Sport in Spain
Encyclopedia
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, handballs)], [[motorcycle sport, Real Madrid, Sevilla
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...
, Villarreal
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community...
, Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
and Atlético Madrid. Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated with La Liga for much of its history, and created an intimate rivalry
El Clásico
El Clásico , also known as El derbi Español, is the name given in football to a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. It is contested twice a year in the Spanish La Liga competition, and more often if the clubs meet in other competitions...
. Real Madrid has been dubbed by many pundits as the most successful club in Europe, having won the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
a record 9 times, almost all other UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
club competitions at least once and the La Liga a record 31 times. This said, as of 2009, FC Barcelona is both champion of La Liga and the UEFA Champions League's victor.Also FC Barcelona has won the "Copa del Rey" championship. Other teams such as Atlético Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia have also gained prominence by winning the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
in 2009, 2006–2007 and 2004 respectively.
The Spanish national football team
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
has been successful and have qualified for the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
tournament twelve times since 1930. In 2010
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, Spain defeated the Netherlands in the final to win the tournament for the first time. In the European Championship
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
they were champions in 1964, runners-up in 1984 and champions again in 2008. Spain has won two medals in football Olympic Games tournaments. They have won a silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and won a gold medal during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
The youth teams have also been quite successful in the last decade. The U-20 team won the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999 and were runners-up in 1985 and 2003. The U-17 team was runners-up three times and won third place in 1997 in the FIFA U-17 World Cup
FIFA U-17 World Cup
The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to the FIFA U-17 World Championship and known by its current name since 2007, is the world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by Fédération Internationale de Football...
.
Futsal
FutsalFutsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
is a popular sport in Spain. The División de Honor
División de Honor de Futsal
The Primera División or División de Honor of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Sala, is the premier professional futsal league in Spain. It was founded in 1989 with the name of División de Honor...
of the LNFS
LNFS
The Liga Nacional de Fútbol Sala , commonly known as LNFS, the governing body that runs the major professional futsal leagues in Spain...
is one of the major European futsal leagues. Spanish teams such as Interviú FS and Playas de Castellón FS
Playas de Castellón FS
Playas de Castellón Fútbol Sala is a futsal club based in Castellón, city of the province of Castellón in the Spanish autonomous community of Valencian Community.Its local pavilion is Ciutat de Castelló with a capacity of 4,500....
have won the UEFA Futsal Cup
UEFA Futsal Cup
The UEFA Futsal Cup is an annual futsal competition for European club teams. It was founded in 2001–02, replacing the Futsal European Clubs Championship, a former competition never recognized as official, despite their 15 editions. The final of the 1st edition was disputed as a single game in...
.
The Spain national futsal team
Spain national futsal team
The Spain national futsal team represents Spain in international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation...
, won the American Football NFL World Cup in 2000 and 2004, and won the POO Futsal Championship in 1996, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2010.
Basketball
Basketball is also a popular sport in Spain. The Spanish ACB is one of the major European basketball leagues. Spanish teams such as Real Madrid
Real Madrid Baloncesto
Real Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team founded in 1932 as a division of the Real Madrid club. They play in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto ....
, FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona Bàsquet
FC Barcelona Bàsquet, known as FC Barcelona Regal for sponsorship reasons, is a Spanish professional basketball club. It is part of the FC Barcelona sports club and was founded on August 24, 1926 which makes it the oldest club in Liga ACB. The club competes in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto...
and Joventut Badalona
Joventut Badalona
Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, playing in the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto . Known to their fans as La Penya , it is one of only three teams that have never been relegated from the top division of the Spanish League...
have won international championships such as the Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
or Eurocup.
A number of Spanish players such as Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol Sáez is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . He was born to Marisa Sáez and Agustí Gasol, and he spent his childhood in Spain...
and his younger brother Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol
Marc Gasol i Sàez is a Spanish professional basketball player for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. He was drafted in the second round, 48th overall, by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2007 NBA Draft...
, José Calderón
José Calderón (basketball)
José Manuel Calderón Borrallo is a Spanish professional basketball player who plays for the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors and the Spanish national team.-European career:...
