Ski jumping Ski jumping is another popular winter sport in Slovenia. The first national championship was held in 1921 in
Bohinj, when
Jože Pogačar won with a nine meter jump. After that, many ski jumpers found success for Yugoslavia, with
Jože Šlibar achieving a world record jump in 1961. After the introduction of the
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in 1979,
SR Slovenia was a regular host of matches in
Planica. The most successful ski jumper of the time was
Primož Ulaga, who had nine wins for Yugoslavia. In both 1997 and 1998,
Primož Peterka won the World Cup. Other notable ski jumpers are
Peter Prevc,
Jurij Tepeš,
Robert Kranjec,
Rok Benkovič,
Jernej Damjan,
Peter Žonta,
Franci Petek and
Špela Rogelj. Since 2011, the Slovenian men's ski jumping coach is
Goran Janus, who has helped revive Slovenian ski jumping results. Under his leadership, the team has many individual wins, earned Olympic and World Cup medals, and set a world record. In 2012, the men's team won their first team event in ski jumping and since then has nine team wins. Furthermore, Peter Prevc won the 2015–2016 Four Hills Tourney, the World Ski-Flying Championship in 2016 and the World Cup title for the 2015–2016 season.
Alpine skiing Alpine skiing is a
popular sport in Slovenia and dates back to the 17th century, while modern competitive skiing began in the 1920s. During the existence of Yugoslavia, its national skiing squad consisted of almost exclusively Slovenes. In addition, the
Vitranc Cup races, which are sanctioned by the
International Ski Federation and later incorporated into the
World Cup, started at
Podkoren in 1961 and is now hosted at
Kranjska Gora Ski Resort each season. Slovenes
Mateja Svet and
Jure Franko both won
Olympic medals for Yugoslavia, while
Jure Košir,
Katja Koren,
Alenka Dovžan and
Tina Maze won medals for independent Slovenia.
Ilka Štuhec won back-to-back
World Championship golds in
2017 and
2019. Other notable skiers include
Boris Strel,
Rok Petrovič,
Bojan Križaj,
Mitja Kunc,
Urška Hrovat,
Špela Pretnar and
Nataša Bokal.
Cycling at the
2019 Giro d'Italia Cycling has a long tradition in Slovenia. The first cycling club was founded by Germans in
Ljubljana in 1885 and the Slovenian Cycling Club was formed two years later. Cycling then spread to other cities, including
Gorica and
Maribor, and slowly developed into a major competitive sport in Yugoslavia after World War I. Slovenian cyclists were not as successful as cyclists from other parts of the country and in the period between the world wars,
Josip Šolar and
Bruno Faninger were the only Slovenian cycling champions of Yugoslavia, in 1925 and 1935, respectively. After World War II, Slovenian cycling grew with the formation of clubs such as Rog in Ljubljana, Sava in
Kranj and Krka in
Novo Mesto. The
Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's three-week-long
Grand Tours, has passed through Slovenia eight times in its history:
1922,
1971,
1994,
2001,
2004,
2021,
2022, and
2025. Notable cyclists include
Borut Božič,
Janez Brajkovič,
Jure Golčer,
Andrej Hauptman,
Matej Mugerli,
Uroš Murn,
Jure Robič,
Simon Špilak,
Gorazd Štangelj,
Tadej Valjavec,
Tanja Žakelj,
Blaža Klemenčič,
Luka Mezgec,
Jan Tratnik,
Matej Mohorič,
Primož Roglič and
Tadej Pogačar. In 2019, Roglič became the first Slovenian Grand Tour winner after finishing first in the
2019 Vuelta a España. Pogačar became the first Slovenian to win the
Tour de France in
2020.
Athletics Athletics started as a recreation activity in the late 19th century due to the
Sokol movement. In 1913, when it was introduced as a sport by the
SK Ilirija association football club in
Ljubljana. It split into its own branch after
World War I and was popular in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, with the first Slovenian championship held in 1920. However, international success didn't come until
Stanko Lorger earned the first Slovenian European Championship medal in 1958 and
Draga Stamejčič set the first Slovenian world record in 1964. The most notable Slovenian athletic clubs are ŽAK in Ljubljana and Kladivar in
Celje. Notable athletes include
Primož Kozmus,
Jolanda Čeplak,
Matic Osovnikar,
Martina Ratej,
Brigita Bukovec,
Britta Bilač,
Borut Bilač,
Gregor Cankar,
Sonja Roman,
Brigita Langerholc,
Helena Javornik,
Alenka Bikar,
Rožle Prezelj and
Boštjan Buč.
Biathlon Biathlon is a growing sport in Slovenia. However, before Slovenia's independence in 1991, it was a mostly unknown sport and Slovenes achieved no major results until the 1990s. In 1992,
Pokljuka began hosting World Cup races and
Andreja Koblar won the first race for the Slovenian women's team in 1996, while
Janez Marič achieved the same for the men's team in 2003. The most successful biathlete representing Slovenia is the Croatian-born
Jakov Fak, who has won several World Championships medals. Other notable biathletes include
Teja Gregorin,
Andreja Mali,
Tomas Globočnik and
Klemen Bauer.
Cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing has, alongside alpine skiing and ski jumping, a long tradition in Slovenia, but competitive success has only come in recent years. The first cross-country competition in Slovenia was organized in
Bohinjska Bistrica in 1914. During the existence of Yugoslavia, the best result achieved by a Slovene was
Franc Smolej's 10th place finish at the
1936 Winter Olympics.
Petra Majdič is the most successful Slovenian cross-country skier, as she has won 24 World Cup races and one Olympic medal. Other notable cross-country skiers include
Vesna Fabjan and
Katja Višnar.
Motorsport Motorsport in Slovenia began with the formation of the Ilirija Motorsport Club in 1913 and became popular during the two world wars. ŽSK Hermes built the first motorsport track at
ŽŠD Ljubljana and
Ludvik Starič became a serial Yugoslav champion in the 1930s. The
Speedway Grand Prix of Slovenia was held at
Matija Gubec Stadium in
Krško from 2002 to 2019. There is also a speedway track at Ilirija Sports Park in
Ljubljana. Notable motorsport competitors include
Matej Ferjan,
Matej Žagar,
Sašo Kragelj,
Tim Gajser and
Miran Stanovnik. The only woman to have circumnavigated the world on a motorbike is Slovenian
Benka Pulko. On June 19, 1997, Pulko departed from her hometown of
Ptuj on a
BMW F650 motorcycle. She returned to Ptuj on December 10, 2002, having established the
Guinness World Record for the longest solo motorcycle ride ever undertaken by a woman in both distance (180,015 km) and duration (2,000 days). In the process she also became the first motorcyclist to reach Antarctica, and the first woman to ride solo across Saudi Arabia.
Fencing The most notable Slovenian fencer is
Rudolf Cvetko, who was a member of the Olympic silver medal-winning team in
1912 for Austria. He was the first Slovenian to win an Olympic medal and a promoter of fencing in Yugoslav Slovenia.
Gymnastics Gymnastics played an important part in the beginnings of sport in Slovenia through a national revival of the Falcon and Hawk societies which helped young Slovenes socialize and keep their language alive. Slovenians would win eight Olympic medals for the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, all in the gymnastics field, which were the only medals Yugoslavia earned prior to
World War II. Notable Slovene gymnasts include
Leon Štukelj,
Mitja Petkovšek,
Aljaž Pegan,
Stane Derganc,
Josip Primožič,
Miroslav Cerar,
Adela Šajn,
Rok Klavora and
Sašo Bertoncelj.
Judo Notable Slovene judo athletes include
Urška Žolnir,
Lucija Polavder,
Raša Sraka,
Petra Nareks,
Matjaž Ceraj,
Anamari Velenšek,
Tina Trstenjak,
Rok Drakšič and
Sašo Jereb.
Sailing Slovenia has had multiple successful sailors, including
Gašper Vinčec and Olympic medalist
Vasilij Žbogar.
Standup paddleboarding Slovenia is a destination for
standup paddleboarding due to its coastline, lakes and rivers.
Shooting The most successful Slovenian sport shooter is
Rajmond Debevec, who has competed at eight Olympics and won gold and two bronze medals. He also hold the world record for the
50 metre rifle three positions event.
Snowboarding Notable Slovenian snowboarders include
Žan Košir,
Rok Marguč,
Rok Flander,
Dejan Košir and
Tim-Kevin Ravnjak.
Swimming Notable
Slovenian swimmers include
Sara Isakovič,
Peter Mankoč,
Borut Petrič,
Darjan Petrič,
Anja Klinar,
Alenka Kejžar,
Nataša Kejžar,
Emil Tahirovič,
Damir Dugonjič and
Anja Čarman.
Tennis Notable Slovenian tennis players include
Grega Žemlja,
Tamara Zidanšek,
Katarina Srebotnik,
Blaž Kavčič,
Polona Hercog,
Maša Zec Peškirič and
Nastja Kolar.
Canoeing and kayaking Slovenia has won numerous titles in canoeing and kayaking and hosts competitions at
Tacen Whitewater Course. The most successful canoeists and kayakers are
Peter Kauzer and
Benjamin Savšek.
Mountain climbing Slovenia has a major presence in alpinism, with notable Slovene alpinists including
Tomaž Humar,
Tomo Česen,
Julius Kugy,
Jakob Aljaž,
Klement Jug,
Davo Karničar,
Nejc Zaplotnik,
Miha Valič, Aljaž Anderle,
Viki Grošelj,
Pavle Kozje, and
Igor Škamperle.
Rowing Since Slovenia's independence in 1991, rowers have found excellent results in international competition. Notable rower in Slovenia include
Iztok Čop,
Milan Janša,
Jani Klemenčič,
Rok Kolander,
Sašo Mirjanič,
Sadik Mujkić,
Miha Pirih,
Matjaž Pirih,
Denis Žvegelj,
Matej Prelog and
Luka Špik.
Climbing Since the mid-2000s, Slovenia has had some of the most successful sports climbers in the world, including
Mina Markovič and
Janja Garnbret who won the
overall lead and
overall combined titles in multiple consecutive years each. Garnbret also won gold at the
first ever Olympic sport climbing competition at the
2020 Summer Olympics, and successfully defended her title at the
2024 Summer Olympics. Other notable athletes are
Jernej Kruder,
Domen Škofic,
Luka Potočar, Natalija Gros, Martina Čufar,
Mia Krampl, Katja Debevec, Lučka Rakovec and Vita Lukan. ==Olympics==