The Olympic International Committee (IOC) determines which sports are included in the Olympics. For the 2024 Olympics, for example, one new sport has been introduced: breaking, also known as breakdancing.
The IOC has also removed many sports from competition over the years. There are many reasons a sport may get removed, but it is usually because it is no longer popular, or opinions towards it have changed.
Here are some of the most unusual sports that used to be featured at the Olympics.
1. Tug-of-war
Most people associate tug-of-war with Sports Days at school. So it may come as a surprise to some that it was once part of the Olympics!
Tug-of-war was played at the Olympics from 1904-1920. And Great Britain was the champion of this sport, winning five medals in total.
One funny story: Danish journalist Edgar Aabye was covering the 1900 Paris Olympics for his newspaper when he ended up joining this sport as a last-minute substitute after one of the members of the Danish-Swedish squad was unexpectedly injured. He and his team went on to win the gold!
2. Underwater obstacle course
Swimming is already rather strenuous. Imagine though, if swimmers not only had to worry about finishing laps, but had to overcome physical obstacles at the same time!
This was what happened at the 1900 Paris Olympics games. In the 200m Obstacle Course, participants had to climb up and slide down a pole before entering the water. Then, they had to swim to a row of boats, and climb over them. After completing this obstacle, they had to run back into the water, swim to another row of boats, and this time, go under them to the finish line.
To make things worse, there were no modern swimming pools in 1900, so the sport was conducted in the Seine River, meaning swimmers also had to worry about river current and the poor water quality of the time!
The winner was Australian swimmer Fred Lane. He remains the only champion of this sport, as it was never seen in any Olympics after 1900.
3. Pistol duelling
This sport was based on traditional pistol duels, where two people would shoot at each other, usually to settle a matter of honour.
At the Olympics, however, competitors shot at dummies, not each other. These dummies would be dressed in frock coats, with targets painted on their chests. The person who shot the target most accurately won.
Pistol duelling was a sport at the 1906 Athens Olympics. Leon Moreaux of France won gold in the 20m category, while Konstantinos Skarlatos of Greece won gold in the 25m category. The sport was never seen at the Olympics after that, as pistol duelling eventually fell out of favour.
4. Town planning
Believe it or not, art competitions used to be part of the Olympic Games from 1912-1948. They were the original intention of the Olympic Movement’s founder, Pierre de Coubertin.
Medals were awarded for architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. These competitions were eventually replaced by the Olympic cultural programme in 1956.
So yes, you could get an Olympic medal for urban planning. The most famous winner was American Charles Downing Lay, whose design for the redevelopment of the Marine Park in Brooklyn won a silver medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Ironically, despite his win, Lay’s designs ended up unused.
5. Live pigeon shooting
The first and only time this event was held was at the 1900 Paris Olympics. The goal was to shoot as many birds as possible.
Live pigeons were released 27m from the participants, who opened fire. Anyone who missed two birds was eliminated. The winner was Leon de Lunden of Belgium, who shot 21 pigeons.
Over 300 pigeons were killed. Reports say the ground was covered with blood and feathers that day. This was the only Olympics in history where animals were deliberately injured, and it is quite obvious why this sport was never held again.