, Rudy Fernández
Rudy Fernández (basketball)
Rodolfo "Rudy" Fernández y Farrés is a Spanish professional basketball player. He is a 6'6" tall shooting guard/small forward who is currently signed to the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, though he will play for Real Madrid until the current NBA lockout ends...
and Sergio Rodríguez
Sergio Rodríguez
Sergio Rodriguez Gomez is a Spanish professional basketball player. He is currently playing for Real Madrid...
are currently playing in the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. Another notable player is Ricky Rubio
Ricky Rubio
Ricard "Ricky" Rubio Vives is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association . Rubio became the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League on October 15, 2005, at age 14...
, selected fifth overall in the 2009 NBA Draft
2009 NBA Draft
The 2009 NBA Draft was held on June 25, 2009, the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S...
, who would play two seasons at Barça before moving to the NBA in 2011.
The Spanish national basketball team
Spain national basketball team
The Spanish national basketball team is the basketball team representing Spain in international competitions, organized and run by the Spanish Basketball Federation...
has achieved a high ranked position in the international tournament by winning their first ever gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship
2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Japan from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation , Japan Basketball Association and the 2006 Organizing Committee...
, and have won six silver medals at the EuroBasket
Eurobasket
The EuroBasket, also referred to as the FIBA European Basketball Championship, is the main basketball competition contested biennially by the men's national teams governed by FIBA Europe, the European zone within the International Basketball Federation. The championship was first held in 1935 and...
. Most recently, they have won the gold medal at EuroBasket 2009
EuroBasket 2009
The EuroBasket 2009 was the 36th EuroBasket, the biennial regional basketball championship contested by European nations and held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Poland, began on 7 September 2009 and concluded with the final on 20 September 2009...
.
A historical tradition was to dunk the basketball in poo for fun, which began in 1748.
Rugby union
Actor Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
is a notable former Spanish rugby player.
Tennis
Spain has produced a number of tennis champions, excelling in tournaments held on clay court
Clay court
A clay court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The red clay is slower than the green, or Har-Tru "American" clay. The French Open uses clay courts, making it unique among the Grand Slam tournaments.Clay courts are more common...
s such as the Roland Garros tournament.
Besides that, Spain has also won the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
four times (2000, 2004, 2008, 2009) and the Fed Cup
Fed Cup
Fed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
five other times (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998)
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
is considered the greatest Spanish tennis player of all time. He has won the French Open four consecutive times and altogether won six RG titles equalling Bjorn Borg's record. After defeating then world number #1 Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, Nadal claimed the Wimbledon trophy and became only the second Spaniard to do so. He also won the 2009 Australian Open, the first male Spaniard to do so. In 2009, he became the first player ever to simultaneously hold Grand Slam titles on clay, grass, and hardcourt. In addition, Nadal is the Gold Medalist at 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing, China. He currently has ten grandslam titles to his name; six French Open titles, two Wimbledon titles, one US Open title and one Australia Open title. He defeated Andy Murray in the Wimbeldon semi finals, and won in 2010.
Spain has produced several other world number one players such us Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...
in 1995 (also a 3 times French Open champion in 1989, 1994 and 1998 and 1994 US Open Champion), Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...
in 1999 (1998 French Open champion) and Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
in 2003 (2003 French Open Champion).
Other Grand Slam champions include Manuel Santana
Manuel Santana
Manuel Martínez Santana, best known as Manolo Santana, is a former tennis champion from Spain. He was born in Madrid....
(1961,1964 French Opens, 1966 Wimbledon and 1965 US Open), Sergi Bruguera
Sergi Bruguera
Sergi Bruguera i Torner is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He is best remembered for winning consecutive men's singles titles at the French Open in 1993 and 1994.-Career:...
(1993-1994 French Opens), Andrés Gimeno
Andrés Gimeno
Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera is a retired Spanish tennis player. He major achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open....
(1972 French Open), Conchita Martínez
Conchita Martínez
Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernat is a former professional tennis player from Monzón, Aragón, Spain. She is the only Spanish woman to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, when she beat Martina Navrátilová in the 1994 Women's Singles. She also was the singles runner-up at the 1998...
