Greetings all!
Did you watch the 2024 Summer Olympics? Occasionally, the Olympic Games programs are changed to include a new sport. In Paris 2024, the only new sport was breaking (aka breakdancing)!
Read on about some other unconventional sports in the past Olympic Games.
Tug of war
- Last featured in the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, with gold going to the UK team of City of London Policemen!
Live pigeon shooting
- Part
of the 1900 Olympics in Paris, where the winner shot down 21 birds, out of 300
birds killed in the event. But this was an exception to the rules, as typically
inanimate objects are used for targets.
Pistol dueling
- With
protective clothing! - was part of the 1908 Olympics in London.
Solo synchronized swimming
- Last
featured in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Now swimmers compete as duets and
as teams.
Motorboat racing
- Last
featured in the 1908 Olympics in London. Sporting events that depend on
mechanical propulsion have been historically prohibited, except for the two
events in 1904 and 1908.
Obstacle course swimming
- Part of the 1900 Olympics in Paris, requiring swimming 200 meters down the River Seine over and under a series of obstacles. Swimming and bathing in the Seine was prohibited since 1923, and the Swimming Plan to clean up the river for the 2024 Olympics cost $1.5 billon.
Art
- This one really surprised me! From 1912 to 1948, Olympic medals were awarded for literature, architecture, music, sculpture, painting, town planning, and chorus singing. But then it was determined that most of the competitors in the artistic categories were professional, which didn’t adhere to the Olympics’ amateur ethos, so the art competitions were scrapped.
What
did you think? Drop me a line!
Sources:
- https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/08/sport/tug-of-war-pistol-dueling-and-other-strange-olympic-games
- https://olympics.com/en/news/breaking-paris-2024-faq
- https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/how-paris-made-seine-river-swimmable-2024-olympics
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-the-olympics-gave-out-medals-for-art-6878965/
Thank you for the information! Didn’t know about about these sports having been part of the Olympics!
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