5 Weird Discontinued Olympic Sports

If you think the modern Olympics have always featured the same, traditional events then you’re wrong. Here are five of the most unusual events to have ever graced the games.

Swimming Obstacle Race (Paris, 1900)

If you fancy competing in a spot of obstacle swimming you’re going to have to travel back in time to Paris 1900, as this is the only time the event was included. 12 competitors raced the 200 metre course that included three obstacles. The first was a pole which the swimmers had to climb over. They then had to clamber over a row of boats, before swimming under another line of vessels towards the end of the course. The gold medal was taken by Australia’s Frederick Lane, so perhaps they should have resurrected the event for the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Long Jump for Horses (Paris, 1900)

This one doesn’t really need an explanation does it? The winner was simply the horse that jumped the furthest, which incidentally wasn’t very far at all. The winning horse managed to leap just over 20 feet, which is more than 2.5 metres shorter than the current human world record.

Live Pigeon Shooting (Paris 1900)

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