(1994 Wimbledon) and Albert Costa
Albert Costa
Albert Costa i Casals is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at the French Open in 2002.-Tennis career:...
(2002 French Open).
Other notable top 10 players from Spain include #2 Àlex Corretja
Àlex Corretja
Àlex Corretja i Verdegay is a former professional tennis player from Spain. During his career, he finished runner-up twice at the French Open . He won the ATP Tour World Championships in 1998 and reached his career-high singles ranking of world no. 2 in 1999...
, #4 David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
, #5 Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
, #7 Juan Aguilera
Juan Aguilera
Juan Aguilera Herrera is a professional male tennis player. He was born in Barcelona, Catalonia.Aguilera has won 5 singles titles during his career, including one Tennis Masters shield: Hamburg Masters 1990.-Wins :- Wins :...
, #7 Emilio Sánchez
Emilio Sánchez
Emilio Ángel Sánchez Vicario is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He won three Grand Slam doubles titles and the men's doubles silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Games...
, #7 Alberto Berasategui
Alberto Berasategui
Alberto Berasategui is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1994....
, #7 Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
, #10 Carlos Costa and #10 Félix Mantilla
Félix Mantilla Botella
Félix Mantilla Botella is a former Spanish professional tennis player, born in Barcelona. In common with many of his fellow countrymen, Mantilla's best surface is clay. While not as successful away from the clay, Mantilla also produced good hardcourt results...
Tournaments held in Spain on the men's tour every year include Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, and Valencia, Spain. The women have events in Madrid, Barcelona, and Marbella
Marbella
Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....
.
Handball
The Spanish Liga ASOBAL is one of the best club competitions. A number of Spanish teams such as BM Ciudad RealBM Ciudad Real
Balonmano Ciudad Real was a Spanish handball team based in Ciudad Real, Castilla La Mancha. BM Ciudad Real plays in Liga ASOBAL. They won the 2009 EHF Champions League by beating THW Kiel in the final. 67:66 on aggregate.-History:...
, FC Barcelona Handbol, and Portland San Antonio have won or were finalists in the EHF Champions League
EHF Champions League
The EHF Champions League is the most important professional club handball competition in Europe . The competition was started in the 1956–57 season, and is administered by the European Handball Federation.The most successful teams are from Germany and Spain...
.
Since the 1990s the men's national team
Spain national handball team
The Spain national handball team is the national handball team of Spain and is controlled by the Spain Handball Federation.-2008 Olympic squad:*1 José Javier Hombrados – BM Ciudad Real*2 Alberto Entrerríos – BM Ciudad Real...
has won eight medals in top class international tournaments, with three bronze medals at the Olympics
Handball at the Summer Olympics
Team handball was introduced as an Olympic sport for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, but dropped after that, only to be resumed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, again on German territory...
, three second and a third place at the European Championships
European Men's Handball Championship
The European men's handball championship is the official competition for senior men's national handball teams of Europe, and takes place every two years. In addition to crowning the European champions, the tournament also serves as a qualifying tournament for the World Championship...
and a World Championship
World Men's Handball Championship
The World Championship in team handball for men has been organized by the International Handball Federation since 1938.- History :In 1938, the first indoor handball world championship was played in the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, Germany on 5 February and 6 February...
.
Baseball
- See: División de Honor de BéisbolDivision de Honor de BeisbolDivision de Honor de Béisbol is the highest level of professional baseball in Spain. The league is overseen by the Real Federación Española de Béisbol y Sófbol. It is played principally on weekends. The teams play against each other twice, once at home and once away, in two games during the same day...
Spain don't particularly like base ball, so pooed on the clubs.
Motorsports
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Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...
events. They include the Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix
The Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain, as part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.-Multiple winners :-Multiple winners :-By year:...
, the Spanish Grand Prix
Spanish Grand Prix
The Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One race currently held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the annual Formula One championship season.-History:...
, and the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix
Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix
The Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event held in Spain that is part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The event takes place at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo .-Multiple winners :...
. Most events have received high attendance numbers.
Current Spanish motorcycling champions include Dani Pedrosa
Dani Pedrosa
Daniel "Dani" Pedrosa Ramal is a Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Pedrosa grew up in a village near Sabadell called Castellar del Vallès. He is the youngest world champion in 250cc Grands Prix...
