From school sports events like tug-of-war to strange event combinations like long jump on horseback, there have been some pretty unique sports in the Olympic Games over the years. Even today, there are a few uncommon events that seem somewhat out of place amongst more traditional events that attract the finest athletes from all over the world.
Today, we’re going to discuss the top ten forgotten Olympic events, so if you can’t wait to learn about more strange sports in the Olympics, read on!
1. Tug-of-War
Whilst it might seem more at home at a school sports day or the Highland Games, the tug-of-war was part of the Modern Olympics from 1900-1920 under the track and field branch. It was also part of the Ancient Olympic Games around 2,500 years ago!
During the event, teams of eight were required to pull the rope a distance of six feet to win, or as far as they could within five minutes if they couldn’t make it to the six-foot mark. Great Britain performed well at the event, taking home all three medals during the 1908 Games.
2. Obstacle Swim
This unusual event only featured in one edition of the Olympics, in Paris 1900. The event covered a distance of 200m and was held in the River Seine. During the event, participants were required to climb over and swim under a number of objects, including poles and even boats.
An Australian athlete emerged victorious during the only running of the obstacle swim event. It’s thought that the event might reappear in future Games, although hopefully in a more modern form!
3. Croquet
Croquet isn’t considered an exciting sport by many, so it’s hardly surprising that the event was scrapped from the Olympics after only one appearance, again at the Paris Games in 1900.
Although the event wasn’t successful at the Olympics, many families still enjoy playing it in their back garden today. It might not be worthy of a spot at the Games, but croquet can be a fun pastime to enjoy with friends instead!
4. Solo Synchronised Swimming
Whilst synchronised swimming still features in the Olympics today, it once appeared as a solo event rather than the team sport it traditionally is. In fact, it featured in not one, but three editions of the Games, from 1984 to 1992.
The event saw the solo participants synchronising their moves to music rather than with their teammates as they do in the more traditional version of the sport.
5. Live Pigeon Shooting
Although clay pigeon shooting lives on at the Olympics nowadays, live pigeons were once used, again in the 1900 Games. Thankfully, the gruesome sport only featured once. The aim was for competitors to shoot as many pigeons as possible.
Ultimately, it saw around 300 birds killed, with 21 reportedly shot by the victor, a Belgian athlete. The event was changed to clay pigeon shooting as we know it today after animal rights activists complained heavily about the use of live birds.
6. Rope Climbing
Here’s another event that you might expect to see in the school gym hall rather than at the Olympic Games – rope climbing. This event was actually quite popular and was part of the Games for many years, from 1896 to 1932.
Competitors had to scale a rope over 40 feet high, using only their hands. In earlier visions of the event, athletes were scored based on their style as well as the speed at which they made it to the top. However, in later runs of the rope climb, simply making it to the top was enough.
7. Horse Long Jump
Although we still see horse riding events and long jump in the Olympics today, the two were once combined to create a bizarre horse long jump event. The sport only featured at one edition of the Games – you’ve guessed it, Paris 1900 again!
Horses had to jump increasingly long distances during the event, with the winner clearing an impressive 6.9 metres. The same Games also saw the addition of horse high jump, which is arguably more or less the same as the showjumping we still see in the Olympics today.
8. Plunge for Distance
Yet again, we have another strange addition to the 1900 Paris Games. The plunge for distance event saw athletes take a standing dive into the pool then simply glide through the water. The winner was whoever made it the furthest in one minute or before their head came to the surface of the water.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the event only featured once and attracted only five entrants. All of the competitors were American, and the winner managed to glide an impressive 19.1 metres. Although this might be a fun game to play with friends in the pool, it hardly seems worthy of a spot at the Olympics.
9. Steeplechase
Our final two events actually still feature in the Games at the time of writing, but they are both somewhat bizarre and deserve a place on our list. The word ‘steeplechase’ might bring to mind images of horses leaping over hurdles, but you’d be wrong.
The Olympic steeplechase event doesn’t involve horses at all; rather, people have to jump over fences and even water jumps. Essentially, it’s like an obstacle course – more like a Spartan race than an Olympic sport. The event has both men’s and women’s competitions and is held over a distance of 3,000 metres.
10. Race Walking
Concluding our list is the downright bizarre race walking. As the name suggests, it’s a race, but you can only walk, not run. The event takes place over a distance of 20km and 50km, and judges are very strict about the technique used.
Athletes must walk in a particular way, with their feet remaining in contact with the ground at all times and specific rules about bending and straightening their legs. So, not only is the race not very fast, but it also looks incredibly strange to watch.
