Germany has been very successful in sport over the years, and people like Michael Schumacher, Steffi Graf and Michael Ballack are household names throughout the world. It's not surprising that Germany produces so many sports stars - German people love sport, and nearly a third of the population are members of some kind of club or team. More than winning, the Germans strongly believe that simply taking part is important - sport should be for everyone.
Football has always been a popular sport in Germany, and the national team has won the World Cup three times. Germany has also produced a number of great tennis players over the years - Boris Becker won Wimbledon when he was just seventeen. Despite this, football and tennis are not the most popular sports in Germany. The country's favourite sport is swimming, with walking and gymnastics close behind.
Extreme sports like mountain biking, surfing and snowboarding are also very popular, with mountain biking the 8th most popular sport in the country: there are certainly plenty of forests to cycle round. With the Alps in the south, a lot of Germans also enjoy winter sports like skiing and skating.
The Youth Games Festival has taken place in Germany every year since 1951. About four million German kids and teenagers take part in this major sporting event.
The Photo Album (Fotoalbum: Sport) on the right provides information about sports, sport personalities and sport facts from German-speaking countries!
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