Sport in Germany
Sports in Germany is an important part of German culture and society. In 2006 about 27.5 million people were members of the more than 991,000 sport clubs in Germany. Almost all sports clubs are represented by the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (DOSB, German Olympic Sports Federation).
With a total of 26,000 clubs and 178,000 teams the German Football Association (DFB) is the largest individual body in the DOSB.
Sport is financed by means of state funding and state contributions, voluntary service, private sponsors and membership fees.
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History
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (1778-1852), is an important figure in the history of developing physical education in Germany and Europe. He is considered the German “father of gymnastics” who founded the turnverein (gymnastics club) movement in Germany. As a patriot he believed that physical education was the cornerstone of national health and strength and important in strengthening character and national identity.
Olympics
In the all-time Olympic Games medal count through 2006 Germany ranks fifth, East Germany seventh and West Germany twenty-first. If all the medals are combined Germany ranks third.
Germany has hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice, in Berlin in 1936 and in Munich in 1972. Germany hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 when they were staged in the Bavarian twin towns of Garmisch and Partenkirchen.
Germany claimed the most gold medals and the most total medals during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Football
Germany's top level football league, known as the Bundesliga, has one of the highest average attendances of any professional sports league in the world. As of the 2010–11 season, the Bundesliga is placed third in UEFA rankings, which are based on the performance of clubs in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. [1]
Football in Germany is (like in most European countries) the number one assistance and practiced sport. Besides the national league, the Euro cup and the FIFA World Cup has much attention among its population.
Bayern Munich (German: Bayern München) is the most successful German football club, with 21 national championships, 14 National Cups and four European Champions titles (three European Cups and 1 Champions League) to its credit. Like many other German football clubs, Bayern Munich is a multi-sport club.
The German national football team is one of the traditional powers of international football. It won the FIFA World Cup in 1954, 1974 and 1990 and the European Football Championship in 1972 and 1980 as West Germany and in 1996 as Germany. Gerd Müller is the leading goal scorer for the national team with 68 goals, but his fame is perhaps eclipsed by that of Franz Beckenbauer who is one of the few men in the world who have won the World Cup both as a coach and a player. Germany also hosted the World Cup in 1974 and 2006, finishing third in 2006 after losing a close semi-final contest to eventual cup winners Italy.
The women's national team is also a world power, with its wins of the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003 and 2007, making Germany the only nation to win both the men's and women's World Cup and European titles – a rarity for a nation where the center of attention is usually the men's game. Women have their own Bundesliga, but it is semi-professional and does not command the fan support the men's competitions do. Germany hosted the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Ice hockey
Main Article: Ice hockey in Germany
Ice hockey is one of Germany's most popular sports, although considering its meaning and spectator favour in the nation it is ranked far behind football. There are many leagues but the top one is the 14 team Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The Germany men's national ice hockey team features NHL players such as Christian Ehrhoff, Jochen Hecht, Dennis Seidenberg, Thomas Greiss, Marcel Goc and Marco Sturm and NHL prospects like Alexander Sulzer, Philip Gogulla, Korbinian Holzer and Marcel Müller. The men's national team is currently ranked 9th in the world.
In 2010, Mannheim and Cologne co-hosted the Ice Hockey World Championships. Germany defeated the USA in the opening game in front of a record breaking crowd of 77,803 in Gelsenkirchen's Veltins-Arena. Germany finished the tournament in fourth place, the nation's best finish since 1953. German goaltender Dennis Endras was named the tournament's top goaltender by the IIHF directors and the top goaltender and most valuable player by the media.12
Basketball
Together with football, ice hockey and handball, basketball in Germany is among the most popular spectator sports.
One of the most popular non-football athletes to come out of Germany is Dirk Nowitzki, who plays power forward for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. In 2007, he became the first player trained totally outside the U.S. to be named league MVP, and in 2011 led the Mavericks to their first NBA title.
The German national basketball team´s biggest successes are the victory in the European Championship of 1993 at home in Germany, the silver medal in the 2005 European Championships and the bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.
Handball
Germany is regarded as the birthplace of handball. The first match of the modern era was officially recorded on 29 October 1917 in Berlin, Germany. Outdoor Handball had its only Olympic Games appearance in the XIth Olympiad (1936 Berlin Games). The first international match recorded was played on 3 September 1925 with Germany and Austria.
Today handball is a major team sport being played and watched in all of Germany. The German Handball Bundesliga is considered to be the most competitive professional league in the world. As a spectator sport it ranks popular in smaller cities around the country and draws attention comparable to other indoor sports such as ice hockey or basketball.
The Germany national handball team is the national handball team of Germany. Germany won the handball world cup in 1938, 1978 and in 2007 as the host of the handball world cup.
Motorsport
Germany is one of the leading motorsports countries in the world. While countless race winning cars have come from Germany, only Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel have been Formula One world champions. One other German driver came close to winning the title: Wolfgang Von Trips died in a crash in the last race in Monza in 1961, giving the championship to his Ferrari team mate Phil Hill.
