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InSwitzerland, most of the people have a regularsport activity and one in four is an active member of a sports club.[2] The most important all-embracing organisations for sports in Switzerland are theFederal Office of Sport, and the Swiss Olympic Committee (Swiss Olympic).
Because of its varied landscape and climate, Switzerland offers a large variety of sports to its inhabitants and visitors. Whilewinter sports are enjoyed throughout the country,football andice hockey remain the most popular sports.[3]
Major sporting events in Switzerland include the Olympic Games, which were held two times inSt. Moritz inWinter 1928 andWinter 1948, and, the1954 FIFA World Cup, theUEFA Euro 2008 in Switzerland andAustria.
Skiing andmountaineering are much practiced by Swiss people and foreigners, the highest summits attract mountaineers from around the world.
As a predominantly mountainous country Switzerland has traditionally been one of the strongest nations in the sport ofalpine skiing, where it has a long-running rivalry with neighboringAustria.[4] The Swiss reached their peak in the sport in the 1980s, when they won the overall Nations' Cup in theFIS Alpine Ski World Cup for seven consecutive years from 1981 to 1987. Switzerland's most successful alpine skiers includePirmin Zurbriggen,Peter Müller,Bernhard Russi,Didier Cuche,Franz Heinzer andMichael von Grünigen among the men andVreni Schneider,Erika Hess,Michela Figini,Maria Walliser,Marie Therese Nadig,Sonja Nef,Lise-Marie Morerod andBrigitte Oertli among the women.
Switzerland is also notable as the birthplace of competitivesledding, which originated in the Swiss resort ofSt. Moritz, which was also where the firstbobsleigh was constructed in the late nineteenth century. Switzerland has traditionally been a strong nation in bobsleigh, enjoying a particularly fierce rivalry withEast Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.[5]
Simon Ammann has been one of the world's bestski jumpers in the 21st century, whilstDario Cologna has emerged as one of the topcross-country skiers in the world in the late 2000s.
Curling has been a very popular winter sport for more than 30 years. The Swiss teams have won 3 World Men's Curling Championships and 2 Women's titles. The Swiss men's team skipped byDominic Andres won a gold medal at1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
Stéphane Lambiel, two-time winner of theWorld Figure Skating Championships amongst numerous other domestic and international competitions, is one of the world's top figure skaters.
Bandy exists in minor form. In September 2017 Switzerland made its debut at the annualrink bandy tournament inNymburk,Czech Republic.[6][7] At the2018 Women's Bandy World Championship, Switzerland will participate.[8][9]
Most Swiss people followice hockey and support one of the 14 teams of theNational League which, as of 2023, is the most-attended European ice hockey league.[10]
In April–May 2009, Switzerland hosted theIce Hockey World Championships for the 10th time.[11] TheSwiss national ice hockey team's latest achievements are two silver medals at the2013 World Ice Hockey Championships and2018 World Ice Hockey Championships. The "Nati" is currently ranked 7th at theIIHF World Ranking.
Like many other Europeans, most Swiss are fans ofassociation football and the national team or 'Nati' is widely supported. The national team has previously participated at twelve differentFIFA World Cups (last in2022) and five differentUEFA European Championships (last in 2021 and as co-host withAustria in2008. Also 1996, 2004 and 2016).
At club levelGrasshopper Club Zürich holds the records for winning the mostnational championship titles (27) and the mostSwiss Cup trophies (19). More recentlyFC Basel enjoyed great success on a national (winning 11 championship titles from 2003 to 2017) and international level (qualifying 8 times for theUEFA Champions League Group stage. The first appearance was in 2002).
Clint Capela has been the highest paid team athlete in Switzerland's history.[12]
Mies in Switzerland is home to the headquarters ofFIBA, the world's governing agency for international events. Unsurprisingly, the country is one ofFIBA's founding members and therefore has one of the world's longest basketball traditions.
Once a major team at the international scene, its national team does not have major international significance anymore, despite occasional strong showings at qualification games.
There have been four Swiss-bornNBA players:Thabo Sefolosha,Enes Kanter Freedom,Nikola Vučević andClint Capela.[13]
TheNationalliga A is the top level league in Switzerland formed in 1982. Below is the National league B and C. Switzerland has a national team that competes in international tournament play. TheCalanda Broncos are the most successful team in Switzerland having won the mostSwiss Bowl national championships and wasEurobowl champion in 2012.
Baseball is a minor sport in Switzerland.
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Over the last few decades, swisstennis playersRoger Federer,Stan Wawrinka andMartina Hingis have been at the top of tennis. Federer, Wawrinka and Hingis all haveGrand Slam singles titles to their names. Federer won 20 Grand Slam titles and holds the record for the longest consecutive stay as the world number 1 at 237 weeks.[14] Federer won a record 8Wimbledon titles overall and also won theAustralian Open 6 times, theUS Open 5 times and theFrench Open once. Another Swiss tennis figure isMarc Rosset, winning the singles gold medal at the1992 Olympics. Federer and Wawrinka teamed up at the2008 Olympics to win the doubles gold medal, and Switzerland also won the2014 Davis Cup.
