Many of you will be watching in awe later this year at the Olympic Games in Beijing, as the greatest athletes in the world battle for medals. What many of you won't know is that the sports in the Olympic Games have changed through the years. Here is a list of some discontinued sports in the Olympics.
Golf:
After making an appearance in only 2 Olympics (1900 and 1904), golf was axed from the list of games. In 1900, only singles golf featured, with two Americans taking gold in the men's and women's event. In 1904, only men could play golf at the games, and a team event was introduced. Canadian George Lyon took gold, with three teams from the USA taking all the medals in the team event.Standing Long Jump and Triple Jump:
Featuring in the Olympic Games from 1900-1912, the standing long jump and triple jump were events which required people to jump as far as possible without a run up. American Ray Ewry won gold four times in the standing long jump.Standing High Jump:
Like the previous two events, this featured from 1900-1912 as an event. Similar to the high jump, this event required a person to jump as high as possible from a spot without a run up. Ray Ewry also won four gold medals in this event.Rugby Union:
This sport featured in 4 of the first 7 Olympic Games, and was discontinued from 1932 to this day. Surprisingly, USA was the big winner in this sport, with two of the four gold medals. The other two went to France and Australasia.Motor-boating:
Featuring in only one Olympics (1908), this sport proved to be unpopular. There were 3 classes- Eight metre, 60 foot and open class. The race was 40 nautical miles, and six out of the nine races had to be cancelled due to poor weather conditions.Plunge for Distance:
This event featured only in the 1904 games. It involved diving into a swimming pool and getting as far as possible without moving whilst underwater. Distance was measured after 60 seconds or when they broke the surface of the water. USA took all three medals in this event, with William Dickey taking the gold.
So, when you're watching the Olympic Games this year, don't forget about the sports that have been dropped over the years. Who knows, they may one day make a reappearance at the games.