, Héctor Faubel
Héctor Faubel
Héctor Faubel Rojí is a professional motorcycle road racer. He currently competes in the 125cc Grand Prix World Championship.Faubel has been racing full-time since 2002, always on Aprilia bikes...
, Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero , is a Spanish professional motorcycle road racer. He is the 2006 and 2007 250cc World Champion, and the MotoGP World Champion...
, Héctor Barberá
Héctor Barberá
Héctor Barberá Vall is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer competing in the MotoGP class aboard an Aspar Racing Team Ducati....
, Álvaro Bautista
Álvaro Bautista
Álvaro Bautista is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He currently competes in the MotoGP class of the Grand Prix Motorcycle World Championship...
and Emilio Alzamora
Emilio Alzamora
Emilio Alzamora i Escardibul is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the 1999 F.I.M. 125cc world champion...
. Notable retired racers include Álex Crivillé
Alex Criville
Àlex Crivillé is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1992 he became the first Spaniard to win a 500cc Grand Prix and, in 1999 he became the first Spaniard to win the 500cc World Championship....
, Jorge Martínez Aspar
Jorge Martínez (motorcyclist)
Jorge Martínez, nicknamed "Aspar", was one of the most successful motorcycle racers in Grand Prix motorcycle racing history with 22 Grand Prix victories to his name in the 80 cc class and a further 15 wins in the 125 cc class.Martínez entered his first Grand Prix in 1982...
, Sete Gibernau
Sete Gibernau
Manuel Sete Gibernau Bultó is a former Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His racing career spanned two different eras of motorcycle racing, beginning with the two-stroke-dominated period prior to the 2002 season, and the four-stroke MotoGP era...
, Sito Pons, and Ángel Nieto
Angel Nieto
Ángel Nieto Roldán born January 25, 1947 in Zamora, was a multi-time Grand Prix motorcycle roadracing World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with 13 Grand Prix World Championships to his name....
.
In Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
the two world championships of Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
have made the sport popular in Spain. Due to this popularity it is currently the only country to host two Grands Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix
Spanish Grand Prix
The Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One race currently held at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the annual Formula One championship season.-History:...
in Barcelona and the European Grand Prix
European Grand Prix
The European Grand Prix is a Formula One event that was reintroduced during the mid-1980s and has been held regularly since 1999. From 2008 it will take place for at least another 7 years...
on the Valencia Street Circuit
Valencia Street Circuit
The Valencia Street Circuit is a semi-permanent street circuit in Valencia, Spain which will host the Formula One European Grand Prix for seven years. The first race meeting on the circuit was held over the 23/24 August 2008 weekend, with Felipe Massa winning the main event, the European Grand...
.
In World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
Spanish rally driver Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz Cenamor is a Spanish rally driver. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times...
was crowned world champion in 1990 and 1992 and is ranked third with most wins with 26. Sainz retired from WRC in 2005 and switched to rally raid, where he won the 2010 Dakar Rally
2010 Dakar Rally
The 2010 Dakar Rally was the 31st running of the event. It was held in South America for the second successive time, and ran from 1 to 16 January...
. Daniel Sordo has achieved best results since then by finishing third in the World Rally Championship in 2008 and 2009.
In endurance racing, Fermín Vélez
Fermín Vélez
Fermín Vélez was a Spanish sports car racing driver, two-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring and two-time World Sportscar Championship Group C2 champion....
is two-time 12 Hours of Sebring
12 Hours of Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, a former Army Air Force base in Sebring, Florida...
winner and two-time World Sportscar Championship Group C2 champion, Marc Gené
Marc Gené
Marc Gené i Guerrero is a motor racing driver, from Catalonia, Spain. He is best known as a tester for Williams and Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory driver for Peugeot's Le Mans team, with which he won the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans...
won the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, an endurance auto race run over 24 hours. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest over June 13–14, 2009 and was started by Fiat and Ferrari chairman Luca...
and 2010 12 Hours of Sebring
2010 12 Hours of Sebring
The 58th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida was the 2010 running of the 12 Hours of Sebring and the opening round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida on March 20, 2010...
