Sport in Eritrea

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Sports in Eritrea primarily consist of football, cycling, and long-distance running.

Football is a popular recreational sport (as it is across the continent), and at a professional level it is played under the authority of the Eritrean National Football Federation. However, Eritrea is best known on the international stage for cycling and running.[1][2]

## History

[edit]

Football and cycling were both introduced by Italians during the Italian Eritrea period, from the late-19th to mid-20th centuries.[3][4] In the 21st century, Eritrea has emerged as a long-distance running competitor alongside Ethiopia and Kenya.[5][6]

## Running

[edit]

Though it is newer to the sport than fellow East African nations Ethiopia and Kenya, Eritrea has produced many successful long-distance runners since its independence. Most notable is Zersenay Tadese, who won Eritrea's first Olympic medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[7] He held the half-marathon world record for over eight years, and remains in the all-time top ten for both the 10,000 metres and the half-marathon.[8][9] Other notable runners include Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, Yonas Kifle, Nebiat Habtemariam, and Weini Frezghi.

## Cycling

[edit]

Tour of Eritrea Cycling competition in Asmara Eritrea.

Cycling has a long tradition in Eritrea and was first introduced during the colonial period. The Tour of Eritrea, a multi-stage cycling event, was held annually from 2001 to 2017 throughout the country.[10][11]

The national cycling teams of both men and women are ranked first on the African continent.[12] The Eritrea national cycling team has experienced significant success, winning the African continental cycling championship several years in a row. In 2013, the women's team won the gold medal in the African Continental Cycling Championships for the first time, and for the second time in 2015 and third time in 2019.[13][14][15][16]

Eritrea has produced a number of professional road racing cyclists. As of 2013, there were five Eritrean cyclists competing professionally: Daniel Teklehaymanot, Natnael Berhane, Ferekalsi Debesay, Meron Russom, and Jani Tewelde.[17] Teklehaymanot and fellow Eritrean Merhawi Kudus became the first Black African riders to compete in the Tour de France when they were selected by the MTN–Qhubeka team for the 2015 edition of the race.[18] In July of that year, Teklehaimanot also became the first rider from an African team to wear the polka dot jersey at the Tour de France.[19] In September 2021 Biniam Girmay became the first black African rider to achieve a podium finish in the history of the UCI Road World Championships, taking silver medal in men's under-23 road race.[20] He has followed this with a successful spring 2022, when he became the first African winner of a classic cycle race in Gent–Wevelgem,[21] and went on to become the first Black African to win a Grand Tour stage at the 2022 Giro d'Italia.[22] At the 2024 Tour de France, he became the first Black African to win a Tour stage.[23]

The team captain for the Eritrean national football team is Henok Goitom

Cycling also represents a widespread form of transportation, as many Eritreans cannot afford motorized vehicles.[1]

## Football

[edit]

Main article: Football in Eritrea

Under colonial administration, the Italian League was introduced to Eritrea, with the first championship played in 1936. In December of the same year, six indigenous Eritrean teams formed a separate league from the Italian one.[24] Hamasien, the first indigenous club to play in the Italian League, was admitted in the 1944/45 season.[25]

An Eritrean football federation was founded in 1950; however, in 1953, following federation with Ethiopia, the federation's clubs were forced to play in the Ethiopian Premier League. This continued until Eritrea's independence and the formation of the Eritrean Premier League in 1994.[26] The Eritrean National Football Federation was founded in 1996, and became a member of FIFA in 1998.[27]

## Other sports

[edit]

Eritrea has an indigenous martial art called testa (from the Italian for "head") or riesy. It primarily focuses on headbutting.[28]

The game of gena, a traditional form of field hockey played on and around Christmas, is played in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands.[29][30]

Eritrea made its Winter Olympic debut at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Eritrea's team was represented by their flagbearer Shannon-Ogbnai Abeda who competed as an alpine skier.[31]

## See also

[edit]

* Eritrea portal

* Eritrea at the Olympics
* Football in Eritrea

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Cycling heaven: The African capital with 'no traffic'". BBC News. 27 March 2019.
2. ^ "Brilliant Bekele takes gold". BBC Sport. 20 August 2004. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
3. ^ Calcio in Eritrea (in Italian)
4. ^ "The Bicycle Horn of Africa: How cycling became a part of Eritrea's national identity". The Globe and Mail. 6 January 2019.
5. ^ "10,000 Metres - men - senior - outdoor". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
6. ^ "Men's Half Marathon All-time toplist". World Athletics. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
7. ^ Olympics. "Athens 2004 10000m men Results - Olympic athletics". Retrieved 27 June 2021.
8. ^ IAAF (10 May 2010). "World Records Ratified". Monte Carlo. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
9. ^ World Athletics. "10,000 Metres Men". Retrieved 27 June 2021.
10. ^ "Cycling is isolated Eritrea's window to the world". Cycling. 28 July 2017.
11. ^ "Eritrea and cycling: An unlikely relationship". The Best of Africa. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021.
12. ^ "CQ Ranking". cqranking.com.
13. ^ Eritrean Cycling Team Wins the 2015 African Continental Cycling Championships TTT – Archived 9 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Raimoq.com (10 February 2015). Retrieved on 5 June 2016.
14. ^ 'Next wave of riders is even better' – Eritrean cycling preparing to peak. The Guardian (17 August 2015). Retrieved on 5 June 2016.
15. ^ Eritrean national teams rank first at the African Cycling Championship time race – Archived 9 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Raimoq.com (1 December 2013). Retrieved on 5 June 2016.
16. ^ "African Continental Championships - TTT 2019 | Results". www.procyclingstats.com.
17. ^ McGrath, Andy (18 January 2013). "Eritrea's champions of the future". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
18. ^ Cummings, Basia (10 July 2015). "Daniel Teklehaimanot: 'I'm proud to be an Eritrean riding the Tour de France'". theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
19. ^ "Eritrea's Daniel Teklehaimanot 1st African to wear the King of the Mountains jersey at the Tour de France". Caperi. 9 July 2015. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
20. ^ Fletcher, Patrick (24 September 2021). "Biniam Girmay wins Gent-Wevelgem". CyclingNews. Future plc. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
21. ^ "Biniam Girmay: Eritrean becomes first African to win a one-day classic with Gent-Wevelgem victory". BBC Sport. 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
22. ^ Ramsay, George (18 May 2022). "Biniam Girmay made history at the Giro d'Italia before a freak eye injury forced him to retire from the race". cnn.com. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
23. ^ Whittle, Jeremy (1 July 2024). "Biniam Girmay becomes first black African to win Tour de France stage". theguardian.com. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
24. ^ 1936 First Championship in Eritrea
25. ^ Eritrea 1944/45
26. ^ Eritrea 1950
27. ^ Eritrean National Football Federation
28. ^ Green, Thomas A.; Svinth, Joseph R. (2010). Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation. ABC-CLIO. p. 630\. ISBN 9781598842449.
29. ^ Niederstadt, Leah (2002). "Of Kings and Cohorts: The Game of Genna in Ethiopian Popular Painting". The International Journal of the History of Sport. 19: 57–71\. doi:10.1080/714001706. S2CID 144828999. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
30. ^ Fuller, Linda K. (2004). National Days/national Ways: Historical, Political, and Religious Celebrations around the World. Praeger. p. 97\. ISBN 9780275972707.
31. ^ Rieger, Sarah (28 December 2017). "Calgary skier headed to Winter Olympics... but not with Team Canada". CBC News. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Retrieved 31 December 2017.

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