Sport in Serbia includes football, basketball, handball, tennis, volleyball, and water polo. Professional sports in Serbia are organized by sporting federations and leagues (in case of team sports). Serbian professional sports includes multi-sport clubs (called "sports societies"), biggest and most successful of which are Crvena Zvezda (three world titles and seven European in various sports), Partizan (fourteen European titles in various sports), Radnički (three European titles in various sports) and Beograd in Belgrade, Vojvodina in Novi Sad, Radnički in Kragujevac, Spartak in Subotica. Serbia had successes in basketball, winning the Olympic silver medal and Nikola Jokic winning 3 NBA MVPs, as well as the 2023 NBA Championship and Finals MVP, Novak Djokovic winning a record setting 24th Grand Slam, and in handball, volleyball and water polo as well.
Individual sports
Athletics After folk games, athletics in the modern sense appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Among the first events on the territory of Serbia was the race held in 1906 on the route Valjevo-Jovanje, and in 1908 the Gymnastics Association "Dusan Silni" founded the first athletic section. The founding of the Serbian Olympic Club in 1910 and the beginning of Serbia's participation in the Olympic Games were important for the further development of athletics.
The European Open Championship was organized in Belgrade in 1962, the European Indoor Games in 1966, and the European Club Championship for men in 1989. When it comes to the 21st century, the largest organized competition on the territory of Serbia is the European Indoor Championship in 2017. From the athletic competitions, the Belgrade Marathon and the memorial rally in honor of Artur Takač are held every year.
The successes of athletes from Serbia includes:
Vera Nikolić - two-time European champion in the 800 meter race (1966, 1971), and world record holder with a time of 2: 00.5 (1968—1971) Nenad Stekić - two-time vice-champion of the Old Continent (1974, 1978), former European record holder in long jump (8.45), three years the best result in the world (1975, 1977 and 1978) Miloš Srejović - European triple jump champion in 1978. Vladimir Milić - European champion in throwing the ball in the hall in 1982. Dragan Zdravković - European champion in the 3000 meter indoor race in 1983. Snežana Pajkić - European champion in the 1500 meter race in 1990. Dragutin Topić - European champion in high jump 1990, European indoor champion 1996, bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in 1997 and the European Indoor Championships in 1992 and 2000, (personal record 2.37 meters, among the 10 best of all time) Slobodan Branković - European indoor champion in the 400 meter race in 1992. Dragan Perić - bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in 1995 and silver at the European Indoor Championships in 1994 in shot put Olivera Jevtić - the first athletic medal for Serbia since independence, a silver medal in the marathon at the 2006 European Championships, four bronze medals at the European Cross Country Championships. Asmir Kolašinac - gold medal in throwing the ball at the European Indoor Championships in 2013, silver in 2015 and bronze from the European Championships in 2012. Ivana Španović - in the long jump discipline, among the most significant successes are bronze from the 2016 Olympic Games, gold medals in 2023 World Athletics Championships, 2018 World Indoor Championships and 2022 World Indoor Championships, two world bronze medals in the open (2013, 2015), four European Championships titles - two in the open (2016 and 2022) and three in the hall (2015, 2017, 2019). Adriana Vilagoš - Winner of three medals in European Athletics Championships in javelin throw, silver in 2022 and 2024 and bronze in 2026. Angelina Topić - Winner of two medals in European Athletics Championships in high jump, silver in 2024 and bronze in 2022.
Bowling The national team of Serbia were two-time world champions in bowling in 9 cones and broke the team world record. Vilmos Zavarko is the world record holder in individual competition, and he won four gold, three silver and two bronze medals at the world championships, as well as the first place on the world ranking list.
Chess There are 46 grandmasters (active and inactive) among Serbian chess players. At the Chess Olympics in 1950, the Yugoslavia national team won a gold medal, and among the Serbian chess players in the national team were Petar Trifunović and Svetozar Gligorić, who won medals at other Olympics, as well as at European championships. Among the most successful Serbian grandmasters are Borislav Ivkov, Aleksandar Matanović, Milan Matulović, Ivan Ivanišević, Dragan Šolak, Aleksandar Kovačević, Branko Damljanović, Igor Miladinović ...
There are 11 grandmasters among the female competitors. The most successful Serbian chess player is the former Minister of Sports and Youth, Alisa Marić, who won two bronze medals at the Chess Olympics, as well as a silver medal at the European Championship in 1999. Novi Sad hosted the Olympics in 1990, as well as the European Team Championship in 2009. In 1970, a match was held in Belgrade for the first time between the Soviet Union and the rest of the world.
Cycling Djordje Nesic participated in international bicycle races in Europe as a student. On his initiative, the First Serbian Bicycle Association was founded in 1884, and he was elected president. The first competition race was held in Belgrade in 1896, and the following year the first national championship was held.
Diving The Diving Association of Serbia is an organization that takes care of the development of diving on the territory of Serbia. It was founded in 1971 when it separated from the swimming association. There were a maximum of 13 clubs in the association. There are six members in the alliance, all from Belgrade. The greatest success of a Serbian competitor at the international level is the silver medal of Selena Trajković, under the flag of Yugoslavia, from the Mediterranean Games in 1979 in Split in the platform discipline. Belgrade hosted the first World Diving Championship in 1973.
