5 Surprising Events that were contested at the Summer Olympics

The Olympic Games are the most international and significant sporting event, hosting a wide range of competitions in which the most skilled athletes in the world compete for a medal. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, around 2,900 athletes will compete in 329 events across 32 different sports. However, some events that were once featured in the Olympic programme will not be contested this time around. Here are five of the most surprising and unexpected events held in the history of the modern Summer Olympic Games.

5. Firefighting

Contested at the 1900 Olympics held in Paris, international firefighting teams took part in a competition where they were tasked with extinguishing a fire and then performing a rescue. The competition was divided into two events – professionals and volunteers. The volunteer teams were Porto representing Portugal, Leyton representing Great Britain, and Budapest representing Hungary. Portugal won the event, followed by Great Britain in 2nd and Hungary in 3rd. Only two teams competed in the professional competition – Kansas City representing the USA and Milan representing Italy. The United States of America won in this event. This was the only occasion that firefighting was contested at the Olympics.

4. Tug of war

Tug of war is a team sport that has been contested at five Summer Olympic Games, first at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, France, and most recently at the 1920 Olympic Games held in Antwerp, Belgium. Two teams are on opposite ends of a rope with the aim to pull the rope a set distance towards them, overpowering their opponents. At the sport’s first two appearances in 1900 and 1904, teams consisted of five or six members; this increased to eight from 1908 until the final appearance of the sport in 1920. Nations could enter multiple teams in this event, and the teams would sometimes include athletes from other events. For example, the United States had to withdraw from the 1900 tug-of-war tournament due to a schedule clash for three team members competing in the hammer throw.

Great Britain has had the most success in this event, winning two gold medals, two silvers, and one bronze. The event was removed after 1920 due to an effort by the International Olympic Committee to reduce the number of sports and participants at the Olympic Games.

3. Art

From 1912 until 1948, for seven Olympic Games, a number of Art competitions were held as part of the Olympic programme. Medals were awarded in five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. This was eventually expanded to more specific categories: literature in a drama, lyric or epic, orchestral and instrumental music, solo and chorus singing, drawings, graphic arts and paintings, statues, reliefs, medals, plaques and medallions. 33 people competed in Art competitions at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics; over time, the popularity of the event increased, with over 193 participants at the 1924 Paris Olympics and 1,100 pieces submitted at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. The event was removed after the 1948 London Olympics as most of the submissions came from professional artists, which went against the amateur status of the Olympics at the time.

Germany was the most successful nation in Art, winning 24 medals, more than 10 more than Italy, which is in 2nd place. Two athletes have won both art and sports events: Representing the United States, Walter Winans won the gold medal for Double-shot running deer at the 1908 London Olympics and the gold medal for Sculpture at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Alfréd Hajós, representing Hungary, won two gold medals in swimming at the 1896 Athens Olympics and went on to win the silver medal for Town planning at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

 

 

2. Angling

At the 1900 Paris Olympic Games, 600 competitors took part in six Angling (fishing) events. 560 of the competitors were French, and the remaining 40 were from Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. Over the course of three days, six heats of fishing in the Seine River from Île aux Cygnes were held with the goal of catching the most fish and a secondary prize for the biggest fish caught. Competitors were separated by their homelands so that foreigners and non-Parisians would not be disadvantaged by the Parisians who had knowledge of the river. The top ten anglers of each heat would win a prize share of 100 francs and a spot in the final. 200 francs was given to the competitor with the largest fish.

Many of the foreign and non-Parisian competitors fished for the secondary prize of 200 francs and would throw back smaller fish. 57 people competed in the final, catching 881 fish. The top 24 finalists won a share of 3,800 francs. The top three were all French, and the winner was M. Goethiers from Louveciennes. Élie Lesueur from Amiens caught the largest fish and received a trophy.

1. Plunge for distance

The Plunge for Distance was a diving event held at the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games. Competitors would take a standing dive into the pool and remain motionless in the water for one minute or until their head broke the surface of the water, whichever happened first. After diving, the competitors were not allowed to do anything to propel themselves further underwater. The person with the farthest distance traveled from the start would be victorious. Five divers took part in the Plunge for Distance at the 1904 Olympics, all were from the United States of America. William Dickey won the gold medal with a distance of 19.05m. Edgar Adams won silver with 17.53m, and Leo Goodwin won bronze with 17.37m. The event has not appeared at any other Olympic Games since.