The Olympics have become a cultural institution.
More than three billion people watched the latest installment of the Olympic games.
However, every four years, the eligible sports are discussed and changed as required.
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Below are 33 weird Olympic sports that once found themselves part of the games.
7 Weird Olympic sports
Weird Olympic sports have made at least one Olympic appearance over the years.
There will always be a discussion about what constitutes a sport, especially Olympic sports.
However, there will be little disagreement over the weird and wonderful events on this list.
Tug-of-War
This strange Olympic sport was discontinued in 1920.
Interestingly,Tug-of-Warwas one of the original games from the early Olympics that took place in 500 B.C.E.
However, it is only documented as being part of five Olympics between 1900 and 1920.
The number of participants on each team changed over the years, growing from six to eight.
Great Britain remains the nation with the most medals in the Tug-of-War competition.
The competition consisted of shooting as many pigeons as possible in the allotted time.
Club Swinging
Strange Olympic sports do not come much more bizarre than the mesmerizing are of club swinging.
This strange sport involved juggling and maneuvering bowling pin-shaped clubs.
La Canne
Fencing has long been part of the social elite and the Olympic games.
However, in 1904 a slightly different event was also staged.
Singlesticks is undoubtedly deserving of its place on this list of strange Olympic sports.
There were only three competitors taking part, all three of them from the United States.
It made a return in 1924 under the French name of La Canne but only in a demonstrative capacity.
Steeplechase
Another of the strange Olympic sports on this list that are still active is the Steeplechase.
Whatever the reason, this strange Olympic event is here to stay.
Basque Pelota
A worthy entrant on any list of weird Olympic sports is Basque Pelota.
Much like many weird Olympic sports, Paris 1900 was the year Basque Pelota made it to the Olympiad.
Additional demonstrative appearances were made at the 1924, 1968, and 1992 games.
Motor Racing
When thinking of weird Olympic sports, you imagine athletic or team events.
France took home all of the available medals in the games.
8 Obscure Olympic sports
Obscure Olympic sports litter the annals of history.
Obscure sports have appeared at other Olympics, and some continue to appear to this day.
Below are eight of the most obscure Olympic sports.
Pistol Dueling
You wont find any obscure Olympic sports more interesting than the rather deadly-sounding pistol dueling.
Solo Synchronized Swimming
Some obscure Olympic sports are weirder than others.
The head-scratching sport of solo synchronized swimming is one of them.
However, doing so as a team of one seems obscure to the point of baffling.
Modern Pentathlon
The evolution of sports has also been responsible for the emergence of some obscure Olympic sports.
As the name suggests, the modern pentathlon is a reimagining of the Ancient Greek classic pentathlon.
The events include swimming, fencing, equestrian show jumping, a long-distance run, and pistol firing.
Many may find the five events associated with the modern event strange; there is logical reasoning behind them.
The combination of events began as military requirements for cavalrymen of yesteryear.
Previously called the whitewater slalom, this came onto the scene in 1992 and continues to this day.
Contested under similar rules to the downhill slalom in the winter Olympics.
Competitors race downhill through raging rapids, steering their craft through a series of gates.
3-on-3 Basketball
Obscure Olympic sports do not just have to be dangerous throwbacks to the pre-healthy and safety age.
Sometimes, obscurity can be found in the logic behind a sports inclusion.
3-on-3 basketball is one such example.
Below are seven funny Olympic sports that need to be seen to be believed.
Rope Climbing
There are not many funny Olympic sports that can rank above the rope climb.
Very few sporting competitions better define an athlete than a rope climb.
The event was included in four non-consecutive Olympics games: 1896, 1904, 1924, and 1932.
However, the plunge for distance event certainly qualifies as a strange and oddly unathletic event.
The concept is simple.
Trampolining
Funny Olympic sports do not need to be long lost and forgotten.
The following interesting event is a relatively new addition to the Olympic circuit.
Points are awarded in the same manner as other gymnastic events.
Every move is assigned a difficulty factor, and scoring judges work on a 10-point scale.
The highest and lowest scores are discarded, with the resulting average being the rounds score.
A great deal of skill is required to excel at trampolining.
However, this doesnt stop it from being one of several very funny Olympic sports.
A sport of equality and competitiveness.
Created in the Netherlands, the game appeared at the 1920 and 1928 games in a demonstrative capacity.
