This new edition of the Olympic Games will come with a lot of excitement: 10,500 athletes have arrived at Paris 2024 to prove that they are the best and take the gold.
5 Forgotten Olympic Sports We Can’t Understand Why They Existed
Although the actual sports disciplines reasonable and we understand why they are practiced, there are others that were simply so ridiculous that they were eliminated and we have never seen them again. Here we talk about some of the most surprising disciplines that were eliminated from the Olympic Games.
Pulling the rope
Although we now conceptualize it as a party or camp game, once upon a time pulling the rope was an Olympic discipline where brute force and teamwork had a lot to do with each other. This sport was present between 1900 and 1920, and it was England who dominated with 5 gold medals in its history.
Pigeon Shooting
Never more: They were played at the Paris Olympic Games in 1900, however, we never saw them again.
“A shooter was eliminated once they missed two birds. Nearly 400 birds were killed. A prize purse of up to 20,000 Francs was awarded to the winners, though the top four finishers agreed to split the winnings.” a user in Quora shared.
This was also “the first and only time in the game’s history when animals were killed on purpose.” Animal rights campaigns were mounted to stop live shooting. Nowadays, these kind of games would be unheard of and we hope they never return.
Pistol Dueling
Just like the old west, this was a discipline that was part of the London 1908 Olympic Games. Although it did not consist of killing the opponent, the athletes did wear masks and protective clothing, in addition to using wax bullets to avoid getting injured.
Pigeon Racing
This discipline consisted of an exhibition where each team had to make their pigeons make a certain route from one point to another. Of this sport there were only 6 events closed to French athletes.
Hot Air Balloon Flight
This was another sport that debuted in Paris 1900, however, for this one no one won a medal since it was considered an exhibition. In total, 156 flights were made and 48 balloons were used.
Bonus: Kite Flying
This game, which, rather, seems like another summer day, consisted of seeing which team could raise their kite to the highest altitude in one hour and keep it in the air for another 2 hours. For this sport there were three categories: large, medium and small kites, and those who won were also French athletes.
Si sientes curiosidad, algunas otras disciplinas deportivas que han sido eliminadas de los Juegos Olímpicos son el trineo de perros en los juegos de invierno; el duelo con bastones (como el esgrima pero con palos), ballet en esquís, entre muchos otros.
