Today , the conventions of the Olympics are pretty thoroughly plotted out . Each host city adds its own local flavor , of course , but it does so within the scope of the overarching rules and bylaws laid out in the Olympic Charter . For the most part , the consultation know what to expect from one game to the next . Whether it ’s the giddy fanfare that surrounds the Opening Ceremonies , the arouse performance of the winners ' national anthems , the glistening tears so vulgar during the medal ceremonies , or thekaleidoscopeof Olympian athletics themselves give the world ’s estimable of the best their chance to glow .
now and then , you might see a newfangled sport added or an previous one drop ( the 1998 presentation of those rowdysnowboarderscomes to take care ) . But , by this point inOlympic history , it ’s rare to see an array of new events get attempt out in a unmarried biz . But during the jolly haphazard 1900 Olympic Games , that ’s just what happened . The games , which take place in France and play along the World ’s Fair , bore piffling resemblance to the Olympics of today . In fact , some of the sports ( many of them unofficial ) that debuted there were n’t ever attempted as Olympic sports again – because , boy , were they bizarre . Poodle grooming and van drive were in the mix . We ’re not jest .
Ready to hear more about strange Olympic sports ?
10: Tug-of-War
Remember being in the schoolyard , brutally yanking a rope with no regard to blisters , all so as to ensure your opposing class fellow ate dirt ? Good prison term . But now imagine arise men doing it . shuddery stuff . get going at the 1900 Summer Games , however , tug - of - war was a minor yet heatedly contested Olympic event .
Teams were sometimes composed of people from different nations and the pattern were somewhat slipshod . During the 1900 game , competitors from Sweden and Denmark teamed up in an attempt to mash the French , and the Scandinavians were successful . The circumstances of the American team in the event ’s debut is even more bizarre : Some source say they never competed , while others say they were disqualified .
Tug - of - warfare really did well than some of the other sports on our tilt . team were tug their hearts out until the 1920 Olympics . After that , the sport was discontinued .
9: Hot Air Ballooning
Considered to have been a demonstration sport – a sporting effect held during the Olympics , but not technically considered an official summercater of the games – red-hot air ballooning enthusiasts take care their hopes of becoming official ascension and fall all during the 1900 Olympic Games . All in all , 61 men and 3 women contend in ballooning , which consist of 18 case . Judges grade dissident on various points , like space , duration and elevation .
Hot air ballooning has n’t been the only queer aerial sportsman of note at the secret plan . Kite flight debuted in 1900 , while canyon shooting and pigeon shooting were given a shot in the same class . spectator would have done well to seek cover when these guys got going .
On a related note , the chaotic 1900 games pull together two earthly concern records of its own . A grand total of 58,731 athletes participate in 34 overall sport family – both the high ever record [ germ : Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement ] . The Paris Games were also heroic in length , stretching from May 14 to Oct. 28 . Of course , all that clip left extra room for more freaky consequence …
8: Firefighting and Lifesaving
Firefightingand lifesaving may be important skills for public servant , but compared to sports likecanoeing , gymnastic exercise and cycling , they seem a small out - of - place at the Games .
Although neither was ever added officially to the list of Olympic mutant , that does n’t mean practitioners have no station at the game . For example , Australian surf life belt – who patrol Australia ’s broad beach as their day job – have a long history of making strong display in several link aquatic sport , including swimming , piddle polo , kayakingand rowing . They even excel in some track and flying field result , too .
The firefighting demonstration events are less well documented , but one must take on some Parisian buildings ( hopefully ones reconstruct for this purpose ) were sacrificed in a hell to see which teams could snuff out them first . In 1900 , Portugal took the volunteer division win ; a team from Kansas City fasten the professional division win .
7: Pole Dancing
deem the gasps – this is not currently officially or unofficially an Olympic consequence , nor has it ever been in the yesteryear . But that does n’t imply people are n’t vying for it to become one . Have you ever been in a strip golf-club ? If not , think this : cleaning lady who can shake the poles are often quite athletic .
And with that in mind , many are petitioning the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) to make pole dancing an official Olympic sport . There are already various national and external establishment holding competitions – such as the U.S. Pole Dance Championships and the International Pole Dancing Fitness Championships . Pole dancing competitor hail from all over the world , from Japan and Hong Kong all the manner to Britain and Finland . The thought process of friend goes like this : Under a name like " perch fittingness " such acrobatics will become just another exhibition of athletic nimbleness . whirlpool and channelise around a pole will emerge from dive bar and find Olympic glory . More power to them !
6: Solo Synchronized Swimming
From 1984 to 1992 , there was an official Olympian sportsman known as solo synchronizedswimming . It realize its shoes on this listing perhaps for the name alone . Most any sort of swimming can be considered a respectable sportsman , but it takes real gumption to call an upshot that involve just one person " synchronized . " ( Though solo recall dose say the bather was contemporize with the music . Likely story . )
Performing complicated athletic swimming routines is jolly impressive stuff , and perhaps it can be look at an aquaticballet . All in all , though , the whole assumption was a minute foreign . No vast surprise it end up thwart off the tilt .
5: Skeleton
If the previous entries have allow for you long for flaky times past ( or time to come , if pole dancing is thrown in the premix ) , revere not : The modern Olympic Games still sport plenty of strange sport . First up : skeleton . Granted , many of the ice track sport seem a little bizarre and more than a slight dangerous . But there is something unambiguously perilous - seeming about the fun hump as skeleton . ( Even the name makes it voice forbidding . Luge , by comparison , sound like it could duplicate as a warm tasty beverage . )
In a skeleton in the cupboard contest , you thrust yourself down a runway of chalk , with all the super awing cathartic at work that you see inbobsledding , only instead of being seated well in an upright and secure post , you dash down this parky swirl of reverence face - first .
look - first . So anything bad that is likely to happen , in all chance , is fail to scramble your brains before it even gets to work on other important physical structure portion . If training and vie in this summercater on a even groundwork is n’t bizarre , we ’re not sure what is .
4: Ski Jumping
Cross - body politic skiingis a strength and endurance test . Downhill skiing is a speed and swiveling test . Ski jumping is square - up craziness run . And Olympian athlete have been participate in this particular stain of nuttiness since 1924 .
Ski jumping involves shooting yourself down a extortionate incline on two little sticks ( some call them skis ; we ’re not convinced this is an accurate verbal description given the circumstances ) , then launching yourself into the melodic phrase to see how far you may travel . And that tends to be a retentive , long way . For spectators , it ’s like seeingSupermanin action , but without any of the superhuman powers . If hang up in an abyss gamey above nose candy - packed ground sounds pleasant , well , this might just be the play for you . Do n’t even get us start out on ski aerial .
3: Curling
As far as bizarre sports go , curl , in all its slippery , broom - wielding aura , leaves us especially captivated . And it ’s not just the fascinating activities and conversations among teammates that keep us glue to theTV screen , it ’s also the bewilderment : Who on Earth conceived of this sport in the first seat ?
Four - member teams take turn skid large granite stone down icy runway towards the big bull’s - eye at the far death . But those gem do n’t make the journey alone . No , they ’re accompanied by team members exert brooms which when vigorously embroil , can partly melt the meth , reducing frictionand helping with class correction and speed regulating .
One of the most unique aspects of curling is that it seems to be one of the few Olympian sport that takes spot in painstakingly tedious move . With so many other competitions concentrate on heart - burst speed , it ’s prissy to see one focused on careful craft . However foreign that craft is .
2: Biathlon
The biathlon is a perfect example of foreign Olympic collocation . Likecross - country skiing ? Sure , it ’s a calm , rhythmic experience . How about shooting rifle at hooey ? Oh yeah , it ’s an abrasive and jarring activeness . But if you bask both of these dynamically opposite spirit , then you are an idealistic candidate for ( or spectator pump of ) this sport , since it smashes the two together .
The biathlon – a part of the games since 1960 – involves bouts of zenlike cross country skiing punctuated by bursts of shooting the heck out of digest aim , only to be repeated until this eldritch event reaches its conclusion . At times , participant must dart standing ; at other points , they flash from the prone position . essentially , this case turnssurvival skillsinto sport .
Up next , we take strange jazz group to a whole young grade .
1: Pentathlon
If the biathlon sound bizarre , the modern pentathlon definitely takes it up a pass . These athletes must testify their mettle in not two , but five disparate skills . A summertime sport , as opposed to the winter biathlon , men began competing in the pentathlon in 1912 . Women were inducted in 2000 .
This event ’s purported origin story involve a French cavalry officer who had to get unacceptable odds to deliver a essential message . start out on horseback , he also had to fence , run , swim and inject to get the missive to its stand for recipient .
Fast - forward to the nowadays , and in a undivided day , a pentathlon athlete must first fence all other opponents , swim 200 time , then ride an unfamiliar horse through a 12 - jump course . Those who pass this stringent run must proceed through a combined bout of run and burgeon forth to get the gold . Then they get to take a snooze , we wear , if they so want .
Lots More Information
This is the first of several article related to the Olympics that I have been tasked with writing over the course of the summer , and I could n’t be more thrilled about that . Since I was a kid , the only televised sporting event I ’ve keep abreast with a passion have been the World Cups and the Olympic Games . you may pull through your football game , your golf , your motor athletics , your tennis tourneys and all the rest . They ’re all well and good , I ’m sure , but I ’m just not concerned .
That being say , the Olympics have hand - down stolen my heart . I ’m captivated by the Opening Ceremonies , enthralled by the athletes tear - flick bios ( yes , the majority of them make me weepy - eyed ) , and absorb by the pack of competitions – even the oddest of the odd . But prior to this , I was only familiar with the loopy unity know in the modern games . It was great search prior and potential " sports " that have attempt to make the roster . Hope you enjoy translate this as much as I enjoyed compose it !
