Strangest Olympic Events
of Seasons Past
From July 26 through August 11, Paris will host this year’s Summer Olympic Games — with a few unexpected changes.
Baseball and softball are out; breakdancing is in.
In honor of the 2024 Summer Games, let’s look at some of the strangest Olympic events ever included in these global competitions.
Croquet, Anyone?
Croquet was the first Olympic event in which women participated, but the game appeared only once — in 1900 Paris.
Perhaps that was because only French competitors registered for the event, or maybe because only a single spectator purchased a ticket.
More likely, it was due to the condemnation by an official Olympics reporter that croquet was a game with “hardly any pretensions to athleticism.”
Solo Synchronized Swimming
The clue is in the name. Synchronicity requires the actions of at least two participants, as the notion of staying in sync with oneself is patently absurd.
Apparently, the Olympic committee didn’t get that memo when they approved the inclusion of solo synchronized swimming in 1984. And again in 1988. And 1992. In 2020, the committee finally rebranded the sport as Artistic Swimming.
The Paris 2024 games will feature only duet and team competitions.
You Look Mahvelous, Dahling!
The Paris 1900 Games attempted to include Poodle Clipping as a test event – meaning it never achieved full Olympic status. (Not surprisingly, although the fur flew, Poodle Clipping didn’t make the cut.)
The test involved 128 competitors performing before a crowd of 6,000 in the Bois De Boulogne Park. The winners were those who clipped the most poodles in two hours.
You may be wondering, how could the officials ensure all poodles were the same size? Were participants penalized if the animal was uncooperative?
And, most importantly, why–for the love of Pete–were they doing this in the first place?
Pistol Dueling
This one wasn’t quite as exciting as it sounds.
Competitors did not actually shoot at one another during the 1908 and 1912 Olympics. Instead, they fired at mannequins dressed in frock coats (dueling being a sport of gentlemen) with targets painted on them.
Strangely enough, an Australian poll taken before the Sydney 2000 Olympics revealed that 32% of the respondents wanted to see the sport revived at that summer’s games.
Catch the Spirit!
If you’re ready to catch some Olympic spirit, here’s a little preview of what to expect at this year’s Summer Games:
Sources:
Featured Image: Adobe,License Granted
GQ
Brittanica
Europeana
Time