SPORTS
The most popular
sports in Colombia today are soccer, cycling, and car
racing.
Soccer
Today, soccer is the most popular sport in Latin America and Colombia
is no exception. Colombia's National Team participated in three World
Cup championships in a row with great players like Carlos Valderrama
and Faustino Asprilla who are known world-wide.
Cycling
Colombian cyclists are known for being some of the best mountain-climbers
in the sport. (With the Andes Mountains dividing into three ranges in
the South of the country, it's no wonder! Colombia is nothing but mountains!)
Colombian cyclists are known for their strength in world cycling events
like the Tour de France, The Vuelta de Spain, and the Giro of Italy.
Great cyclists like Lucho Herrera and Fabio Parra rode with the Colombian
Coffee Team. In the 1980s, the sport suffered a low, but in the last
several years, Colombian cyclists are making news in world events like
Santiago Botero and Victor Hugo Pena (who rides with Lance Armstrong's
team.) Colombia's bicycle tour "the Vuelta de Colombia" and
the classic RCN Tour are world-known competitions as well.
Car
Racing
In the last few
years Colombians have become huge car racing fans thanks to Juan Pablos
Montoya who ran for three years in the English Formula One Team Williams
and in 2005 changed to McLaren.
Bull
Fighting
Like many nations that once lived under Spanish rule, Bull Fighting
is a sport many Colombians follow. Some of the best bullfighters, in
fact, have come from Bogota's bullfighting school. Cesar Rincon is famous
world-wide and at one time was considered the best matador in the world.
Ole!
Baseball is a
big sport in the Atlantic Coast. Some great Colombian baseball players
now play in the US Big Leagues, including Edgar Renteria and Orlando
Cabrera to name a couple.
Sports like coleo
or tejo are typical sports in the country.
Coleo is practiced in the Colombian plains and is similar to rodeos
in the United States. Tejo is similar to horseshoes.