Games Olympians no longer play
These events were once part of the world’s biggest sporting spectacle. Should they make a comeback?
Will you be up early to watch the opening of the Olympic Games live from Paris on Saturday, 27 July?
The ceremony is due to start at 4.24am Eastern Standard Time in Australia (that’s 2:24am in Western Australia and 3:54am in South Australia and the Northern Territory).
When you watch representatives from all the teams march by, you might care to spare a thought for the sports that are no longer part of the Games.
With their storied history stretching back to ancient Greece, the Olympics have seen many sports come and go.
One of them is tug of war, which was part of the Olympics from 1900 to 1920. This event involves two teams pulling on opposite ends of a rope, trying to pull the other team towards them over a certain distance. You may remember it from the school playground.
Despite its simplicity and the excitement it generated, tug of war was eventually dropped, possibly due to its perceived lack of sophistication and the difficulty in regulating international competition standards.
Another sport that has vanished from the Olympics is croquet, which made its sole appearance in the 1900 Paris Games.
This lawn game involves hitting wooden balls through hoops using mallets, and it was a favourite pastime in Europe but failed to capture a broad international interest.
The 1900 event was poorly attended, and it was excluded from subsequent games.
Rope climbing was featured in several early Olympics, including the first Games of the modern era in 1896 and again in 1904, 1924, and 1932. Competitors were judged on their speed and technique.
The sport’s decline can be attributed to its limited appeal and the rise of more dynamic gymnastic events.
Polo, a high-speed equestrian sport, was included in the Olympic program in 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924, and 1936.
Despite its status as a prestigious event, polo’s Olympic run was hampered by logistical challenges and the high costs of transporting horses and maintaining facilities.
Baseball and softball appeared intermittently between 1992 and 2008 before being removed from the schedule. They made a comeback at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which were held in 2021 due to the Pandemic) but will not return this year.
Their exclusion stems from the global dominance of these sports by just a few countries, leading to concerns about competitive balance and international representation.
So much for sports from the past, what about the current state of play?
Skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing, which debuted in Tokyo, will be part of the Paris Games this year, as will breaking (also known as breakdancing) and kayak cross.
Is your favourite sport missing?
Related reading: NBC
