is not a surprise then that sailing (and other water sports) is quite popular. However, rowing and sailing are not just popular, they are also sports that have brought a lot of success to Greece. No other country has won as many GOLD medals during the European Rowing Championships as Greece did.
Handball: Handball is another team sport that is extremely popular in Greece. However, Greek teams have not competed in this sport very often yet.
Rising Sports: Sports that are becoming more popular in Greece these days are tennis and baseball.
Post A Comment:
0 comments: