The city of Newcastle has held a strong sporting tradition for many years throughout history.
The home of the Premiership football club ‘Newcastle United’, which has been established since 1892 and was home to popular players including Michael Owen and recently retired Alan Shearer, who was one of the best strikers to ever play for Newcastle United.
As well as the premiership side, Newcastle upon Tyne is also home to 2 non-league football teams, Newcastle Benfield and Newcastle Blue Star, both play in the Northern Football League.
Newcastle is also the home of the Guinness Premiership rugby union team ‘Newcastle Falcons’ the league side of the famous England team player Jonny Wilkinson.
The city has a sports ground named the Metro Radio Arena is the home of the Newcastle Eagles basketball team and the Newcastle Vipers ice hockey team.
Brough Park located in Byker is the home to greyhound racing in Newcastle, a venue that is also the base to the motorcycle speedway team the Newcastle Diamonds.
One of the best motorcycle speedway racers of all time who raced for the Diamonds in the 60s, Ivan Mauger, started racing at Brough Park in the late 1920s.
Also home to the Newcastle Racecourse in High Gosforth Park, which holds the annual horseracing event for the Northumberland Plate that has run every June since 1838.
There are many other small sporting grounds and parks in Newcastle that are home to many different events.
Newcastle is where the annual BUPA Great North Run starts, the world’s biggest half-marathon where the runners make their way over the Tyne Bridge, through Gateshead all the way to South Shields to the finish line 13.1 miles away.
Among others, a famous race takes place on the 9th of June annually and has done since 1981 named the Blaydon Race, runs on the road from Newcastle to Blaydon to celebrate the Blaydon horse races.