Fun Facts About Sports

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Ethiopia, an African country, is the birthplace of one of the best runners in the 20th century:Abebe Bikila, who won consecutive olympic marathon gold medals in 1960 and 1964.Haile Gebrselassie, who is a famous runner, once said: "In Africa before Bikila, there were no successful runners, and most of us did not believe there ever would be.Now there are thousands of us, winning races all over the world, setting new standards and breaking records".

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Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who is best known as "Pele", is a Latin American soccer icon.Considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, he became a world star at the age of only seventeen, when Brazil first won the FIFA World Championship in Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden.

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The Mexican delegation participated in the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Sports Games held in San Salvador, El Salvador, and won 138 gold,111 silver, and 102 bronze medals in such events as swimming, track and field, wrestling and boxing.

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Argentinian tennis player Guillermo Vilas is one of the best-known players in the history of tennis.

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The Puerto Rican metropolis has hosted the VIII Pan American Games in 1979.

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Archery is the national sport in Bhutan,a Buddhist country in Asia.

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Jesse Vassallo is one of the most famous swimmers of the American history. He was born on August 9, 1961, in Ponce, Puerto Rico.In the 1970s, Jesse Vassallo won several international medals.Yet he lost the chance to defend his world records (200 and 200 meters individual medley) when the United States boycotted the Olympics in Moscow.

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Peru has hosted the 1982 FIVB Volleyball Women´s World Championship. There are 24 teams.The big favorites were the United States, China and Japan. Under the leadership of Cecilia Tait Villacorta, Peru defeated the United States 3-0. Surprisingly, Peru captured the silver medal.

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South Korea is the birthplace of taekwondo, an olympic sport since 2000.

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Maria de Lourdes Mutola was one of the best runners in the past century. She was born in Mozambique, an ex-Portuguese colony in Africa.Mutola won olympic 800 meters gold medal in 2000. She is a heroine of Mozambique, one of the most poorest countries in the world.

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Colombia hosted the Baseball World Cup in 1965. The South American country became the first host country since 1952 it was the third time the event was held in Colombia; the first time was in 1947.Baseball was the most popular sport in Colombia in the 1950s and 1960s.

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Thailand´s Paradorn Srichaphan is one of the best tennis players in the world.

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The 1935 Central American and Caribbean Games were held in San Salvador, El Salvador, with 9 countries participating.

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Uruguay hosted the FIBA Basketball Men´s World Championship in 1967.The USSR (currently Russia) team beat Yugoslavia to clinch the first place. The USSR, or Soviet Union, won the championship for the first time.

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Malaysia hosted the FIH Field Hockey Men´s World Championship in March 1975. The 15-day tournament, with 12 countries participating, helped win back the hearts of the country´s field hockey fans.