10 old Olympic sports even you could have won
Go fly a kite — and get a medal for it!
The history of the Olympic Games is riddled with strange events and “sports” — we use that term loosely here — including painting (from 1912–1948), live pigeon shooting (1900), swimming obstacle courses over and under rowboats (1900), and even a proposed event for grenade throwing (suggested in 1920). Here are a few of the oddest ones you totally could have rocked.
TUG OF WAR
You know those picnics where everyone has a little too much beer and ends up giddily playing tug of war? That, but Olympic. Even traditionally so: the event was recorded as part of the ancient Olympics as far back as 500 BC. Tug of War as a modern Summer Games event had a good long run, from 1900–1920. Reports on the first Tug of War are conflicting: some sources claim the United States team slam dunked the event in 1900, winning all three medals; some claim the U.S. never competed at all and was disqualified. Consensus seems to settle on the U.S as coming in second.
Although no longer an Olympic competition, there is still a following for the sport. Back in 2012 there were even rumors of discussion between the Tug of War International Federation and the IOC to reintroduce the sport in 2024. (No further progress has been made.)
MOTOR BOATING
Also called “water motor sports,” motor boating first appeared as a demonstration event at the 1900 Paris Games and then as an official “sport” at the 1908 Games. In the event, male only competitors were judged in three boat categories: the open class, the less than six feet class, and the 6.5–8 metre class. The course was about eight miles long and required five laps of each competitor. The sport wasn’t very popular with spectators, for obvious reasons: they couldn’t see much of the course, held off the coast of England in weather so bad that six of the nine races were cancelled. No wonder we never saw the event again.
KITE FLYING
An unofficial demonstration sport at the 1900 Paris Games, competitors were judged on altitude — the highest held over the course of one hour — and duration, wherein a kite was required to stay in the air at a height of 200 meters for over two hours. The event was divided into small, medium, and large kite sizes, the smallest being flown mostly by children. A famous anecdote (sadly, probably untrue) claimed that a strong gust of wind blew most competitors’ kites into a tree.
HOT AIR BALLOONING
Another demonstration sport, the Olympic event of hot air ballooning was also only held at the 1900 Paris Games. 64 competitors (including 3 women) were judged in 18 events such as distance covered, elevation, targeted stopping, and duration.
DELIVERY VAN DRIVING
Two categories (Petrol/Electric) in the motor car racing event in the 1900 Paris Olympics, in this competition drivers of vans had to drive delivery vans 300 km. Only French drivers entered, so unsurprisingly, three French drivers (names lost to history) won.
CLUB SWINGING
Club swinging was held as an Olympic event twice, in 1904 and 1932. Thought to be a predecessor of the gymnastic ribbon and hoop events that are still held, club swinging is an ancient sport that originally comes from Persian wrestlers in the Middle East and was adopted by British soldiers in the 19th century. (Like many things hipster, from beards to needle point, the arcane athletic activity is actually making a comeback.) Contestants performed with two large, heavy wooden clubs that were swung quickly and dramatically around his head and body, and were judged on speed and style.
At the last club swinging at the 1932 Los Angeles Games, the USA’s own George Roth won the gold medal. Roth was an inspiring figure, a man hit badly by the Depression who competed despite struggling to feed his family at the time — he supposedly hitchhiked home after performing in front of a packed stadium.
STONE THROWING
Held just once in 1906, in stone throwing, competitors — well, threw stones. Nicolaos Georgantas of Greece won, with the longest distance of 19.925 metres, which is a long way to throw a 56-pound rock.
MAIL COACH DRIVING
Yeah, pretty much exactly that, in those wacky 1900 Paris Games. 31 entrants were listed; competitors each drove mail coaches (otherwise known as “Equestrian Four-in-Hand”) with four horses. Belgium won, with France taking silver and bronze.
SOLO SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING
The paradoxical solo synchronized swimming was an official Olympic sport from 1984–1992. Synchronized to what, you might ask? The answer: music. This strange event included a single swimmer essentially performing ballet in the water.
CROQUET
Bet you can’t guess which singular Olympic Games hosted this sporting event. Yep, that would be Paris, 1900. The only competitors were French, so unsurprisingly again, the French won all three medals. It was very poorly attended with supposedly one single spectator: an Englishman who had traveled from Nice to watch. On the other hand, it was one of the first Olympic events to have women competitors, so there was that.