No medals were awarded.
Sports like water skiing remind us of our childhood and summers spent down at the beach.
Simming Obstacle Race
Funny Olympic sports dont come more absurd than the concept of a swimming obstacle course.
Competitors needed to climb poles, scale boats, and swim under others.
Poodle Clipping
The list of funny Olympic sports doesnt come any more amusing than poodle clipping.
There are funny Olympic sports, and then there are events that threaten to defy description.
128 competitors lined up to be crowned the Olympic champion poodle clipper.
6 Random Olympic sports
There have not been too many truly random Olympic sports through the years.
However, they have certainly been a few.
These are the bang out of sports that leave audiences scratching their heads in confusion.
Below are six of the most random Olympic sports to ever grace the grand stage.
The Olympics are a competition to find the best sportsmen and women in any particular discipline.
However, now all of the distances have been removed, leaving just the mens and womens 20km event.
As strange a sport as speed walking may seem, there is something undeniably Olympic about it.
One such game is Ju de Paume, otherwise known as Real Tennis.
Originally, Jeu de Pauma was played without rackets.
Hence the name, which translates to game of the palm.
Motorboating
The Olympic games are all about athletic excellence and being the best in your chosen sporting activity.
So surely one of the most random Olympic sports has to be motorboating.
The advent of motorized boats sent people into a bit of a frenzy.
There were three classes for Olympic motorboating, and only one medal was awarded in each.
Great Britain won two of these three available medals.
Gliding
Another interesting entry on the list of random Olympic sports is gliding.
This event was only added for one Olympic rotation in 1936.
Hungary won the gold medal on that occasion.
As far as random Olympic sports are concerned, gliding has to rank as one of the weirdest.
Ballooning
The final entry to the list of random Olympic sports is hot air ballooning.
The winter Olympics have been part of the Olympic calendar since 1924.
Below are 5 weird winter Olympic sports, which range from current staples to long-forgotten potentials.
The competition was only opened up to include female competitors as of 2002.
Out of all weird winter Olympic sports, the skeleton is arguably the most dangerous.
The name came from the way early sleds resembled the human skeleton.
Skijoring
Weird winter sports do not come much stranger than Skijoring.
This weird winter Olympic event only made one appearance at the Olympic games back in 1928.
Switzerland claimed all three podium places at the event, which is considered to have been a demonstration.
It has not been since or discussed ever since.
A solid case could surely be made for it to be reintroduced to the Olympic rotation.
This combination of downhill skiing and figure skating is certainly an athletic and artistic affair.
Ski Ballet sees competitors move down a smooth slope performing various moves and tricks to a musical accompaniment.
The concept of a winter Olympic pentathlon is sound.
However, what makes it one of the weird winter Olympic sports is the combination of events.
However, it also featured fencing and horseback riding.
It is these final two entrants that make this such a weird winter Olympic event.
The winter pentathlon only appeared once in a demonstrative capacity at the 1948 winter games.
Take the Iditarod, a legendary winter event.
Many may rightly question why sled dog racing is considered one of the weird winter Olympic sports.
Surely it could be one of the most highly contested.
Perhaps it is because the event is more suited to longer distances than short, spectator-friendly bursts.
However, it did appear at the 1932 winter Olympics held in Lake Placid, New York.
Sadly, it never moved beyond being a demonstration.
Why have there been so many weird Olympic sports?
One commonality of the sports listed above is that they appeared a long time ago.
Events and sports that were judged to be appealing to the audience were picked.
Whereas nowadays, almost all sports are accessible to people.
Historically, the Worlds Fair was also scheduled in the same location as many Olympic games.
The focus of the fair was a glance toward the future.
We saw many events demonstrated in conjunction with the fair.
Thus the stress was on potential rather than immediate Olympic greatness.
How are strange Olympic sports selected?
It is much harder for strange Olympic sports to get selected for the Olympics in the modern era.
In addition, a number of the strange Olympic sports on our list were included in a demonstrative capacity.
This all means that we are less likely to see suchweird sportsappearing at the modern Olympics.
Some of these have quite rightly been relegated to the pages of history, gone and almost forgotten.
However, many of them paved the way for sporting advancements.
Who knows, in generations to come, maybe some modern events will be considered equally strange Olympic sports.