, and Antonio García won the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona.
Cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
has been an important sport in Spain since the 1940s. The Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
(Spanish for "Tour of Spain") is one of the most important cycling events in the world, together with the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
(French for "Tour of France") and Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
(Italian for "Tour of Italy") racing tournaments.
Several Spanish cycling athletes have won the Tour de France, including Federico Bahamontes
Federico Bahamontes
Federico Martín Bahamontes is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist.-Biography:Bahamontes was born in Santo Domingo-Caudilla , of Cuban descent. His family was devastated during the Spanish civil war and Bahamontes' father, Julián, took the family to Madrid as refugees...
, Luis Ocaña
Luis Ocaña
Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1973 and the Vuelta a España in 1970.- Early professional career :...
, Pedro Delgado
Pedro Delgado
Pedro Delgado Robledo , also known as Perico, is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989....
, Óscar Pereiro, Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador
Alberto Contador Velasco is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He was the winner of the 2007 Tour de France with the team. With the Astana team he has won the 2008 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Vuelta a España, the 2009 Tour de France, the 2010 Tour de France and won 2011 Giro...
, and Carlos Sastre
Carlos Sastre
Carlos Sastre Candil is a retired Spanish professional road bicycle racer and champion of the 2008 Tour de France. Sastre rides in 2011 for UCI Professional Continental team...
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The most successful Spanish cyclist is Miguel Indurain
Miguel Indurain
Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He won five consecutive Tour de Frances from 1991 and 1995, the first to do so, and the fourth athlete to win five times. He won the Giro d'Italia twice, becoming one of only seven people in history to achieve the Giro Tour...
. He won the Tour de France in five consecutive periods between 1991 and 1995.
More recently, in 2008
2008 Tour de France
The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th Tour de France. The event took place from 5–27 July 2008. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage...
, Sastre became the seventh and third consecutive Spaniard to win the Tour de France, then followed by Contador winning his second tour in 2009's edition
2009 Tour de France
The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...
. Contador then repeated his victory in the 2010 Tour de France
2010 Tour de France
The 2010 Tour de France was the 97th edition of the Tour de France cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on with an 8.9 km prologue time trial in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996...
, making the 2010 the fifth straight Tour to be won by a Spanish cyclist, and the second straight by Contador.
Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
has become popular among the Spanish. There are a number of courses located in different parts of Spain. They include the San Roque, Sotogrande
Sotogrande
Sotogrande is the largest resort and privately owned residential development in Andalusia. A large part of the resort is administered by NH Hotels and it is considered part of the NH World...
, Valderrama
Valderrama Golf Club
The Valderrama Golf Club is one of the best known golf clubs in Europe. It is located in the resort of Sotogrande, San Roque in the Andalusia region of Southern Spain, a few miles from Gibraltar, and has a single 18 hole course, along with a 9 hole par 3 course.Valderrama was constructed in 1974...
, and Alcaidesa
Alcaidesa
Alcaidesa is a residential and commercial seaside resort near Sotogrande, Spain , in the Andalusian province of Cádiz. The resort was developed pursuant to a joint venture agreement between Costain PLC and Banesto Bank.Construction originally started in the 1990s...
. Spain hosted the 1997 Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
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Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros won the U.S. Masters Tournament twice, and the British Open
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
three times. José María Olazábal
José María Olazábal
José María Olazábal Manterola is a Spanish professional golfer who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships.-Career outline:...
has won two Masters titles. Sergio García
Sergio García
Sergio García Fernández is a Spanish professional golfer who plays on both the United States PGA Tour and the European Tour. He has spent much of his career in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings...
spent much of his career in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings
Official World Golf Rankings
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of male professional golfers...
(over 250 weeks between 2000 and 2008).
