10 strange sports that were excluded from the Olympic Games

Since the first days of its existence, the International Olympic Committee has been experimenting all the time, introducing ever new disciplines into the program of the most popular sports competitions. So the IOC wanted to know which species will be most popular among spectators. Some disciplines are still represented at the Olympics, while others, in view of their unpopularity and sometimes strangeness, have been left in the distant past. Below are a few sports that have ceased to be Olympic.

Remote immersion

Sport for its history has seen many kinds of contests. So, a remote dive was presented at the Olympics in 1904 in St. Louis. By its rules this discipline was more like a children's game. The essence of it was that the athletes sank under the water and were there, without moving with their hands or feet. After surfacing the participants to the surface or after a certain time, the judges measured the distance traveled by the athletes.

Since in this discipline the weight of the participants became decisive, it was criticized for its incompatibility with the Olympic principles. In the first and the last distance dive competition, the gold medal was won by William Dickey from the USA. And it's not surprising, because in this sport, only American athletes participated.

Duel on the pistols

Ironically, the pistol duel was once an Olympic sport. The only change was the use of wax bullets instead of conventional ones. The duel on pistols was first presented at the London Olympics in 1908. The organizers seriously took care of the safety of the participants: each of them was dressed in heavy armor, and a helmet with a glazed slit for eyes was put on his head.

After the Olympics, this sport became seriously interested in the US, turning it into a real show. For the first time the pistol duel was presented to the public in 1909 in the famous New York "Carnegie Hall." However, the high probability of injury caused the IOC to abandon this sport.

Shooting on live pigeons

The shooting competition from the very beginning was present at the Olympic Games. In London in 1896, she was represented by several disciplines. Four years later, at the Paris Games, a very unusual sport appeared - shooting live pigeons, which were released into the sky. According to official information, more than 300 birds died during the competition.

Despite the absence at that time of animal rights activists, the IOC decided not to use live targets anymore. At the next Olympics, athletes shot at moving cardboard targets in the form of deer.

Tug of war

The favorite entertainment at the English city fairs and picnics was tug of war. Soon the IOC decided that this fun is worthy of becoming an Olympic sport. There were even established official rules: one of the teams of 8 people had to drag rivals to six feet. If the winner was not determined for 5 minutes, the judges assigned one more round, and when the second draw was made, they themselves determined a stronger team.

The Olympic Games-1900 in Paris became debut for tug of war as a sport. The strongest in the world several times became the British team, consisting of London policemen.

Fencing on sticks

In this kind of sport, opponents had to strike each other with a special wooden stick. For the first time this discipline appeared in the program of the Olympic Games in St. Louis in 1904. Unlike classical fencing, where a sword, a rapier or a saber is used as a tool, a stupid truncheon was used in this form.

On the only Olympics for this sport, teams from the USA and Cuba competed for a set of awards. Just the last and won gold medals for his country.

Jumping in length on a horse

This unusual sport was introduced only at one Olympic Games - in Paris in 1900. Along with the long jumpers from around the world, the opportunity to show their skills presented themselves to the horses.

As for the results, they did not turn out to be particularly impressive. On average, the horses jumped 5 meters, and the gold medal was won by the horse with a record result - about seven meters. It is not surprising, but such indicators are much worse than human ones. The world record of jumps in length is 8 meters 95 centimeters.

Equestrian gymnastics

In this sport, riders and their pets did not compete in the speed or skill of overcoming obstacles. Here, athletes performed all sorts of pirouettes and tricks on the backs of horses. The only Olympic Games where this discipline was presented were held in Belgian Antwerp in 1920. Since only three countries - France, Sweden and Germany, took part, the IOC decided that this sport is not popular enough, and withdrew it from the competition program.

Single synchronized swimming

For the first time this discipline was presented at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. It did not become popular, because the very idea of single synchronization was considered absurd. Supporters of this sport argued that it was important synchronism with the musical accompaniment of the numbers.

Despite the many controversies surrounding this discipline, the competition was repeated in Seoul and Barcelona. Starting from Atlanta, a single synchronized swimming was replaced by team competitions, which allowed to popularize this sport very much.

art

From 1912 to 1948, the International Olympic Committee issued a set of medals for art. To select winners under the aegis of the IOC, numerous contests for writers, artists, musicians and designers were held.

In our time, the best works of contemporary artists include in the cultural program of the Olympic Games, but they do not hold competitions and do not give awards for them.

Ballet on skis

The ski ballet as an out-of-competition discipline was presented at two winter Olympics: in 1988 in Calgary, and four years later - in French Albertville.

As follows from the name of the sport, the ski ballet is an unusual form of skating, which includes choreography. In comparison with the usual ballet or figure skating, it does not look so elegant, but still it was a breathtaking sight, which was visited by many spectators.