Sport and Slovene athletes
Sport and Slovene athletes
Sport is so important in Slovenia: most Slovenes
do sporting activities in some way in their free time, or
the whole family cycle around on the weekend, so sporting activities, natural
features,
and tourism are quite connected. Also, we can call Slovenia the land of outstanding
sports achievements for 2 million people nationwide when checking the
statistics as well; Slovenia ranks second in the world in the number of Olimpic
medals per capita - famous Slovene athletes are part of Slovene identity, and
Slovenes are most united when cheering for their performance.
Today we will meet the most famous sportsmen and sportswomen from Slovenia, whom you have probably already heard of somehow while learning
Slovene words for sports disciplines.
BASKETBALL / KOŠARKA
Košarka is one of the most popular team sports in Slovenia and the greatest
basketball achievement for Slovenia was winning the European Championship in
2017. The great names include the NBA basketball players Luka Dončić and Goran
Dragić, and Slovenes don't sleep much when their games are on (different time
zones, Slovenes watch their games at night time and then normally go to
school/work the next day).
Luka Dončić, born in Ljubljana (1999), is a Dallas Maverick team player and represents the Slovene national team. Besides many
record achievements, 3x NBA All-star, 3x All-NBA First Team, and EuroLeague 2010-20 All-Decate Team, to
name a few, his latest record (December 22) is a 60-point game when Dončić
finished the Dallas Mavericks game over New York Knicks with 60 points, 21
rebounds and 10 assists, the first 60-20-10 game ever in the world's top men's
basketball. Currently, he is 23 years old.
SKIING / SMUČANJE, SKI JUMPING / SMUČARSKI SKOKI, ICE HOCKEY / HOKEJ NA LEDU
Watching skiing after Sunday lunch is a must in Slovenia in the winter time. Throughout history,
Slovenes were cheering for Bojan Križaj, an alpine skier who competed at three Winter Olympics, Tina Maze set
records as one of six skiers who have
won in all five disciplines, and one of only three who succeeded in doing this
in the same season, also Primož
Ulaga, Jure Franko, Miran Tepeš, Mateja Svet and many others.
Ski jumping is also very popular in Slovenia, with Planica Nordic Centre hosting the world ski jump cup every year, and most successful Slovene jumpers are Peter Prevc, who won the 2016 Ski Jumping World Cup overall title and four Olympic medals, including gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the mixed team. Former ski jumper Slovenes were cheering for is Primož Peterka, who won fifteen individual World Cup competitions.
There aren't many hockey teams in Slovenia, but they do have them, and the most successful Slovene hockey player Anže Kopitar is captain of the LA Kings and has won the Stanley Cup twice.
CYCLING / KOLESARJENJE
Slovenia, a cycling-friendly country, is currently proud of two big names in cycling: Primož Roglič and Tadej Pogačar, the two-time winner of the Tour de France. Roglič, the flying arrow, began his professional cycling career in 2013, and in 2019 he became number one in the UCI, and also won Olympic gold in Beijing. Tadej Pogačar became the second-youngest champion of Tour de France at the age of 21.
We should mention more disciplines and famous Slovene athletes here, can you
help us build the list?
#PRACTICE_SLOVENE
#What sport discipline or famous Slovene athlete would you add to
the #list?
Can you name a few sports disciplines in Slovene and what is your favorite?
#Share with us in a comment here.
#sports #dictionary #more
volleyball - odbojka
beach voleyball - odbojka na mivki
football - nogomet
handball - rokomet
climbing - plezanje
discus throw - metanje diska
cross-country skiing - tek na smučeh
biathlon - biatlon
athletics - atletika
sailing - jadranje
swimming - plavanje
canoeing and kayaking - kanu in kajak