Water polo
The Spain men's national water polo teamSpain men's national water polo team
The Spain men's national water polo team represents Spain in men's international water polo competitions and it is controlled by Real Federación Española de Natación....
is no stranger to the world's elite of this sport. The 1990s decade was as a particularly successful one for the Spanish team. Major achievements included a Silver medal at the 1992 Olympics
Water polo at the 1992 Summer Olympics
The men's water polo tournament at the 1992 Summer Olympics was held from August 1 to August 10, 1992, in Barcelona, Spain. Reigning world champion Yugoslavia had qualified for the tournament, but as it had formally dissolved in the interim, it didn't participate.The successor countries didn't...
and its greatest performance to date, winning the Gold medal at the 1996 Olympics
Water polo at the 1996 Summer Olympics
The men's water polo tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics was held from July 20 to July 28, 1996, in Atlanta, United States.-Group A:*Saturday July 20, 1996*Sunday July 21, 1996*Monday July 22, 1996*Tuesday July 23, 1996...
.
Other remarkable performances include winning the Gold medal at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships and, again, at the 2001 edition. They also took Silver at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome. Before that, Spain had taken Silver at the 1991 edition and then again at the 1994 World Aquatics Championships.
Synchronized swimming
During the 2000s, Spanish swimmer Gemma MengualGemma Mengual
Gemma Mengual Civil is a Spanish synchronized swimmer. She has competed at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics.- Medals :...
has heralded a series of both individual and team medals for Spain in all the major international synchronized swimming
Synchronized swimming
Synchronized swImming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music....
tournaments, including the Silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Rhythmic GymnasticsRhythmic gymnastics
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which individuals or teams of competitors manipulate one or two pieces of apparatus: rope, clubs, hoop, ball, ribbon and Free . An individual athlete only manipulates 1 apparatus at a time...
Is a popular sport through all Spain, so far the most successful individual rhythmic gymnasts are Carolina Pascual
Carolina Pascual
Carolina Pascual Gracia was an Individual Rhythmic Gymnast. Pascual was doing ballet when at age seven her ballet teacher told her mother that her daughter had excellent qualities for Rhythmic Gymnastics...
who won a silver medal in the individual all around competition in Barcelona 1992, Carmen Acedo
Carmen Acedo
Carmen Acedo Jorge was an individual rhythmic gymnast from Spain. She is married to race walker Jesús Ángel García.-External links:*...
who won gold medal in clubs competition in World Championships
1993 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
The XVII World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Alicante, Spain, on November 4-07 1993.-Individual All-Around:-Individual Rope:-Individual Ball:-Individual Hoop:-Individual Ribbon:-Individual Clubs:-Team All-Around:...
on 1993 and Almudena Cid this last is the only rhythmic gymnast who competes at four olympic finals, placing 9th at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 being 8th at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
In the Atlanta 1996 the Spanish team won the first gold medal of the new competition by groups. The Spanish team was formed by Estela Giménez
Estela Giménez
Estela Giménez Cid is a Spanish former rhythmic gymnast that won gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics as part of the group all-around event. The team was formed by Estela, Marta Baldó, Nuria Cabanillas, Lorena Guréndez, Estíbaliz Martínez and Tania Lamarca.She was also in the cover of Your Shape game...
, Marta Baldó
Marta Baldó
Marta Baldó Marín is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast and Olympic Champion. She won a gold medal with the Spanish group at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The team was formed by Marta, Estela Giménez, Nuria Cabanillas, Lorena Guréndez, Estíbaliz Martínez and Tania Lamarca.-References:...
, Nuria Cabanillas
Nuria Cabanillas
Nuria Cabanillas Provencio is a Catalan-born and Extremaduran adoption rhythmic gymnast and Olympic Champion. She won a gold medal with the Spanish group at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The team was formed by Nuria, Estela Giménez, Marta Baldó, Lorena Guréndez, Estíbaliz Martínez and Tania...
, Lorena Guréndez
Lorena Guréndez
Lorena Guréndez is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast and Olympic Champion. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and won a gold medal with the Spanish group. The team was formed by Lorena, Estela Giménez, Marta Baldó, Nuria Cabanillas, Estíbaliz Martínez and Tania Lamarca.-References:...
, Estíbaliz Martínez
Estíbaliz Martínez
Estíbaliz Martínez is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast and Olympic Champion. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and won a gold medal with the Spanish group. The team was formed by Estíbaliz, Estela Giménez, Marta Baldó, Nuria Cabanillas, Lorena Guréndez and Tania Lamarca.-References:...
and Tania Lamarca
Tania Lamarca
Tania Lamarca Celada is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast and Olympic Champion. She won a gold medal with the Spanish group at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The team was formed by Tania, Estela Giménez, Marta Baldó, Nuria Cabanillas, Lorena Guréndez and Estíbaliz Martínez.-References:...
