This summer’s games in London will mark baseball’s last appearance at the Olympics. From tug of war to solo synchronized swimming, see the most unusual events that once were.
Clockwise from top left: Getty; Getty; Corbis; AP
America’s pastime won’t be shared with the world anymore. In 2005, the Olympic Committee voted to scratch both baseball and softball from the list of summer competitions. Baseball had only been a medal sport since 1992, while softball became an Olympic contest in 1996. The reason for baseball’s cut? A lack of participation by major leaguers from the U.S. And softball got the boot because of a lack of international interest. More cracker jacks for us!
Remember playing tug of war in elementary school? Well, it used to be an Olympic sport as well. From 1900 to 1920, contestants tested their brawn and their mettle by pulling rope across a field as part of the track and field program.
And you thought tandem bicycles were just for leisurely jaunts down the boardwalk. But, for the first part of the 20th century, tandem cycling was a major Olympic sport. From 1906 through 1970, pairs could compete in a 2,000-meter bike race.
Most people have never heard of Ray Ewry, but he was one of the most dominant Olympic athletes of his time. Ewry overcame polio to win 10 gold medals in three Olympic games. His events were the standing high jump and standing long jump, where he would jump as high or as far as he could from a stationary position.
The plunge for distance is exactly as it sounds: jump into water and go as far down as you can without taking a single swimming stroke. It became an official Olympic sport in 1904, but was phased out shortly thereafter thanks to a waning fan base.
It may be the only time in modern Olympic history where animals were harmed on the way to earning a gold medal. In 1900, during the Paris Olympics, the games featured pigeon shooting. Belgium's Leon de Lunden took the gold after shooting 21 birds. Needless to say, that event didn’t last long.
The year was 1906. The event was the dueling pistols. Despite how dangerous that sounds, the contestants weren’t actually shooting at each other. Instead, they aimed at mannequins dressed in coats with bulls eyes on their chests.
Only two Olympics—1904 and 1932—saw club swinging, an event wherein competitors would literally swing clubs decked out with ribbon around their bodies in elaborate patterns. Perhaps it was the constant threat of getting hit in the head with a club that kept people interested, if only for a short time.
Rope climbing wasn’t always just for gym class. In 1896, 1904, 1906, 1924, and 1932, it was also one of the more demanding Olympic sports. Competitors had to climb their way to the top of the rope without using their legs. During the first contest, only two athletes were able to make it to the top.
Consisting of racing laps around a course laid out by Olympic officials, motorboating was an official medal sport at only one of the summer games (1908) because the races were so slow and difficult to watch. There were three event categories—the eight meter, 60-foot, and open class.
Obstacle swimming took Olympic swimming to a whole new level. Its only appearance was during the 1900 summer games. Five competitors swam a 200-meter course with three obstacles. The first two—a pole and a row of boats—they had to climb over. The last one—another row of boats—they swam under. Fun!
It sounds like an oxymoron, but in 1984 the Olympics introduced solo synchronized swimming at the Los Angeles Games. How does that work, you might ask? The swimmer simply synchronized with his or her accompanying music. The event didn’t catch on and it was dropped after the 1992 games in Barcelona.
