Long before the world's best athletes gathered to compete in gymnastics, swimming, and shooting, the Olympics were defined by several, much weirder sports. Enter the popular events of the early games, a long, bizarre list that includes entries like fire fighting, tug of war, and the oxymoronic solo synchronized swimming.
From pistol dueling to rope climbing, here are 12 wild sports that were once included in the Olympic games.
1
Ballooning
Ballooning was a sport at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Participants were judged on distance, airtime and precise landing.
2
Fire Fighting
In the 1900 Summer Olympics, both professional and amateur firefights could hose it out in the fire fighting competition. While Portugal won gold for the Volunteer competition, professionals from Kansas City, Missouri took home the gold for team USA.
3
Pigeon Shooting
“In the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris, Pigeon Shooting was an event, where actual live pigeons were used. Competitors had to shoot as many birds as possible; after missing two in a row, the shooter was eliminated. Nearly 300 birds were ultimately killed.”
4
Various Arts
“The early modern olympics used to feature an art competition, with sections dedicated to literature, graphic art, music and more. The Amsterdam Olympic stadium is actually a gold medal winner for architecture.”
5
Swimming Obstacle Race
“The 1900 Paris Olympics featured a 200m swimming obstacle race. Swimmers started by clambering over a pole to plunge into the River Seine. They fought the current to scramble over a row of boats moored in their path, before ducking under a second row of boats, and then sprinting to the finish.”
6
Rope Climbing
“Rope Climbing was once an Olympic sport. It was held at 4 Olympics including Paris in 1924 and LA in 1932. In 1904, George Eyser won gold despite having a wooden leg!”
7
Solo Synchronized Swimming
Between 1984 and 1992, swimmers would hop in the Olympic pool for the seemingly oxymoronic Solo Synchronized Swimming event. Despite its weird name, some argued that the “synchronized” part of the event was staying in sync with the music during the routine.
8
Pistol Dueling
“In the 1908 Summer Games, pistol dueling was a sport. Contestants used wax bullets and metal masks for safety.”
9
Equestrian Long Jump and High Jump
“The 1900 Olympics featured both long jump and high jump... of horses. In fact, the 1900 Olympic games are the only ones to ever feature equestrian high jump and long jump events.”
10
Plunge For Distance
“The plunge for distance, a short-lived olympic swim event where competitors jumped from the edge of the pool and floated motionless as far as possible. It was criticized as ‘not an athletic event at all’ since competitors ‘merely throw themselves heavily into the water and float along.’”
11
Roque
“Roque, a hard court version of croquet, used to be an Olympic competetion.”
12
Tug-of-War
“Tug-of-war used to be an Olympic sport. In the 1912 Olympics in Sweden, the host nation took gold, Great Britain took silver, and no one won bronze because only two teams showed up.”
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