13,239 articles
IHF World Men's Handball Championship
IHF World Men's Handball Championship, the biennial men's indoor handball world tournament first held in 1938; record champions France with six titles, reigning champions Denmark, next edition Germany 2027.
IIHF World Junior Championship
IIHF World Junior Championship, annual under-20 men's ice hockey world championship held each Christmas; began as invitational event 1974, official IIHF event since 1977; 2026 50th edition in Minnesota won by Sweden.
IIHF World Ranking
IIHF World Ranking: points-based IIHF ranking of national ice hockey teams, introduced 2003-2004. Awards 1600 points for World Championship or Olympic gold over a four-year cycle with 25% annual point decay, used for seeding and Olympic qualification.
Iiro Pakarinen
Iiro Pakarinen, Finnish ice hockey forward (born 1991), HIFK Helsinki Liiga winger; 134 NHL games with Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers 2011 draft pick (184th), Olympic gold 2022 and two World Championship silvers with Finland.
IK Enemkpali
IK Enemkpali (Ikemefuna Enemkpali, born 1991) is a former NFL linebacker from Pflugerville, Texas, drafted by the Jets in 2014, known for punching Geno Smith in 2015.
Ike Taylor
Ivan "Ike" Taylor, New Orleans-born cornerback (born 1980), played 12 NFL seasons (2003-2014), all with the Pittsburgh Steelers, drafted round 4 (125th) from Louisiana-Lafayette; two Super Bowl titles (XL, XLIII), 14 interceptions, later a Steelers scout.
Ilana Kloss
Ilana Kloss, South African-born former tennis player, world No. 1 doubles player 1976, 1976 US Open women's doubles and French Open mixed doubles champion; later World TeamTennis CEO/Commissioner 2001-2018 and Billie Jean King's wife.
Ilaria Spirito
Ilaria Spirito (born 1994, Albisola Superiore) is an Italian volleyball libero and Chieri '76 captain who won Olympic gold at Paris 2024 and the 2024 VNL with Italy.
Ilie Năstase
Ilie Năstase, Romanian tennis player, first ATP world No. 1 (23 August 1973, 40 weeks), two Grand Slam singles titles (US Open 1972, French Open 1973), 64 singles titles, Hall of Fame 1991.
Illawarra Hawks
Illawarra Hawks, Wollongong-based NBL basketball club founded 1979, the only club to play every NBL season; champions in 2000/01 and 2024/25, coached by Justin Tatum at WIN Entertainment Centre.
Illawarra Steelers
Illawarra Steelers, Wollongong-based NSWRL/ARL/NRL rugby league club 1982-1998, named for the region's steel industry; 17 first-grade seasons, best year 1992, merged with St George Dragons in September 1998 to form the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Illia Korzun
Illia Korzun (Ілля Рыгоравіч Корзун), Belarusian ice hockey player born 2004, Sdushor Minsk; won gold in boys' 3-on-3 mixed-NOC hockey at the 2020 Lausanne Winter Youth Olympics with Team Green, beating Team Red 10-4 in the final.
Illinois Fighting Illini football
Illinois Fighting Illini football: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's FBS team in the Big Ten, playing at Gies Memorial Stadium (60,670). Four claimed national titles (1914, 1919, 1923, 1927); coached since 2020 by Bret Bielema, the 26th head coach.
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Big Ten program at State Farm Center (capacity 15,544). Six Final Fours (1949, 1951, 1952, 1989, 2005, 2026), 36 NCAA appearances, 18 Big Ten titles, 2005 national runner-up.
Ilse van der Meijden
Ilse van der Meijden, Dutch water polo goalkeeper born 1988 in Baarn, won Olympic gold with the Netherlands at Beijing 2008, saving twice in the final 10 seconds of the 9-8 final against the USA; later played at USC and the 2010 European bronze.
Ilya Byakin
Ilya Byakin (Илья Владимирович Бякин), Russian defenseman born 1963 in Sverdlovsk; 1988 Olympic gold and three World titles with USSR; 57 NHL games with Edmonton and San Jose; retired 2004, later a coach.
Ilya Kablukov
Ilya Kablukov (Илья Андреевич Каблуков, born 1988, Moscow) is a Russian ice hockey center, 2018 Olympic champion with Olympic Athletes from Russia and three-time Gagarin Cup winner (SKA 2015, 2017; Avangard 2021), a defensive forward with over 1,000 KHL games.
Ilya Kovalchuk (Илья Валерьевич Ковальчук)
Ilya Kovalchuk (Илья Валерьевич Ковальчук), Russian hockey forward born 1983; first Russian taken first overall in the NHL draft (2001, Atlanta); his 17-year Devils contract was voided for cap circumvention; three Gagarin Cups; 2018 Olympic gold; now Shanghai Dragons president.
Ilya Kvochko
Ilya Kvochko (Илья Александрович Квочко; born 2004) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward for Severstal Cherepovets of the Kontinental Hockey League who won the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.
Ilya Rogovsky
Ilya Rogovsky (Илья Евгеньевич Роговский, also Ilia Rogovskiy), Russian ice hockey forward born 2004 in Yaroslavl; won boys' ice hockey gold at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics and plays for Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk in the VHL.
Ilya Sorokin
Ilya Sorokin (Илья Александрович Сорокин, born 1995) is a Russian NHL goaltender for the New York Islanders, 2018 Olympic gold medalist, 2019 Gagarin Cup and KHL playoff MVP winner with CSKA Moscow, and holder of Islanders franchise shutout records.
Im Oh Gyeong
Im Oh Gyeong (임오경, Lim O-Kyeong), born 1971, South Korean handball center back: 1992 Olympic gold, 1996 and 2004 silver, 1995 world champion, Hiroshima Maple Reds player-coach, Seoul City Hall coach, and Democratic Party National Assembly member.
Iman Shumpert
Iman Shumpert is an American former NBA guard known for perimeter defense who played for the Knicks and Cavaliers and won the 2016 championship with Cleveland.
Ime Udoka
Ime Udoka (born 1977, Portland, Oregon) is a Nigerian-American NBA coach and former player; head coach of the Houston Rockets since 2023, formerly Boston Celtics head coach who reached the 2022 NBA Finals.
Immaculate Reception
Immaculate Reception: Franco Harris's deflected 60-yard touchdown catch on December 23, 1972, giving the Steelers a 13-7 playoff win over the Raiders; ranked the NFL's greatest play.
Immanuel Quickley
Immanuel Quickley (born 1999) is an NBA guard for the Toronto Raptors, formerly the Knicks. Kentucky product, 2020 first-round pick, All-Rookie Second Team, Sixth Man finalist, five-year $35M AAV Toronto contract.
Imran Sherwani
Imran Sherwani (Imran Ahmed Khan Sherwani, 1962-2025), British field hockey left-winger; scored twice in Great Britain's 3-1 win over West Germany in the 1988 Seoul Olympic final, ending a 68-year wait for gold; 49 England and 45 GB caps.
India men's national field hockey team
India men's national field hockey team, governed by Hockey India; most successful Olympic hockey side with 8 golds (1928-1980), 1975 World Cup title, bronzes at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, captained by Harmanpreet Singh, coached by Craig Fulton.
India men's national volleyball team
India men's national volleyball team, governed by the Volleyball Federation of India; Asian Games bronze in 1958 and 1986, Asian Championship best of fifth, and AVC Men's Cup bronze at home in Ahmedabad in 2026.
India national badminton team
India national badminton team: BAI-governed men's, women's and mixed squads; first Thomas Cup champions 2022 (3-0 over Indonesia), 2026 bronze, Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games silver, three Olympic medals.