Sports in Russia

Russia has a long history of excellence in competitive sports play in both the national and world arenas. The most played sports are gymnastics and ice hockey. Other popular sports are basketball, figure skating and tennis. Since the Soviet era began in the 1920s, Russia has been one of the top contenders in the Olympic Games and has contributed players to the NHL and NBA.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

The most popular sport in Russia is rhythmic gymnastics. The sport’s popularity is not confined to Russia alone, but is recognized worldwide. Russia has brought home 73 Olympic gold medals in gymnastics and is considered to be the best nation in rhythmic gymnastics. There are many popular gymnastic clubs and schools in Russia. The most famous is the Gazprom School, located in Moscow. The Gazprom School is headed by the head trainer of the Russian National Team, Irina Viner. Irina has helped produced such greats as Irina Tchachina, who won a gold and three silver medals in the 2001 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Spain, and a silver medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Ice Hockey

Russia is a top contender in hockey and has been since the Soviet Era. Their teams have been consistently ranked high by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and now hold the number one spot in the Ice Hockey World Championships. The current national Russian hockey team has been competing since 1993 and is composed of Russia’s top players. The NHL has more than 30 Russian in current play.

Russia’s excellence in hockey may have something to do with the traditional sport, Bandy. Bandy dates back to the 10^th or 11^th century and is a winter sport played on an ice rink. The rules of the game are similar to those of soccer and American football. Two teams of 11 players compete to get a ball the size of a grapefruit into the opposition’s goal by using sticks that are very similar to hockey sticks. Bandy is played outside of Russia and there have been international competitions held in Sweden, China and the United States.

Other Popular Sports

Russia has had a strong presence in international basketball. Their teams have won various Olympic tournaments as well as World Championships and Eurobasket competitions. The NBA currently has two Russian players, Utah Jazz forward Andrej Kirilenko and New York Knicks center Timofey Mozgov.

Winter sports are also very popular. Russia holds over 30 Olympic gold medals in figure skating, cross country skiing and speed skating.

Russia’s most recent sports fame has been in tennis with Maria Sharapova and Dinara Safina reaching number one rankings in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).