Ridiculous Sports That Have Made It Into The Olympics
By admin
*Warning – my opinions in this post are not made to offend anyone, they are solely my thoughts and feelings.
Does anyone remember when trampolining became a sport in the Olympics (2000)?
Of course I understand the talent that goes into it, and I respect ANY athlete that dedicates their life to ANY sport, however as a gymnast, I grew up thinking that the tramp was a training tool, not an apparatus.
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I won’t lie, I didn’t tune into the coverage back then and probably won’t this year either. Of course it takes a lot of work to be able to tumble, jump and flip around on a trampoline but if that’s a medaling sport should we expect to see Cirque du Soleil in the 2016 games?
Probably not because now a days to be considered an Olympic event there is quite the process to go through with the Olympic Club. Take golf for example, a very popular sport which has just been granted Olympic status for the 2016 games (anyone think Tiger will make that cut?).
I love golf, and yes, I realize I am probably one of the only women that genuinely enjoys watching it on television, and yes I am used to people teasing me about it so feel free.
While golf and trampolining may be legit sports for the Olympics there have been some events in the past that have raised eyebrows, which is what I want to share.
Out of these sports let me know which, if any, you would like to see return to the Olympic arena and which ones you think are the most outlandish sports ever!
The Most Ridiculous Olympic Events Ever
Crazy Sport #1 – Swimming Obstacle Race.
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Yes, that’s right an swimming obstacle course. This took place in the Paris 1900 games. Athletes began outside of the water, climbed up a pole, slid back down and then started their swim. Next up they were required to climb up on a boat and run across a series of boats before hopping back into the water. And they finished the race by having to swim underneath another series of boats.
It only lasted one game. Surprised? You shouldn’t be considering there was one big oversight when planning the event. There were no pools at that time in France so swimmers had to do this craziness in the Seine River, which just so happened to be the outlet for the Paris sewer system… gross.
It sounds amusing and I would love to have seen this! But with the popularity of today’s mud run obstacle courses, a swimming obstacle course may not be such a bad idea (with a few updates to the course!).
Crazy Sport #2 – Plunge For The Distance.
Wow, this is great. Remember as a kid going to the pool, walking up to the edge and just jumping out as far as you could? We would even have contest to see who could do the farthest jump, until my mom would get tired of having to pick a winner.
Apparently my brother and I weren’t the first ones to come up with this event. In 1904, at the St Louis games, this was a real Olympic event… that gave out medals. No really, I am not kidding.
It was called the Plunge for Distance Dive. But I have a hard time calling it a dive since there was no diving at all. The rules were simple, run and jump as far as possible without flailing your arms and legs.
The jumps were measured after their bodies broke the water’s surface. So it’s like long jumping for for people who don’t want to get sandy? Good thing this one only lasted one year too.
Crazy Sport #3 – Underwater Swimming.
Another event popular for kids in the neighborhood pool but not something many people would pay money to see. It seems that the 1900’s and a stream of stupid sports and this was another one.
Remember when you and your friends would take turns seeing who could swim the furthest underwater with a single breath? And no breaking the surface allowed!
Same thing here, except that in the 1900s there were no pools and no underwater cameras, so people just stared at a river waiting for a swimmer to finally pop up for a breath.
Not to mention that again it took place in the poo invested Seine River with crazy currents carrying fecal matter into the mouths of “world class athletes.”
Again, one year was enough.
Crazy Sport #4: Tug of War
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I had no idea tug of war went outside of elementary schools’ field days! If I had perhaps I would have taken more interest in the sport with the goal of having a medal placed around my neck.
Oh wait it stopped being a sport in 1920, but unlike the above sports it had a pretty good run. It was an event from 1900 until 1920. Originally tug of war was between teams of 6, then in 1904 there were teams of 5 pulling against one another and finally all other years were large teams of 8.
All I imagine are two teams pulling a thick rope with a big mud pit in the middle. The team that gets dirty loses. Sounds like fun to me, that is as long as I win.
So there you have it, the 4 most ridiculous sports that have participated in the Olympics! What do you think, are they crazy or should they make a comeback?
Questions
- Is there a sport in the games that you don’t think should be there?
- What event are you most excited about?
- If you could be in the Olympics for ANYTHING what would it be?
Okay, I guess the cat is out of the bag, I don’t think trampoline should necessarily be an Olympic event (sorry if I upset anyone, just my opinion).
I am most excited about diving, swimming and of course gymnastics! And if I could be in the Olympics it would be for volleyball, even though I suck, and I am short and I’ve never actually played beach volleyball. But hey, if I had a choice I would be good at it and would be 6’2!