Austria

===Sports===
<!---Wikipedia:WikiProject Countries. Caution should be taken to ensure that the section is not simply a listing of names or mini biographies.-->
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2023}}
{{Main|Sport in Austria}}
[[File:Bergisel.jpg|thumb|[[Innsbruck]] hosted the [[1964 Winter Olympics|1964]] and [[1976 Winter Olympics]], as well as the [[2012 Winter Youth Olympics]], the first in history.]]

Due to the mountainous terrain, [[alpine skiing]] is a prominent sport in Austria and is extremely valuable in the promotion and economic growth of the country.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Horak |first1=Roman |last2=Spitaler |first2=Georg |date=2003 |title=Sport, Space and National Identity: Soccer and Skiing as Formative Forces: On the Austrian Example |journal=American Behavioral Scientist |volume=46 |issue=11 |pages=1508–1518 |doi=10.1177/0002764203046011004 |s2cid=144319167}}</ref> Similar sports such as [[snowboarding]] or [[ski-jumping]] are also widely popular. Austrian athletes such as [[Annemarie Moser-Pröll]], [[Franz Klammer]], [[Hermann Maier]], [[Toni Sailer]], [[Benjamin Raich]], [[Marlies Schild]], and [[Marcel Hirscher]] are widely regarded as some of the greatest alpine skiers of all time, [[Armin Kogler]], [[Andreas Felder]], [[Ernst Vettori]], [[Andreas Goldberger]], [[Andreas Widhölzl]], [[Thomas Morgenstern]], and [[Gregor Schlierenzauer]] as some of the greatest ski jumpers of all time. [[Bobsleigh]], [[luge]], and [[skeleton (sport)|skeleton]] are also popular events with a permanent track located in [[Igls bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track|Igls]], which hosted bobsleigh and luge competitions for the [[1964 Winter Olympics|1964]] and [[1976 Winter Olympics]] held in [[Innsbruck]]. The [[2012 Winter Youth Olympics|first Winter Youth Olympics]] in 2012 were held in Innsbruck as well.<ref name="WYO2012">{{Cite web |date=12 December 2008 |title=YOG Innsbruck 2012: Relive the announcement |url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news/full_story_uk.asp?id=2890 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216073505/http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/olympic_news/full_story_uk.asp?id=2890 |archive-date=16 December 2008 |access-date=24 December 2008 |publisher=International Olympic Committee}}</ref>

[[File:Fischer Sports franz-klammer 1976.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Ski racer [[Franz Klammer]] won a gold medal at the [[1976 Winter Olympics]] in [[Innsbruck]].]]

Football in Austria is governed by the [[Austrian Football Association]].<ref name="Football">{{Cite web |date=2009 |title=Österreichischer Fußballbund |url=http://www.oefb.at |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628120811/http://www.oefb.at |archive-date=28 June 2009 |access-date=17 June 2009 |website=ÖFB |language=de}}</ref> Austria was among the most successful football playing nations on the European continent, placing 4th at the [[1934 FIFA World Cup]], 3rd at the [[1954 FIFA World Cup]] and 7th at the [[1978 FIFA World Cup]]. However, Austrian football has not been internationally successful since the mid 20th century. Austria co-hosted the [[2008 UEFA European Football Championship]] with Switzerland. The national Austrian football league is the [[Austrian Bundesliga]], which includes teams such as record-champions [[SK Rapid Wien]], [[FK Austria Wien]], [[FC Red Bull Salzburg|Red Bull Salzburg]], and [[Sturm Graz]].

Besides football, Austria also has professional national leagues for most major team sports, including the [[Austrian Hockey League]] for [[ice hockey]], [[Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga]] for basketball and the [[Austrian Football League]] for American football. Horseback riding is also popular; the famed [[Spanish Riding School of Vienna]] is located in Vienna.

[[Niki Lauda]] was a [[Formula One]] driver who was three times F1 World Champion, winning in 1975, 1977 and 1984. He is currently the only driver to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. Other known Austrian F1 drivers include [[Gerhard Berger]] and [[Jochen Rindt]]. Austria also hosts F1 races ([[Austrian Grand Prix]]); now held at the [[Red Bull Ring]], in the past also at the [[Österreichring]] and the [[Zeltweg Airfield]].

[[Thomas Muster]] is a former [[tennis]] player and was one of the world's leading [[clay court]] players in the 1990s. He won the [[1995 French Open]] and in 1996 was ranked [[List of ATP number 1 ranked players|number 1]] in the [[ATP rankings|ATP ranking]]. [[2020 US Open (tennis)|2020 US Open]] winner [[Dominic Thiem]] is also another prominent tennis player having been as high as world number 3 and also been in the finals of the [[French Open]] and [[Australian Open]]. Other well known Austrian tennis players include [[Horst Skoff]] and [[Jürgen Melzer]].

Sport played a significant role in developing national consciousness and boosting national self-confidence in the early years of the Second Republic after World War II, through events such as the [[Tour of Austria]] cycle race and through sporting successes such as the national football team's run to third at the 1954 World Cup and the performances of Toni Sailer and the rest of the "Kitzbühel Miracle Team" in the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marschick |first=Matthias |date=Summer 2011 |title=Austrian Sport and the Challenges of Its Recent Historiography |journal=Journal of Sport History |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=189–198 |doi=10.5406/jsporthistory.38.2.189 |jstor=10.5406/jsporthistory.38.2.189 |s2cid=145300546}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Norden |first=Gilbert |date=Spring 2001 |title=Austrian Sport Museums |url=http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH2001/JSH2801/JSH2801h.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Sport History |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=87–107 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114031850/http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH2001/JSH2801/JSH2801h.pdf |archive-date=14 January 2017 |access-date=3 January 2017 }}</ref>