Davis VBC

There are some Olympic sports that really take the cake as being odd and unusual. These events are amongst the weirdest, and even if they made only one appearance that’s one too many!

Roque: Ever played croquet in your backyard on a hot summer day? Then you may have been in training for this unusual summer Olympics game that is essentially the same thing that goes by a different name. This made a single appearance in the early 1900’s and never returned. Perhaps because this is a game more for recreation than for competition, or perhaps because officials recognized that this was not one that spectators would gather around.

Standing High Jump: We must really love our jumping events because though there are some constants, there is a long history of jumping events that were downright ridiculous. This being one of them—the standing high jump, really? Doesn’t that just mean that you see how high up in the air you can jump up? Okay though this didn’t really catch on all that much, it is one to look back on and have a good chuckle at.

Skijorking: If you think that you’ve seen it all then just consider this odd event. A man is pulled by a horse and this “team” works to complete the course in a record amount of time. It not only looked odd, but it was downright strange as well. This was almost inhumane and perhaps that’s why it only made one appearance at an Olympics years back, never to return again.

Table Tennis: It just seems like a game that you play in your basement with friends doesn’t necessarily lend way into being of Olympics proportions. This may be a fun game to play and even to watch amongst friends. Is it however a sport that spectators want to gather around for and take in? Not necessarily as there’s not a whole lot of competition or excitement to it.

Poodle Clipping: You may have thought that you read that wrong, but that truly was a demonstration event at the 1900 Olympics. People competed to see who could clip their poodle the fastest and the neatest. No surprise to say that it didn’t catch on amongst competitors or spectators, so it enjoyed only one appearance.

Solo Synchronized Swimming: When you see a group or team participating in synchronized swimming, it’s amazing and pure harmony. When you see just one person doing it—well it just looks strange. This not only made spectators uncomfortable, but judges and competitors alike. There’s really no point in putting one person out there in this role, and therefore it’s no longer a part of any Olympic competition.

Race Walking: We’ve all seen the speed walkers cruising through our neighborhoods or the malls in the early morning. Would you consider watching this at an Olympic event? Most likely not! This wasn’t just a one time event if you can believe it, but hopefully it won’t make a return anytime soon.

Though we all love to watch the Olympics and take in the amazing events, there are some that just shouldn’t be a part of them. These events are odd and sure not to be crowd favorites from year to year.

M. Frederick writes about how to enroll in colleges with sports management.