The most surprising sports that have been part of the Olympic Games

The sports modalities the current ones are for the most part very established, with little changes introduced in each edition. However, in the early stages of the Olympics, the sports that were part of the program were very varied and, in many cases, very curious.

These are some of the sports disciplines that have been a part of Summer Olympics. Almost all of them can be found in the first editions of the Olympic event, because in recent times a program has been defined that generally experiences some changes with respect to those before. But the history of Olympicism is full of least curious modalities.

Images: MD File (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13 and 14), Spanish Croquet Federation (2 and 7), Royal Spanish Polo Federation (4), EFE (9), French Tennis Federation (10 ) and Tennis and Rackets Association (11)

Cricket

Paris 1900

It is not a unique sport, as it is widespread in different parts of the world. From English, it is played on an oval field with two teams consisting of eleven players and a reserve. In some analogy to baseball, the ball is hit as far as possible so that members of that team have time to travel to the ‘strikers’ or specific areas of the field. In general, yes, the pace is slower than baseball. He will be an Olympian again at Los Angeles 2028, one hundred and twenty-eight years after the first time.

2

Croquet

Paris 1900

The Olympic in Paris 1900, is currently a growing modality. It is played on a rectangular surface with grass. In it are four colored balls (blue, black, red and yellow) that must be hit with a mallet until a pre-established route is completed to pass them correctly under small arches. Each has a score, depending on the ball in question, and with it the winner.

3

Basque ball

Paris 1900. Displayed in Paris 1924, Mexico 1968 and Barcelona 1992

Of all the sports that have disappeared from the Olympic program, it is one of the best known to the general public because of its Basque origins. It is played with a small ball that is hit against a pediment (there is also a ratchet mode) in a match against one or two against two. The number of bounces the ball can take from that point in the delimited area marks the distribution of points.

4

pole

Paris 1900, London 1908, Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924 and Berlin 1936

Two teams whose players are on horses try to put a small wooden ball into a rival goal. Each team consists of four members who carry a long cue to drive the ball towards their goal. It was played on a lawn and was very popular especially in the early 20th century, as it was Olympic in Paris 1900, London 1908, Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924 and Berlin 1936. As a curiosity, Spain He won Olympic silver in this modality in 1920.

5

Pull rope

Paris 1900, Saint Louis 1904, London 1908, Stockholm 1912 and Antwerp 1920

Today it is a famous game, but the truth is that it is one of the Olympic sports par excellence in the first stage of modern Olympism. It’s just what it sounds like: the game of rope where two teams pull a rope with a mark in the middle to try to move it towards their respective areas to score points. He was an Olympian in Paris 1900, in Saint Louis 1904, in London 1908, in Stockholm 1912 and in Antwerp 1920.

6

Pigeon shooting

Paris 1900

If Olympic shooting was fully established in the program of the Games, its predecessor did not last long. In Paris 1900, a pigeon shooting competition was established, which similarly consisted of hitting the target with hits. The problem is that the chosen target is a large number of birds that die during the competition. It is hoped that the idea will not catch on and this sport will be removed immediately.

7

stone

Saint Louis 1904

A sport similar to croquet, in that it is played in the same way with a hammer, although on a firm surface of sand. Narrow arcs with different values ​​are mounted on it to drive the different balls it consists of with a hammer. It is a type of large-scale billiard table and Olympic in San Luis 1904.

8

Lacrosse

San Luis 1904, London 1908 and exhibited in Los Angeles 1932. Returned to Los Angeles 1928

Two teams consist of ten players, each carrying a stick that ends in a net. The goal is to pass a rubber ball to each other to drive it into the rival goal to score a goal. A goalkeeper defends him. It has notable recognition in the United States and Canada, which is why, after being an Olympian in San Luis 1904, remaining in London 1908 and becoming an exhibition sport in Los Angeles 1932, it will return to the Olympic program in Los Angeles 2028.

9

motor boats

London 1908

In the 1908 London Olympic Games, a modality consisting of a motorized boat race was included. However, due to various circumstances, none of the participants were able to finish it, which caused this sport to be removed from the Olympic program and its return was never considered.

10

palm game

London 1908

It is a variant similar to tennis where a ball is passed over a net, although on a closed court in a kind of pediment. The difference is that it is not done with a racket, but hit with the hand, which as the game develops is protected by specific gloves. Many experts consider it one of the modalities that later gave rise to tennis, since in fact it includes scoring systems similar to those of the games (15, 30, 40 and games) played in the king of the racket sports. It was performed in London in 1908 and continues to be played today.

Eleven

rackets

London 1908

It was a type of racquetball played in London in 1908. It was played on an indoor wooden court with a wall where the ball was directed in alternating turns, much like racquetball today.

12

Handball to eleven

Berlin 1936

Handball as it is known has been part of the Olympic program since the 1972 Munich Games However, it was long before that. It was in Berlin 1936, with a modality played on the dimensions of football: in an eleven against eleven on grass in a field very similar to those that host the great game today. It was also played with two thirty-minute halves, but over the years it was absorbed by track handball.

13

Winter sports at the Summer Games

Ice hockey and ice skating

As a curiosity, ice skating was Olympic in the 1908 London Summer Games, while ice hockey was in the Antwerp 1920 Summer Games In Chamonix 1924 the Winter Olympic Games were launched and, because So, these two modalities are two of the its great reference. .

14

Other exhibition sports

The list of strange sports that have been part of the Olympic program does not stop there. Exhibition sports in Paris in 1900 were motor racing, pigeon racing, hot air ballooning, ball sports, long palm, motorboating, angling, rescue and cannon shooting. In Paris 1924 they were the bastion of combat and savate (a French form of boxing). They were joined in Helsinki 1952 by pesepallo (a Finnish form of baseball), in Tokyo 1964 by budo (a set of Japanese martial arts, with sumo, kendo and kyudo) and in Seoul 1988 by bowling, as more unusual examples.

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