One person commented, “Why didn’t he leave the Olympics too? He should face a fine for his irresponsibility.”
Another commenter said, “It’s frustrating to see people who don’t care about the Olympics when there are real athletes who dream of competing. I hope they’re not allowed to participate again.”
The most bizarre, discontinued Olympic sports
Painting
In the past, the Olympics awarded medals for art as well, featuring events in painting, sculpture, music, architecture, and even literature.
Making its debut at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm and continuing until the 1948 London Games, juries awarded a total of 151 medals for artistic projects inspired by sport.
Tug of War
Bet you didn’t know this playground classic was once part of the Olympics, did you?
It turns out the sport wasn’t just popular—it also stirred up quite a bit of drama. At the 1908 Olympics in London, Team USA accused Team GB of cheating, claiming their ‘illegal’ heavy footwear gave them an unfair advantage.
A fixture in the Olympics from 1900 to 1920, Tug of War enthusiasts have actively campaigned to see the sport make a return to the Games.
Hot Air Balloon Racing
Debuting at the 1900 Olympics, hot air balloonists competed in races based on distance traveled, altitude reached, precision of landing, and even who could capture the best photo from the balloon.
The sport was eventually discontinued after a ban on motorized events was introduced.
Live Pigeon Shooting
Also making its debut at the 1900 Olympics, the event was quite straightforward—competitors aimed to shoot as many pigeons as possible after they were released into the air. Grim, indeed.
The event only appeared once in the Games, and it’s estimated that around 300 pigeons were killed by Olympic hopefuls.
Pistol Duelling
It’s not hard to see why this event was scrapped, but back in 1906, people didn’t seem to mind competitors waving pistols and shooting at each other.
It started with competitors shooting at dummies, but two years later, organizers decided to mix things up by having them shoot at each other with wax bullets. Ouch.
1908 was the last time the sport appeared in the Olympics, so it’s safe to say they quickly realized it was a bad idea—wax bullets or not.
