There are many disciplines and events long forgotten by today’s generation of Olympic spectators. Here's a look at some of the most interesting and obscure events that did not stand the test of time and no longer feature in the #Olympics reut.rs/361zQ8z
Some, from over a hundred years ago, didn’t make it beyond just one Olympics.
🏊 200m obstacle swimming
This event, a combination of an obstacle course and swimming in the Seine river, was only presented during the Games in Paris in 1900
Australian Frederick Lane swam, climbed and clambered to gold 🥇, beating Austria’s Otto Wahle into silver 🥈.
Briton Peter Kemp struck bronze 🥉, although more than half of the original 28 entrants failed to even start the race
🤿 Plunge for distance
The UK Amateur Swimming Association defined it as 'A head-first stand-up dive from a firm, springless takeoff'.
Variations like this, entering with the feet, were also practiced under warnings of the danger they represented
1904 was the first Olympics to feature diving and one event was axed after its debut.
Gold went to the diver who could dive into the pool from a standing position and travel underwater furthest without moving their body for as long as possible
💪 Tug of war
The Oxford Dictionary published in one of its volumes that 'tug of war' originally meant 'the decisive contest; the real struggle or tussle; a severe contest for supremacy'
Originally classified by the International Olympic Committee as part of Athletics, Tug of War was later moved to its own category away from any other sports
🏋️ All-Round Dumbbell Lifts
This weightlifting contest was designed to determine who was the strongest man among the strong.
It had a complex method of scoring, judging through a series of 10 exercises over two days
Each competitor was required to complete a series of heavy dumbbell lifts over two days.
On the first day, they were to perform five instructed lifts.
On the second day, they had four instructed lifts, plus a freestyle lift to end the competition with a flourish
The events illustrated above are only a small sample of those which no longer exist at the Olympics.
There are also entire disciplines, or sports, which have been discontinued at the Games. According to IOC records, a total of 56 disciplines have featured between 1896 and 2012
For more of our illustrated guide to some of the Olympic disciplines that did not stand the test of time reut.rs/3h77BvG by @TmarcoH @ossianshine
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