Switzerland also hosts 3 ATP tournaments. TheSwiss Indoors takes place inBasel at theSt. Jakobshalle and is anATP 500 event that holds a prominent position in the European indoor hard court swing in autumn. Federer won it a record 10 times.[15] Other tournaments include theSwiss Open that takes place inGstaad and theGeneva Open. Both tournaments take place on clay.
Swiss rugby dates back over a century.
More recently,2006-07 Heineken Cup clash between the French sideBourgoin and Irish rugby'sMunster was moved fromBourgoin's home ground, to theStade de Genève (Geneva Stadium). The stadium's capacity is 30,000, and attendance on the day was 16,255.[16]
Motorsportroad racing circuits and events were banned in Switzerland following the1955 Le Mans disaster with the exception of events held in atime trial format such ashillclimbing. On June 6, 2007 an amendment to lift the ban was passed by thelower house of the Swiss parliament.[17] However the proposed law failed to pass theupper house, and was withdrawn in 2009 after being rejected twice.[18] In 2015 the Swiss government allowed a relaxation of the law, permitting head-to-head racing forelectric vehicles only.[19] In June 2018 Switzerland hosted its first motor race in 63 years when the firstZürich ePrix was held as a round of the all-electricFormula E championship.[20]
Despite the long-standing restrictions, the country has produced successful road racing drivers such asClay Regazzoni,Jo Siffert and successfulWorld Touring Car Championship driverAlain Menu.Switzerland also won theA1GP World Cup of Motorsport in2007-08 with driverNeel Jani. Swiss racing driverMarcel Fässler won theWorld Endurance Championship in2012 and has won theLe Mans 24 Hours three times, andmotorcycle racerThomas Lüthi won the 2005MotoGP World Championship in the 125cc category. Urs Erbacher is a six timeFIA European Drag Racing champion. Also,Formula One constructorSauber is based in Switzerland. In recent years, drivers such asRomain Grosjean andSébastien Buemi have been successful inFormula One,Formula E,WEC andLe Mans.
However, other forms of motorsport are permitted, such asrallying,motocross,supermotard,enduro andtrials.
High-profile drivers from Formula One andWorld Rally Championship such asMichael Schumacher,Nick Heidfeld,Kimi Räikkönen,Fernando Alonso,Lewis Hamilton,Sébastien Loeb andSebastian Vettel all have a residence in Switzerland,[21] sometimes for tax purposes.[22][23]
Switzerland is also the home of the sailing teamAlinghi which won theAmerica's Cup in 2003 and defended the title in 2007.Golf is becoming increasingly popular, with already more than 35 courses available and more in planning.André Bossert is a successful Swiss professionalgolfer.
The Switzerland national beach football team won the Euro Beach football Cup in 2005 and were runners-up twice, in 2008 Euro Beach football Cup and 2009 Euro Beach football Cup. More recently, they were also runners-up in the 2009 FIFA Beach football World Cup that took place in November.
TheSwitzerland women's national floorball team has become world champion once, in 2005, and taken medals in most other tournaments. The national team for men has taken eight medals intwelve tournaments.
Other sports where the Swiss have been successful include athletics, (Werner Günthör andMarkus Ryffel), fencing, (Marcel Fischer), cycling, (Fabian Cancellara,Ferdinand Kübler,Hugo Koblet,Oscar Egg,Jolanda Neff,Stefan Küng), kickboxing (Andy Hug), whitewater slalom (Ronnie Dürrenmatt—canoe, Mathias Röthenmund—kayak), beach volleyball (Sascha Heyer,Markus Egger,Paul andMartin Laciga), professional wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli), and triathlon (Brigitte McMahon,Reto Hug,Sven Riederer,Nicola Spirig,Daniela Ryf).
In cycling,Fabian Cancellara nicknamed 'Spartacus' is one of the best road racer of modern times. He has achieved great success in the classics; he has won Paris–Roubaix three times, the Milan – San Remo once, and the Tour of Flanders three times. Cancellara has won the opening stage of the Tour de France five times and has led the race for 28 days total, which is the most of any rider who has not won the Tour. His success has not been limited to just time trials and classics, as he has won general classification of the Tirreno–Adriatico, Tour de Suisse, and the Tour of Oman. In 2008, he won gold in the individual time trial and silver in the men's road race at the Summer Olympics. In 2016, at the Summer Olympics, he won in his last race of his career gold in the individual time trial. In addition, Cancellara has been the time trial world champion four times in his career.
Switzerland is the third most successfulorienteering country in history.
TheSwiss national lacrosse team has qualified for theWorld Lacrosse Championship three consequtive times (2010-2018). At the most recent event (2018), it finished 20th out of 46.
Traditional sports include Swiss wrestling or "Schwingen". It is an old tradition from the rural central cantons and considered the national sport by some.Hornussen is another indigenous Swiss sport, which is like a cross between baseball and golf.Steinstossen is the Swiss variant ofstone put, a competition in throwing a heavy stone. Practiced only among the alpine population sinceprehistoric times, it is recorded to have taken place inBasel in the 13th century. It is also central to theUnspunnenfest, first held in 1805, with its symbol the 83.5 kg stone namedUnspunnenstein.
Media related toSports in Switzerland at Wikimedia Commons
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