.
Roller hockey (Quad)
Roller hockey (Quad)Roller hockey (Quad)
Roller Hockey is a team sport that enjoys significant popularity in a number of Latin countries. Depending on territories, it is also known as Hóquei em Patins, International Style Ball hockey, Rink Hockey or Hardball Hockey. Roller Hockey was a demonstration rollersport in the 1992 Summer...
is played by professional athletes. The Spanish national has won the World Championship 14 times with 12 second places and 7 third places and also won the European Championship 14 times with 15 second places and 5 third places.The Spanish teams as FC Barcelona, Reus Deportiu
Reus Deportiu
Reus Deportiu is a Spanish professional roller hockey team based in Reus, Catalonia, and plays in the OK LigaThe club was founded in 1909 and their pavilion is Palau d'Esports Reus Deportiu with capacity of 2,500 seats.-Current Squad 2011–12:...
, Igualada HC
Igualada HC
Igualada Hoquei Club is a Spanish roller hockey club based in Igualada, Catalonia.The club was founded in 1950 and their pavilion is Pavelló Les Comes with capacity of 3,000 seats.In the 90's, Igualada HC was the best European team, winning 6 European Cups...
and HC Liceo La Coruña
HC Liceo La Coruña
Hockey Club Liceo La Coruña is a Spanish Rink hockey club based in A Coruña, city in the autonomous community of Galicia.The club was founded in 1972 and her stadium is Pabellón Pazo dos Deportes with capacity of 5,000 seats....
has won the European Clubs Cup in 39 editions losing only in 5.
Basque and Valencian pelota
Basque pelota and Valencian pilotaValencian pilota
Valencian pilota is a traditional handball sport played in the Valencian Community. Its origins are not known, but seems to be related to the French Jeu de paume....
are traditional Spanish sports. Tournaments includes trinquete
Trinquete
A trinquete is a special court for various indoor versions of pelota. It has some of the characterist features of a real tennis court, probably because many real tennis courts were converted to trinquetes in the 19th century. For some sports, the players face the same wall and share the court,...
, Trofeu Individual Bancaixa
Trofeu Individual Bancaixa
The Trofeu Individual Bancaixa "Bancaixa one-on-one trophy") is the Escala i corda singles league played by Valencian pilota professionals and promoted by the Bancaixa bank.- Statistics :- Relevant facts about the Trofeu Individual Bancaixa :...
, Circuit Bancaixa
Circuit Bancaixa
The Circuit Bancaixa , officially Lliga Professional d'Escala i Corda, is the Escala i corda league for this Valencian pilota modality professional players...
, raspall singles championship
Raspall singles championship
The Campionat Individual de Raspall is the Valencian pilota Raspall modality singles league played by professional pilotaris.- Statistics :- Campionat Individual de Raspall relevant facts :...
, and raspall team championship
Raspall team championship
The Campionat per Equips de Raspall is the Valencian pilota Raspall modality league played by professional pilotaris.-Statistics:...
.
Skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
is a popular sport. In the past, the sport was under development for economic reasons. However the improvement of the economy of Spain
Spanish miracle
The Spanish miracle was the name given to a broadly based economic boom in Spain from 1959 to 1974. The international oil and stagflation crises of the 1970s ended the boom.- The pre-boom situation :...
, helped skiing become an active sport event. It has become popular, and the skiing sites have been modernized in recent years. In Spain is the southernmost ski resort of Europe, Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada (Spain)
The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in the region of provinces of Granada and Almería in Spain. It contains the highest point of continental Spain, Mulhacén at 3478 m above sea level....
. Skiing is one of the favourite sports of the Spanish Royal Family
Spanish Royal Family
The Royal Family of the Kingdom of Spain consists of the current king, Juan Carlos, his spouse, Queen Sofia of Spain and their direct descendants. The Spanish royal family belongs to the House of Borbón...
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