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FOR MANY DECADES, YEKATERINBURG HAS BEEN ONE OF THE LEADING SPORTS CENTERS IN THE COUNTRY. THIS IS CONFIRMED NOT ONLY BY THE ABUNDANCE OF OUTSTANDING ATHLETES WHO AT DIFFERENT TIMES BECAME WORLD CHAMPIONS, WINNERS AND PRIZE WINNERS OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES (A TOTAL OF 145 OLYMPIC AWARDS), BUT ALSO BY A LARGE NUMBER OF TOURNAMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL LEVEL THAT THE URAL CAPITAL HOSTED THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY.
Back in 1959 Sverdlovsk (that was the name of the city in Soviet times) hosted the women speed skating world championship, and in 1965, the matches of the men bandy world championship.
Nowadays, Ekaterinburg is a rapidly growing metropolis, possessing all the necessary conditions for organizing world-class competitions. First of all, there are modern sports facilities that meet the highest international requirements, a great variety of hotels, Koltsovo International Airport also adds to convenience of international delegations arriving to Ekaterinburg. It is no coincidence that in 2018 the Ural capital became one of the eleven cities where the games of the FIFA World Cup were held. Over 125 thousand people attended the four matches, which took place at the Ekaterinburg Arena.
Previously, the city also became the venue for major international competitions.
So, in 2004 the World Sailing Championship was held here, in 2005 - the Junior European Snooker Championship and the Final of the Four of the Indoor Hockey European Champions Cup. In 2006, Ekaterinburg hosted the European Sport Climbing Championships, in 2007 - the WABBA World Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, and in 2009 - the Final of the Four of the UEFA Futsal Champions Cup. In the fall of 2015, the European Table Tennis Championship was successfully held at the Yekaterinburg-Expo International Exhibition Center.
MANY OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS HAVE ALREADY BECOME TRADITIONAL.
Since 2003, in Ekaterinburg, the hometown of the first President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin, the Cup with the same name is played among women's national volleyball teams. In 2018, for the first time it was held as part of the first round of a new international tournament - the League of Nations.
Since 2009 the UMMC Women's Basketball Cup has been gathering both the strongest national teams and European club teams. It is pleasant that the basketball players of the UMMC team from Ekaterinburg six times won the Cup at the home parquet.
The year of 2018 was the 10th anniversary year for the international youth tournament in Greco-Roman wrestling for the prizes of the Honored Master of Sports, World Champion, Olympic silver medalist Geidar Mamedaliev.
In 2017, the Grand Slam stage in judo wrestling added to the list of international competitions held in Ekaterinburg. It has also become a traditional tournament, at least, the International Judo Federation gave the Ural capital such a right until 2020. Thus putting it on a par with Paris, Dusseldorf, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo, where the stages of the prestigious series also take place.
In addition, the track and field international marathon "Europe-Asia" has become traditional. It is held annually starting from 2015. The race takes its start from the main square of the city - the square of 1905.
The regularly organized international boxing tournaments, including the 2019 World Cup, as well as the bouts of the best MMA fighters, enjoy constant popularity in Ekaterinburg.
THE EUROPEAN SAMBO CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 WILL BE THE LARGEST TOURNAMENT IN THIS SPORT THAT HAS EVER BEEN HELD IN THE URALS CAPITAL. EARLIER, IN 2003 AND 2017, EKATERINBURG HOSTED THE NATIONAL SAMBO CHAMPIONSHIP, AND IN 2006 AND 2014, THE MAIN NATIONAL TOURNAMENT WAS HELD IN EKATERINBURG’S SATELLITE CITY VERKHNYAYA PYSHMA.