Sport in Portugal
High-profile, successful competitive athleticism and sportsmanship in Portugal can be traced back to the time of ancient Rome.
Gaius Appuleius Diocles (104 – after 146 AD) was a noteworthy charioteer born in Lamego who became one of the most celebrated athletes in ancient history.
Other than football, many other professional or semi-professional well organized sport competitions take place every season in Portugal, including basketball, swimming, athletics, tennis, gymnastics, futsal, rink hockey, team handball, volleyball, surfing, canoeing and rugby union championships among the hundreds of sports played in this country.
The major Portuguese professional sports leagues, championships and events include (in no particular order): Other popular sport-related recreational outdoor activities with thousands of enthusiasts nationwide include airsoft, golf, hiking, orienteering, and Bullfighting.
Players such as Eusébio, Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo are the most noted Portuguese footballers.
There are three UEFA 5 star stadia in Portugal along with many other featuring state of the art facilities which are distributed across the country.
The most successful Portuguese roller hockey teams in international competitions (in terms of overall titles) are Porto, Benfica (7), Sporting CP and Óquei de Barcelos (6).
Rui Silva and sprinter Francis Obikwelu have won several gold, silver and bronze medals in European, World and Olympic Games competitions.
Portugal's national basketball team had its best performance at the 2007 EuroBasket where it left behind heavily favored competition such as Turkey and Serbia.
[3] Portugal became in the later years one of the most successful countries in this sport, winning many medals at European and world championships.
The better athletes including Francisca Laia, Teresa Portela, Joana Vasconcelos, Helena Rodrigues, Beatriz Gomes, João Ribeiro, Emanuel Silva and Fernando Pimenta.
Noted Portuguese cyclists include 2013 World Road Race Champion Rui Costa, as well as Joaquim Agostinho, Marco Chagas, José Azevedo, Sérgio Paulinho, and Tiago Machado.
Golf was first introduced to Portugal in 1890 by Englishmen based in Porto, most of who were involved in wine exporting.
The Skeffington Cup, named after the club's first president, is said to be the longest-running golf tournament in the world, going back to 1891.
However, there remained few golf courses in Portugal until the age of jet travel opened the country to tourism.
Three-time winner of the Open Championship, Sir Henry Cotton, was asked to design the first 18-hole course in the Algarve, near Portimão.
There are now close to 90 courses in Portugal but golf remains a game played more by tourists and foreign residents than by Portuguese.
[5] The national ice hockey team has competed in the IIHF Development Cup since 2017, finishing with a silver medal in both the 2018 and 2024 editions.
Tiago Monteiro is the only Portuguese driver to have scored a Formula One podium finish (3° at the controversial 2005 United States Grand Prix) and Miguel Oliveira is the most successful Portuguese rider in MotoGP (Moto3 runner-up in 2015, Moto2 runner-up in 2018 and 5 wins at the Premier Class), Estoril and Algarve are the main race tracks in Portugal, it hosted events such as Formula 1, WEC, A1, MotoGP, WorldSBK, EWC, etc.
[4][8] In recent years a double scull crewed by Nuno Mendes and Pedro Fraga has achieved some success internationally.
Tennis was first played in the early 1870s by British employees of the submarine cable company at Carcavelos, although proper courts only became available from around 1875.
The main credit goes to Guilherme Pinto Basto, who played at the elite Sporting Club of Cascais, which had courts by 1882.
He gave lessons there, including to Prince D. Carlos, the future king, who would play in some of the club's tournaments.
The country has also achieved notable performances in sports like surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, kayaking, and sailing.
In surfing, Frederico Morais has the best Portuguese rank in the WSL Championship Tour, has he got in 2017 the 14th position, in his rookie year.