Fencing After the First World War, the Yugoslav Fencing Federation was founded with its headquarters in Belgrade, and later in Zagreb. The first individual state championship was held in 1928, and the club championship in 1939. During the Second World War, the Federation ceased to operate. In 1949, the work of the Alliance was renewed and it was renamed the Fencing Alliance of Yugoslavia. The main organization in charge of fencing in Serbia is the Fencing Association of Serbia. The most successful Serbian swordswoman is Tamara Savić-Šotra, a triple participant in the Olympic Games under the flag of FR Yugoslavia. The greatest success of the Serbian leadership since the independence of Serbia in 2006 is the bronze medal at the Mediterranean Games in Mersin in 2013, which was won by Smiljka Rodić.
Gymnastics Gymnastics appeared among Serbs in the middle of the nineteenth century. The director of the Serbian Great Orthodox Gymnasium in Novi Sad, Djordje Natosevic, introduced classes and descriptive assessment. Stevan Todorović founded the First Serbian Society for Gymnastics and Wrestling in 1857.
Tereza Kočiš is a Serbian gymnast, who won a silver medal on the ground floor at the 1950 World Championships, and won silver medals on the beam and two-height loom at the European Championships in 1963, as well as a bronze medal on the ground floor. At the same championship, Mirjana Bilić became the European champion in all-around and on the floor, and she also won bronze on the beam. As for rhythmic gymnastics, Milena Reljin took 5th place at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and Danijela Simić 10. Belgrade hosted the European Men's Championship in 1963.
Kayak and canoe The Kayak Federation of Yugoslavia was formed in 1930, and the Federation of Serbia in 1953.Four world and one European championships were held in Belgrade. The best results in kayaking and canoeing were achieved at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, when Mirko Nišović won a gold medal in the double canoe at 500 (S-2) and a silver at 1000, and Milan Janić won silver in the single kayak. 2) at 1000 m. They were both three-time world champions and won more medals.
Milan Janić children are also kayakers. Mico and Stjepan won a silver medal in the 1000 m at the 1998 World Championships. Later, they changed their citizenship, Mićo and Stjepan joined the Croatian national team, and Nataša competes under the Hungarian flag, for which she won medals.
Ognjen Filipović, Dragan Zorić, Bora Sibinkić and Milan Đenandić were trophy four-seater in a kayak. In the 200 m race, among other things, they won gold at the world and European championships. Filipović won medals in the one-seater, but also in the two-seater with Zorić.
Dusko Stanojevic and Dejan Pajic won bronze at the 2010 World Championships and silver at the European Championships in 2011 in a two-seater kayak in the 500 meters. silver medals. In 2014, Novaković won a gold medal with Nebojsa Grujić at the world championships in the two-seater 200 m, with the fastest time of all time in that discipline. Then they won a silver medal at the European Championships and a gold medal at the European Games.
Antonija Nagy twice won a silver medal at the European championships in the 1000 meter race. The sisters, Nikolina and Olivera Moldovan, won three medals at the world championships, three at the European and one at the European Games.
Dalma Benedek, after being an eight-time world and seven-time European champion, has been competing under the Serbian flag since 2013 and in the same year won gold medals at the European Championships in the 500 and 1,000 meters, and then bronze in the 500 meters at the World Championships., as well as up to two or two bronze medals at the European Championship and gold at the European Games with Milica Starović.
Motorsports Milos Pavlovic is a Serbian motorist. He was the champion in Nissan's world light series, and in 2007 he won third place in the Formula Renault series with two victories. He competed in Formula 2 in 2009 and took 9th place, he was on the podium twice. Dušan Borković won the title of champion in the European Mountain Racing Championship in 2012, winning eight of the eleven races.A year earlier, he took third place. As a representative of the NIS Petrol Racing Team in the European Touring Cup car in 2013 took third place in the overall standings, and since 2014 competes in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. The Belgrade Grand Prix was the last Grand Prix motorcycle race, the forerunner of Formula 1, before the start of World War II.
Rowing The Rowing Federation of Serbia, then Yugoslavia, was founded in 1922. The European Championships were held in Belgrade in 1932 and 2014. Zoran Pančić and Milorad Stanulov are Serbian rowers, who won a silver medal (M2x) for Yugoslavia in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow and a bronze medal in Los Angeles in 1984. The most successful rowers in independent Serbia are Nikola Stojić and Goran Jagar, who were European champions as a duo without a coxswain (M2 -).Nikola Stojić won a gold medal with Jovan Popović at the 2006 World Championships in the doubles with a coxswain (M2 +), while with Jagar, Popović and Marko Marjanović he won silver in the quadruple with a coxswain (M4 +) in 2007. Stojić also won with Nenad Bedjik. in the discipline, the duo without a coxswain won a bronze (2012) and a gold medal (2013) at the European Championships. Besides them, Goran Nedeljković, Miloš Tomić, Nenad Babović, Dušan Bogićević and Veselin Savić won medals at competitions. Iva Obradović won two silver medals at the European Championships.
Shooting