If you’ve been swimming, you probably tried it at least once: Dive into the water and see how far you can get without taking a stroke. Coast past 62 feet and you could have earned a gold medal at the 1904 Olympics.
A gym class favorite like the rope climb and a game that looked like hopscotch — the standing hop, step, jump — were once medal events.
Long before the corporate sponsorships and billion-dollar television deals, the Olympic Games were more like games kids might play in the back yard.
Some of the events may seem a bit strange — club swinging, anyone? — but there was certainly a fun factor to the early days of the Olympics.
“It’s was a different thing, kind of catch as catch can, particularly the very early days before it got formalized,” said David Wallechinsky, vice president of the International Society of Olympic Historians. “Eventually, as it got bigger, they had to take it a lot more serious.”
The first few modern Olympics, which started in Athens in 1896, were loosely organized. There were no national teams, and the host countries picked the events.
That changed after World War I, when the International Olympic Committee took over selection of the Olympic program because Sweden wouldn’t allow boxing at the 1912 Stockholm Games.
A wild finish in the marathon at the 1908 Games — Italy’s Dorando Pietri was disqualified for being helped across the finish line by two officials after collapsing several times — and the Nazi presence at the 1936 Berlin Games helped increase media interest, eventually turning the Olympics into the financial and political monster of today.
Before all that happened, though, the Olympics were a more simple affair, filled with some, uh, interesting events.
One was the dueling pistols at the 1906 Athens Summer Olympics. The participants didn’t actually shoot each other; they fired upon mannequins dressed in frock coats with bulls-eyes on their chests.
Running deer shoot, where participants shot at moving cutouts of animals, was another worse-than-it-sounds competition.
For the authentic blood and guts, you’d have to go back to the 1900 Paris Games and live pigeon shooting. Nearly 300 birds were killed during the release-and-shoot competition, leaving a mess of feathers and blood after an event that clearly wouldn’t fly today.
Less violent and more fun were some of the swimming events. There was the diving plunge — the aforementioned coasting event — and an underwater race, where swimmers earned points based on how long they could hold their breath and how far they could get.
The swimming obstacle race in 1900 was another unusual one, with swimmers climbing up and down a pole, then over and under and boats in the Seine River. Surely, some kid at the local swimming pool made that one up.
Club swinging, held during the 1904 and 1932 games, would certainly fall into that category.
Club swinging featured competitors whirling clubs around their bodies in various patterns. The threat of getting conked on the head like the Three Stooges surely got people to watch.
Certainly, bigger, more mainstream sports have been dropped from the Olympic docket. Polo was part of five Games, rugby four, golf and lacrosse two each.
Today, the IOC is concerned about the Olympics becoming too unwieldy, so when a new event is added, another is dropped.
Not every Olympic event has been a success. Some, like live pigeon shooting and equestrian high jump, lasted just one year.
Here’s a look at some sports no longer in the Olympic program:
Rope climb (1896, 1904, 1924, 1932): Using only their hands, competitors try to see how fast they can get to the top of the rope.
One-hand weightlifting (1896): Similar to the modern snatch event except that athletes were only allowed to use one hand.
Standing high jump (1900-1912): Same as the traditional high jump, only without a run-up.
Standing broad jump (1900-1912): The long jump without a run-up.
Standing triple jump (1900-1904): Also known as the hop, step and jump; started from a stationary position.
Underwater swimming (1900): Swimmers were awarded points for how far they went and how long they stayed under water.
Swimming obstacle race (1900): Racers had to swim through the River Seine, climb up and down a pole, then go over and under several boats.
Live pigeon shooting (1900): The birds were released and shooters tried to kill as many as possible.
Equestrian high jump (1900): Riders see who can jump the highest on horseback.
Equestrian long jump (1900): Long jumping on horseback.
Rugby union (1900, 1908-24): One of the most popular team sports in the world still waiting to get back into the Olympics.
All-around dumbbell contest (1904): Competitors performed 10 different lifts with dumbbells over two days.
Club swinging (1904): Similar to rhythmic gymnastics, only the competitors swing clubs around their bodies.
Plunge diving (1904): From a standing position, divers see how far they can go without taking a stroke.
Dueling pistol (1906): Shooters fired at mannequins wearing frock coats and bulls-eyes on their chests.
Plain high diving (1912-24): Divers were not allowed to do any acrobatic moves; they just dove straight into the water.
Associated Press
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