Slovenians have been performing with outstanding success in a variety of sports competitions and in a number of different branches of sports. Slovenia took part for the first time as an independent country in the Winter Olympics at Albertville, then later in the same year in the Barcelona summer games the country secured its first Olympic medals. Rowers Iztok Čop and Denis Žvegelj in the coxless pairs and Milan Janša, Jani Klemenčič, Sašo Mirjanič and Sadik Mujkič in the coxless four won two bronze medals.
On 23 September the Republic of Slovenia celebrates the Day of Slovenian Sport, a national holiday. That day is written in gold letters in the annals of Slovenian sports, for in the year 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, independent Slovenia won its first two Olympic gold medals. Iztok Čop and Luka Špik became gold-medal Olympians in the double sculls and Rajmond Debevec in the three positions shooting event.
Just in the period from independence to the present day, Slovenia’s athletes have won a total of 52 medals at the summer and winter Olympic Games (12 gold, 17 silver and 23 bronze), and a fine haul of medals has also been made by the country’s paralympians, while some other noted successes have been recorded in individual and team sports at the international level (basketball, volleyball, football, ice hockey, skiing, cycling, swimming and more). The country’s sports figures can be credited with raising Slovenia’s profile and promoting it around the world, and their success and perseverance are also inspiring many younger athletes. Sports are also very important for the general public, since they promote a healthy lifestyle and in this way offer a higher quality of life for everyone.
