Sport in Venezuela
Baseball in Venezuela originates with the early 20th century cultural influence of the United States oil companies.
Though golf is a minor sport in Venezuela, the emergence of Jhonattan (Johnny) Vegas on the PGA Tour in 2011 and his strong showing as a rookie there has raised its profile.
On October 22, 1941, the Venezuela national baseball team defeated Cuba in the IV Amateur World Series.
[1] A week later when the team returned to Venezuela over one hundred thousand people lined up along a twenty-mile road from La Guaira to the capital to welcome them back at the time that was more than a third of the country's population.
Venezuela has also participated in every edition of the World Baseball Classic since its inaugural season, in 2006, and reached the bronze medal in 2009.
The award is given annually to honor the Venezuelan player who recorded the best individual performance in Major League Baseball, as voted on by sports journalists in Venezuela.
Also, it's believed that the failure for football to become as popular as baseball in the country is because the national team has not done so well at international level.
Within this time span they competed in seven qualifying campaigns, playing a total of sixty five matches consisting a record of seven wins, seven draws, and fifty-one losses.
[6] The expectations of Venezuela to have a chance to qualify were quickly shot down after the team actually started to play worse.
These players include Óscar Torres, Richard Lugo, Carl Herrera and most notably Greivis Vásquez.
The Liga Professional de Baloncesto is the main Venezuelan Basketball League, which features 14 teams.
[10] Boxing is a popular sport in Venezuela, with the country having produced several Olympic medalists and professional world champions.
In addition, although not a Venezuelan himself, Colombian Antonio "Kid Pambele" Cervantes, was popular in Venezuela and fought there many times.
[2] The sport is similar to that of American Rodeo, where llaneros or cowboys, will chase cattle but most commonly a bull.
The objective of the sport is to chase a bull around an enclosed area, about the length of an American football field (100 yards), and pull the animal down to the ground by grabbing its tail.
Vegas represented Venezuela in the 2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup with Alfredo Adrian.
In 2011, Vegas, competing as Johnny Vegas, won the Bob Hope Classic in La Quinta, California, and a week later finished tied for third in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course, a municipal public golf course in San Diego.
On 30 July 2017 Vegas successfully defended his title at the RBC Canadian Open for his third PGA Tour win.
"Several years ago, Chávez closed three courses in the Vegas family's home state, Monagas.
Vegas's father, Carlos, who at one time worked as a caddie and later became a food concessionaire to two of the clubs, decided his son would have to leave Venezuela if he were to pursue golf seriously.
... After Vegas won the Hope Classic, Chávez, who has not, it is believed, put buildings on any of the courses, proclaimed that he was not 'an enemy of golf, or any other sport.'
Heavy rains had accentuated a severe housing shortage, and the president saw both political and land-use reasons for change.
There are two important venues for motorsport activity in the country: San Carlos Circuit and Autodromo de Turagua.
After Cecotto's breakthrough fellow Venezuelans Carlos Lavado and Iván Palazzese also made an impact in Grand Prix motorcycling.
Palazzese scored consecutive wins in the 125cc class in the Swedish and Finnish Grands Prix in 1982 on his way to finishing third in the 125cc standings.
More recently Pastor Maldonado has emerged as Venezuela's most successful F1 racer, scoring his first and one F1 pole position and win at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.
Venezuelan racers have also competed in top-level motorsport in North America in recent years, including E. J. Viso and Milka Duno.
Rugby union is considered the fourth most popular sport in Venezuela, after baseball, football, and basketball.
