This paper deals with the analysis of English loanwords in Russian sports terminology. In order to clarify the link between linguistic borrowing and sports, borrowing itself, its definition and types, and the reasons and conditions that lead to it are discussed. Linguistic borrowing in Russian is then considered based on the origin of the borrowed words and the period during which they entered the Russian language. In order to link this with sport and anglicisms in Russian sports terminology, this paper examines the history of sport in Europe, its "origin" in Great Britain, and the historical conditions that contributed to the spread of English sports terms in Russia. Then the paper turns to the analysis of anglicisms associated with football and boxing, two very popular types of sports. The adaptation of anglicisms in the Russian language is analyzed at the semantic level, and the results show that most of the analyzed loanwords have only undergone primary adaptation, i.e. they have not been in the language long enough for secondary semantic adaptation to occur.