Schumacher has won more Formula One championships and races than any other driver since the Formula One world championship began in 1950. In 2003, Schumacher set a new record for driver's championships when he surpassed Juan Manuel Fangio's total of 5 championships, a record that had stood for 46 years since 1957. He is also the highest paid athlete in sports history, with an annual salary of some U.S. $70 million from the Ferrari team, and an estimated $25–30 million more coming from endorsements. In 2005, he became the world's first billionaire athlete, according to Eurobusiness magazine. He is regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time, on his retirement holding 7 championships and every significant F1 record. He has since made a comeback, and in August 2011 celebrated his completion of 20 years in Formula One
In 2010, Vettel became the youngest driver ever to win the world championship; he had already been the youngest ever to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, earn F1 world championship points, start from pole position in an F1 race, and finish as runner-up for the driver's championship.
The DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) is the national touring car series. It is considered one of the best touring car series in the world. Many Formula 1 drivers have made the switch to the series, including, Mika Häkkinen, Jean Alesi and others. From 1995, only German marks of cars are allowed to compete in the series. Currently only Audi and Mercedes-Benz compete, but BMW, Opel and Alfa Romeo have a history in the sport. The races are held mainly in Germany, but some races occur elsewhere in Europe. The races draw monster crowds and TV ratings and many celebrities have attended race days.
The 24 hours of Le Mans is a prestigious annual race held in France, Porsche has won the race 16 times, far more than any other constructor.
Wintersports
Germany is one of the most successful wintersport nations. Its dominance in various disciplines can be attributed to them being the only country in the world to have four bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks. These tracks are located in Altenberg, Königssee, Oberhof, and Winterberg.
Germany has long been dominant in the sport of Bobsledding having won more medals in the Winter Olympics than any other nation except Switzerland. However, if medal wins by East Germany and West Germany from 1949 through 1990 are combined, Germany's medal count is nearly double that of Switzerland. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, André Lange piloted both the two-man and four-man sleds to gold, sweeping the men's bobsledding events.
In luge, Germany has also been dominant, stretching from luge's foundation in the early 20th century with dominance in the European championships to the Winter Olympics. Noted lugers include Georg Hackl, Klaus Bonsack, Margit Schumann, David Möller, Silke Kraushaar-Pielach, Sylke Otto, and Tatjana Hüfner. Of 117 Olympic Medals Germany won 70!
In skeleton, Germany has been dominant with the likes of Kerstin Jürgens and Anja Huber.
Tennis
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The two most successful German tennis players of all time are Steffi Graf and Boris Becker.
Becker became the youngest champion in the history of the men’s singles at Wimbledon, won six-time Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal together with Michael Stich.
Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players. In 1988, she became the first and only tennis player (male or female) to achieve the Calendar Year Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year.
Cycling
Cycling is a popular sport in Germany and one of the greatest riders of recent times Jan Ullrich dominated the Tour de France in 1997. He finished a full 9 minutes in front of second place rider Richard Virenque. Jan was regarded as Lance Armstrong's only consistent rival, finishing second to him several times in the Tour de France.
Golf
As recently as 2007, Germany hosted three events on golf's European Tour—the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe, the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the BMW International Open. However, since 2010, the only European Tour event in Germany has been the BMW International Open. The Players Championship was scrapped after 2007; the Mercedes-Benz Championship was not held in 2008, resumed in 2009, and dropped again in 2010.
Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer is the first German to have won a major championship and is a former World No. 1. He is now on the Champions Tour in the U.S. for golfers 50 and over; he led that tour in prize money in each of his first three full seasons (2008, 2009, 2010), and won two majors in 2010, namely the Senior British Open and U.S. Senior Open. Martin Kaymer became the second German to win a major championship by winning the 2010 PGA Championship in Wisconsin, and in 2011 rose to World No. 1.
Boxing
Boxing is among the most watched TV sports in Germany. Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko are among the two most popular boxers in Germany with both male and female fights enjoying regular spots on national television. 3German television network RTL has listed the Klitschko brothers as their most important asset next to football. In recent years Germany has become a hub for boxing, the Vegas of Europe, and many international fighters travel to fight out of the country. 45 6
Max Schmeling was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing, and became worldwide social events because of their national associations. He was ranked 55 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
Rugby Union
The first German rugby team was formed at Neuenheim College around 1850. Heidelberger Ruderklub von 1872 founded in 1872 is the oldest German rugby club. The German Rugby Federation was set up in 1900. Germany was Olympic silver medallist in rugby union in 1900. Today the Germany national rugby union team competes in the second division of the European Nations Cup.
References
- ^ http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/230/IHM230000_98_1_0.pdf
- ^ http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/230/IHM230000_98_1_0.pdf
- ^ http://www.rtlgroup.com/www/htm/home_news.aspx?ID=762C4460F67E40BFA3A1D736AB387242
- ^ http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/230/IHM230000_98_1_0.pdf
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/sports/othersports/23boxing.html?pagewanted=all
- ^ http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=21583&more=1
External links
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