Sport in Sweden
Sport is considered a
The sports with most participants are
Popular
Sweden was considered in 2017 to be the fifth best per capita country in the world[1] and world-leading in two sports, bandy[2] and orienteering.[3] The very strong Swedish sport floorball was not a part of the list.
History
The Swedish sport movement can be traced back to the early 19th century and the Pehr Henrik Ling gymnastics, a recreational movement that would keep its position as the largest fitness activity in Sweden many years into the 20th century. It was also the main sport activity practiced in schools through half that century. The sport movement took its first steps in the 1880s and 1890s, when for example football, bandy and athletics took its first steps in Sweden towards becoming modern sports.
The first public orienteering competition in Sweden was held in 1981 (see history of orienteering). Today, orienteering is one of the most popular sports in Sweden, attracting more than 100,000 runners.[4]
Organization
Unlike the United States, organized sports even for younger people isn't connected to schools the same way. Also, many sports club in Sweden compete in more sports than one.[5]
Prominent athletes, teams and competitions
For an average sized nation, Sweden has top results in many different sports.
Football
Some current internationally acclaimed football players from Sweden include
The
Ice hockey
The
The Swedish Hockey League was founded in 1975. Counting from 1922, when the first Swedish championships were played, Djurgårdens IF is the most successful team with 16 championship titles, followed by Brynäs IF with 13, then as Färjestad BK and IK Göta with 9.
Bandy
Bandy has a special status in Sweden, enjoying almost a cult following by some of its supporters. The annual national bandy championship final is a traditional event followed not only by the usual bandy fans. Sweden is one of the leading bandy playing nations, having won the Bandy World Championship a number of times and the Women's Bandy World Championship every time except one. It is also a big coach exporter. As of 2018 the national teams of China,[6] Slovakia,[7] the Netherlands,[8] Somalia[9] and Ukraine[10] all have Swedish leaders involved. There are more indoor venues than in all other countries combined.[1] Bandy is a game belonging to the hockey family and played with a small ball and short curved sticks. In terms of licensed athletes, it is the second biggest winter sport in the world.[11]
Skiing
In
Handball
Sweden have won four world championships (WC) (1954, 1958, 1990, 1999) and hold, along with Romania and France, the record number of titles. They have also won three WC silver (1964, 1997, 2001), four WC bronze (1938, 1961, 1993, 1995), five European championship gold (1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2022) and four Olympic silver medals (1992, 1996, 2000, 2012). The Swedish National Handball team is considered to be the most successful in the history of the sport. Famous Swedish handball players include:
Motorsports
Three Swedish Formula One drivers have collected wins: Ronnie Peterson, Jo Bonnier and Gunnar Nilsson. Peterson scored ten wins and was runner-up in the F1 World Championship in the 1971 and 1978 seasons.
In rallying,
Other notable drivers are: two time DTM (
.The
Basketball
Basketball has gained attention in Sweden through a series of internationally significant events. In 1999,
Later, several Swedish basketball teams competed at international tournaments.
Ten years after Magic Johnson's first games in Sweden,
Both Jerebko and Taylor are sons of American basketball players who settled in Sweden after finishing their professional careers in the country, and Taylor left Sweden at age 17 to play both
Rugby union
"Swedish football" in the nineteenth century was a variant of association football with some rugby elements. By 1900, Swedish football clubs were using The Football Association's rules with no rugby influence. However, rugby union proper was introduced into Sweden between the world wars by visiting British vessels.
Rugby league
Track and field
A number of Swedes have been internationally successful in
. Susanna Kallur is the World record holder for the indoor 60m hurdles set in 2008.Electronic sports
Swedish players have also been successful in other competitive video games. The Alliance won
Golf
Sweden has nearly half a million active golfers and
The
Orienteering
Sweden is the most successful orienteering country in history.
Others
Successful tennis players include three former World No. 1's in singles, Björn Borg (eleven Grand Slam titles), Mats Wilander (seven) and Stefan Edberg (six), as well as two former World No. 1's in doubles Jonas Björkman (nine) and Anders Järryd (eight).
Other famous Swedish athletes include the heavyweight boxing champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer - Ingemar Johansson; Olympic gold medal-winning fencer Johan Harmenberg; and multiple World Championships and Olympics medalist in table tennis - Jan-Ove Waldner. Other popular Swedish table tennis players include Mattias Falck, Jörgen Persson and Truls Möregårdh.
Sweden has also been internationally successful in
In
.Another sport growing in interest in Sweden is
For the first time, Sweden will feature a national team at the 2022 Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships.[19]
Spectator sports
The greatest spectator sports in Sweden are
International championships hosted by Sweden
Events
- Open to everyone
- Gothia Cup (football)
- Göteborgsvarvet (running)
- Lidingöloppet (running)
- O-Ringen (orienteering)
- Stockholm Marathon
- Vansbrosimningen (swimming)
- Vasaloppet (cross-country skiing)
- Vätternrundan (bicycle racing)
- Open to elite only
- Swedish Open (tennis)
- DN Galan(track and field)
- Sweden Hockey Games (ice hockey)
- Bandy World Cup
- Elite leagues
- Allsvenskan (association football)
- Swedish Hockey League (ice hockey)
- Elitserien (bandy)
- Swedish Basketball League (basketball)
See also
References
- ^ Per Capita Cup 2017
- ^ Bandy
- ^ Orienteering
- ^ sverigeturism.se Archived 2010-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Some Organisational Features" (in Swedish). Sverigeturism. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ CHN - China
- ^ SVK - Slovakia
- ^ NED - Netherlands
- ^ SOM - Somalia
- ^ UKR - Ukraine
- ^ "Bandy destined for the Olympic Winter Games!". www.worldbandy.com.
- ^ "Khimki Moscow signs Jonas Jerebko". Sportando. August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ "Khimki parts ways with Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko". Eurohoops. 2021-01-23. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ "Real Madrid is 2018 EuroLeague champion". euroleague.net. May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- ^ "Alliance wins $1.43m at Valve's Dota 2 tournament The International 3 - GameSpot". gamespot.com. 2013-08-11. Retrieved 2014-12-27.
- ^ "HLTV.org - News: NiP returns for CS:GO". hltv.com. 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2014-12-27.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Sherdog's Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings - Light Heavyweight". Sherdog.
- ^ "UFC's return to Sweden sells out in mere hours". 9 February 2013.
- ^ Record 23 lacrosse teams to play at Men's Under-21 World Championship Ali Iveson (Inside the Games), 30 May 2021. Accessed 9 June 2021.
External links
Media related to Sports in Sweden at Wikimedia Commons