Top five weirdest sports that have been part of Olympics

Few strange and unimaginable events in today’s time have been part of the Olympic Games in the past. 

The Olympics are the pinnacle of international sports, and every sportsperson dreams of winning an Olympic medal for their country. Since the revival of the Modern Olympic Games in 1896, multiple sports have been inducted and removed from the Olympic events over time.

The modern Olympic Games, which started with only nine sports in Athens, will feature 45 sports in the 2024 Paris edition. Throughout the rich and glorious history of the Olympic Games, some sports that now sound unusual were once significant.

Let’s explore the top five weirdest sports that have been part of the Olympic Games.

5. 200m Swimming Obstacle Race

This unusual but fun swimming event was held only once, at the 1900 Paris Olympic Games. It combined a swimming event with an obstacle race. Competitors had to climb over a pole, scramble over a row of boats, and then swim under another row of boats. The event took place in the River Seine, so competitors also had to deal with the strong river currents.

The winner of this event was Frederick Lane of Australia, who clocked a time of 2:38.4. He also won the 200-meter freestyle event, and his timing in the obstacle race was only 13 seconds slower than his time without obstacles.

Also Read: Top 10 countries to have won the most Olympic medals in history

4. Plunge for Distance

A common event in backyard pools, Plunge for Distance was part of the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games. In this event, competitors began with a standing dive, then had to remain motionless underwater for one minute or until their head broke the surface of the water, whichever came first.

The longest distance recorded was declared the winner. William Paul Dickey of the USA won the contest with a jump measuring 62 feet and 6 inches (19.05 meters).

Back then, it was a popular sport in the US, so its inclusion made some sense. All the competitors in the event were from the US. The event was never repeated in the Olympics for various reasons, one being that it was not considered athletic enough.

3. Chorus Singing, Poetry, and Other Arts

In Ancient Greece, art and sport went hand in hand, with the ideal way to achieve harmony considered to be by exercising both body and mind. The founder of the modern Olympic movement, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, also wanted a strong connection between athletes, artists, and spectators. This led to the inclusion of art competitions dedicated to sports in the Olympics.

These events were introduced at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, and medals were awarded in five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. The art competition continued in the Olympics until 1948.

Later, the IOC Congress concluded that since almost all contestants in the art competitions were professionals, it did not reflect the amateur status of the Olympics, so the competitions were replaced by art exhibitions.

2. Running Deer Shooting

Before the arrival of high-tech air rifle shooting events, Running Deer Shooting was an Olympic competition. It debuted in the 1908 games and continued until 1948. The Running Deer was not a live animal but a moving target designed to resemble a deer. There were two variations of the event, single-shot and double-shot, based on the number of shots fired at the target during the run.

The deer-shaped target made ten 75-foot “runs,” each lasting about four seconds and taking place at a distance of 110 yards from the shooter. Each target had three concentric circles, with the smallest carrying four points, the middle carrying three, and the outer circle carrying two points.

Shots hitting outside the circles were counted as one point. The single-shot event was scored out of a maximum of 40 points, while the double-shot event was scored out of a maximum of 80 points.

1. Live Pigeon Shooting:

Live Pigeon Shooting, as the name suggests, used live pigeons as targets. This event was held only once, at the 1900 Paris Olympics. The goal was to shoot and kill as many birds as possible. This was the first and only instance in Olympic history where animals were killed intentionally, though the event is not listed in official IOC medal records.

In this event, six birds were released at a distance of 27 meters in front of the participant. The participant was eliminated once they missed two birds. The winner was the competitor who shot down the most birds.

Nearly 300 birds were killed, making the event quite messy with dead or injured birds on the ground and blood and feathers everywhere. The event was discontinued as it was decided not to use living targets in Olympic events thereafter.

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