Frostworx-micheu130915 KAC vs VSV (17 von 87) (9783568966)

Mirjam Puchner Austrian Junior Championships 2008

Sports are widely practiced in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, both in professional and amateur competitions. The most popular sports are

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, alpine skiing 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 ...

Winter sports

Due to the mountainous terrain, alpine skiing is a prominent sport in Austria. Similar sports such as snowboarding and

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 ...

are also widely popular, and Austrian athletes such as

Annemarie Moser-Pröll Annemarie Moser-Pröll (born 27 March 1953) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from Austria. Born in Kleinarl, Salzburg, she was the most successful female alpine ski racer during the 1970s, with six overall titles, including five consecut ...

Hermann Maier Hermann Maier (born 7 December 1972) is an Austrian former World Cup champion alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. Nicknamed the "Herminator", Maier ranks among the greatest alpine ski racers in history, with four overall World Cup tit ...

Toni Sailer Anton Engelbert "Toni" Sailer (17 November 1935 – 24 August 2009) was an Austrian alpine ski racer, considered among the best in the sport. At age 20, he won all three gold medals in alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics. He nearly duplica ...

and

Marcel Hirscher Marcel Hirscher (born 2 March 1989) is an Austrian former World Cup alpine ski racer. Hirscher made his World Cup debut in March 2007. He competed primarily in slalom and giant slalom, as well as combined and occasionally in super G. Winner of ...

are widely regarded as some of the greatest alpine skiers of all time. Austria has been the number one nation in alpine skiing and leading nation in ski jumping in the

Winter Olympics 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 ...

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships is an alpine skiing competition organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). History The inaugural world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. During the 1930s, the event was held annuall ...

and

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 ...

. At the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 took place from 23 February to 6 March 2011
— accessed 12 March ...

, it took all five ski jumping gold medals. As of 2001, about a third of the 230 Olympic medals which had been won by Austrian sportspeople had been awarded in alpine skiing, and another 30 percent had been won in other winter sports, whilst a quarter of all golds at the Alpine Skiing World Championships had been won by Austrians. The

were held in the town of Innsbruck in the years of

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

and

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. Success at the elite level also helps to promote ski tourism and related industries: ski tourism and equipment manufacturing account for five percent of the country's

gross national product The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...

, with half of the world's alpine skis being made in Austria. Around 40 percent of the Austrian population takes part in alpine skiing. There are 12 professional ice hockey teams in the Austrian Hockey League, which also features one team each team from 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 ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

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 ...

Bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

, luge, and skeleton are also popular events, with a permanent track located in

Igls Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a po ...

, which hosted bobsleigh and luge competitions for the

and

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label= Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

held in Innsbruck. The first Winter Youth Olympics in 2012 were held in Innsbruck as well.

Association football

Football is the most popular sport in Austria, which is governed by the

Austrian Football Association The Austrian Football Association (german: Österreichischer Fußball-Bund; ÖFB) is the governing body of football in Austria. It organises the football league, Austrian Bundesliga, the Austrian Cup and the Austria national football team, as well ...

. Austria was once among the most successful football playing nations on the European continent, placing fourth at the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...

, third at the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

, and seventh at the 1978 FIFA World Cup. However, recently Austria has been much less internationally successful in this discipline; Austria has not qualified for a World Cup since

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. Austria co-hosted the

2008 UEFA European Football Championship The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

with Switzerland.

Tennis

Notable tennis players include

Thomas Muster Thomas Muster (born 2 October 1967) is an Austrian former world No. 1 tennis player. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, he won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was called "The King of Clay". In addition, he won eig ...

, winner of the

1995 French Open The 1995 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 29 May until 11 June. It was the 99th staging of the French Open, and the second Gra ...

singles tournament;

Dominic Thiem Dominic Thiem (; born 3 September 1993) is an Austrian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, which he first achieved in March 2020. He is the second-highest ...

, winner of the 2020 US Open men's singles and finalist of the 2018 and 2019 French Open men's singles and 2020 Australian Open men's singles tournaments;

Jürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a younger brother, Gera ...

, world number 11 in the

2010 ATP World Tour The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the ATP. The 2010 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF ...

and winner of the 2010 Wimbledon and 2011 US Open doubles tournaments; Barbara Schett, number 8 in the

1999 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV ...

singles rankings; and

Barbara Paulus Barbara Paulus (born 1 September 1970) is a former professional top-ten tennis player from Austria. She began playing on the WTA Tour in 1986 and retired in 2001. During her career, she won a total of seven WTA tournaments (six singles titles, on ...

, world number 13 in the

1996 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). The 1996 WTA Tour included the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III and Ti ...

singles rankings.

Motorsport

Motorsport is the third most popular spectator sport in Austria (after skiing and football). The Austrian Grand Prix is a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

race held in 1963, 1964, from 1970 to 1987, from 1997 to 2003 and since 2014. Several Austrian drivers have competed successfully in Formula One.

Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...

is a three-time champion (1975, 1977 and 1984) and seventh winningest driver with 25.

Jochen Rindt Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s *Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II *Jochen Babock (born 1953), East G ...

was crowned 1970 champion, after being killed in practice for a race; he also won the 1965

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger (born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver. He competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, twice finishing 3rd overall in the championship ( and ), both times driving for Ferrari. He won ten Grands Prix, ach ...

ranked third in 1988 and 1994, and has collected 10 wins and 48 podiums. The top two motorsport venues are

Österreichring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from to . It was later sho ...

and

Salzburgring The Salzburgring is a motorsport race track located in Plainfeld, east of Salzburg. Key Facts Track Length Bends 15 Straights ...

. The former hosted the Austrian Grand Prix, the

Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix The Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that was part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season from 1971 to 1997, and then again from 2016 onwards. The event is due to take place at the Red Bull Ring until at least 2025. Hist ...

, and the

1000 km Zeltweg The 4 Hours of Red Bull Ring (originally known as the 500 km Zeltweg) was an endurance sports car event held near Spielberg, Austria. Originally based at the Zeltweg Airfield, the race moved to the Österreichring and was lengthened to a ...

endurance sports car race. The latter has also held the Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix, the

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

, the

European Formula Two Championship The European Formula Two Championship was a Formula Two motor racing series that was held between 1967–84. The races were held across Europe, and were contested both by drivers aiming to compete in Formula One in the future as well as curren ...

, and the top German series such as the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide. The original DTM had resumed racing with producti ...

and the

Super Tourenwagen Cup The Super Tourenwagen Cup, or German Supertouring Championship, was a touring car racing series held between 1994 and 1999 in Germany. The championship was established when BMW and Audi both left the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) in 19 ...

Basketball

The country's prime basketball league is the

Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga The Austrian Basketball Bundesliga (in German: Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga) was the top men's professional basketball league in Austria.O ...

. Several of its teams have participated in European competitions. Until the late 70s, Austria was one of Europe's main teams as it qualified for the EuroBasket six times. Since then, the team declined despite occasional strong showings at EuroBasket qualification games. The most prominent Austrian basketball player today is

Jakob Pöltl Jakob Pöltl (sometimes spelled Jakob Poeltl; ; born October 15, 1995) is an Austrian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Utah Utes. In his so ...

, who became the country's first NBA player in the 2016–17 season after having been selected by the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft. Austria is an emerging country for

3x3 basketball 3x3 basketball (pronounced ''three-ex-three'') is a variation of basketball played three-a-side, with one backboard and in a half-court setup. According to an ESSEC Business School study commissioned by the International Olympic Committee, 3x3 ...

Rugby Union

American Football

The

Austrian Football League The Austrian Football League (AFL) is the highest level of American football in Austria founded in 1984. The Austrian Football League (AFL) has always been considered among the best and strongest leagues in Europe. The league plays by rules based ...

(AFL) is the top level of

american football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

in Austria founded in 1984, and considered one of the best leagues in Europe. Teams from Austria have won the European Football League championship the

Eurobowl The Eurobowl was the championship final game of a tournament style playoff to determine the champion of all of the American football leagues in Europe. The tournament featured the top or champion clubs from each countries top league that was cal ...

final many times. The Austrian national American Football team is ranked high in world and European rankings. American football in Austria is one of the more popular team sports for participation and spectators.

DanceSport in Austria

Austria is an active member of the WDSF and hosts many annual competitions such a
Austrian Open
and world championships. Austrian dance athletes are noticeable in the world. * Florian Gschaider and Manuela Stoeckl were amateur world ten-dance semifinalists in 2003 i
Vancouver
*

Vadim Garbuzov Vadim Garbuzov is a Canadian and Austrian ballroom dancer, showman and choreographer of Ukrainian descent. He was the World Youth Championship finalist in 2005, the winner of the Austrian TV program ''Dancing Stars'' in 2012, 2014 and 2020, and th ...

and

Kathrin Menzinger Kathrin Menzinger (born 24 September 1988 in Vienna) is an Austrian dancer. Menzinger and her partner won the World Championships in Latin Showdance in 2016 for the secnd time. Biography She started to dance at the age of 3, first with ballet, bu ...

are Austrian ballroom dancers and showmen. In 2015 they became world champions in Latin show and world show champions in Standard show. Popularizing

DanceSport Dancesport is competitive ballroom dancing, as contrasted to social or exhibition dancing. In the case of Para dancesport, at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair. Dancesport events are sanctioned and regulated by dancesport organizatio ...

, Austrian television holds annual

Dancing Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format ...

show that enjoys its 9th season as of 2014.

Beach volleyball

Austria 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.

References

External links

{{Sport in Europe