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Olympic Sport facts

While investigating facts about Olympic Sports and Olympic Sports List, I found out little known, but curios details like:

Tug-of-war used to be an Olympic sport. In the 1912 Olympics in Sweden, the host nation took gold, Great Britain took silver, and no one won bronze because only two teams showed up.

how olympic sports are chosen?

Alexander the Great once organized an Olympic Games to honor a dead religious leader. However, since the Indians weren't familiar with Greek sport, he opted for a wine-drinking contest instead. 41 contestants died and the winner lived for just four days after his victory.

What olympic sports are there?

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what olympic sport should i do. Here are 50 of the best facts about Olympic Sports 2020 and Olympic Sports And Spine I managed to collect.

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  1. Mark Spitz, nine time olympic champion, jokingly told the Russian swim team coach in 1972 that his moustache increased his speed in the water, deflecting water away from his mouth. The next year, every Russian swimmer was sporting one.

  2. Pistol dueling with wax bullets was a popular pastime in the early 20th century and even featured as a sport in the 1908 Summer Olympics

  3. Julius Yego, a Kenyan javelin thrower who learned the sport and techniques by watching YouTube videos. He competed in London Olympics and this year he won gold at 2015 World Championships. He is known as "Mr YouTube man".

  4. The 1992 Olympics US basketball team (the "Dream Team") has been called "the most dominant squad ever assembled in any sport". Magic Johnson said "I look to my right, there's Michael Jordan ... I look to my left, there's Charles Barkley or Larry Bird ... I didn't know who to throw the ball to!"

  5. The state of Kuwait is banned from the Olympics due to government legislation that permits the state to interfere in elections of sporting organizations. As a result, Kuwaiti athletes compete as independent athletes under the Olympic Flag instead of their own flag.

  6. Canada won the last ever Olympic Lacrosse Gold Medal, in 1908, and are therefore still the reigning Champions. In fact, they are the ONLY gold medalists ever in the sport.

  7. Pistol dueling with wax bullets was once an Olympic sport.

  8. Town planning was once an Olympic event, as were several other architectural disciplines. The Olympics were to be about the arts as much as sport and contestants could compete in literature, music and several other non-sporting pursuits

  9. Pistol dueling was a sport in the 1908 summer Olympics. Contestants used wax bullets and metal masks for safety.

  10. USA has never won Olympic medals in just 3 sports: handball, badminton, and table tennis.

olympic sport facts
What olympic sport are you?

Olympic Sport data charts

For your convenience take a look at Olympic Sport figures with stats and charts presented as graphic.

olympic sport fact data chart about Here is a short list of countries with at least 5 medals and
Here is a short list of countries with at least 5 medals and 90% or more of their medals coming from one sport in the Winter Olympics. This really highlights how specialized the Ne

olympic sport fact data chart about Age and height of Olympic champions depending on the sport,
Age and height of Olympic champions depending on the sport, and how it evolved over the decades

Why is netball not an olympic sport?

You can easily fact check why isn't squash an olympic sport by examining the linked well-known sources.

There will be five new sports debuting in the 2020 Summer Olympics: Skateboarding, Rock climbing, Surfing, Baseball/Softball, and Karate

Up until the 70s and 80s every competitor in the Olympics had to be an amateur, meaning they could not receive payment. Today, the only Olympic sports with no professional athletes are boxing and wrestling - source

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain recently made a joint bid to host the Olympics with the mens' events in Saudi Arabia and the womens' events in Bahrain as women are not allowed to play sports in Saudi Arabia. The IOC vetoed the bid. - source

The 1992 Olympics US basketball team (the "Dream Team") won all of their games by an average of 44 points. They have been called "the most dominant squad ever assembled in any sport."

There's a subway ticket machine in Moscow that accepts 30 squats as payment. Installed ahead of the 2014 Sochi Olympics to "bring sports to the people". - source

When did curling become an olympic sport?

Despite lack of media coverage, the Special Olympics World Games is often the largest sporting event of the year

How many olympic sports are there?

Mark Spitz, a 9 time Olympic Champion jokingly told the Russian swim team coach in 1972 that his moustach increased his speed in the water, deflecting water away from his mouth. The next year, every Russian swimmer was sporting one.

Dueling with wax bullets was once an Olympic sport

France was the only nation to send athletes to compete in Croquet in the the 1900 olympics. All 10 athletes medaled, including 2 unopposed. The only spectator was an elderly englishman who only watch the qualifying round. The sport was deemed too unpopular to include in subsequent olympics

Margaret Thompson was the first woman to win an Olympic medal in a shooting sport (silver) in 1976 after tying with the gold medal winner. When the Olympic committee refused a shootoff, the gold medalist pulled Thompson onto the gold medal platform with him.

'art' used to be an Olympic sport. Artists were award gold, silver and bronze medals for architecture, painting, sculpture, music and literature across multiple Summer Olympics in the early 20th Century. The 'arts' were dropped from the Games because they drew too many professional artists.

When did tennis became an olympic sport?

Olympic / sports doping offers an example of the Prisoner's Dilemma: if no athlete dopes, nobody has an advantage; if one does, he/she benefits, but if all athletes dope then the advantage disappears and only the potential negatives (getting caught) remain.

Japan revolutionized olympic swimming. In 1920 they didn't even field a team. By 1932 in LA Japanese coach had used underwater cameras and sports science to upend Western conventions (e.g. square shoulders). That year, Japan won 5 of the 6 golds awarded, 4 silvers and 2 bronzes.

Gymnastics were introduced at the 1896 Olympics.

Norwegian athletes have won more medals at the Winter Olympics since its inception.

The Winter Olympics have been held twice in Lake Placid, both in 1932 and 1980.

How many summer olympic sports are there?

It was Greco-Roman wrestling that was an event in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, Greece.

Jim Thorpe was later stripped of his medals because he had been paid for playing sports and was therefore not an amateur according to Olympic standards. Despite the fact that the claim was made past the 30 day rule Jim still lost his medals.

The World Taekwondo Federation administers the Olympic competition for taekwondo. It is their rules that are used for competition.

Saudi Arabia once bade to co-host the Olympics proposing that all men events to be held in their country and all women events in Baharin since it's not allowed for women to participate in sports there.

Badminton was first played as a sport in the Olympics in 1992. More than 1.1 billion watched its Olympic debut on television.

Russian sports include basketball, ice hockey, bandy, football (also known as soccer), and martial arts. The Russians commonly win numerous medals at the Olympics.

In the Winter Olympics in 1980 at Lake Placid, it was the first time artificial snow had to be used.

The modern pentathlon is a summer Olympic sport and simulates the experience of a 19th-century cavalry soldier behind enemy lines: he/she must ride an unfamiliar horse, fight with pistol and sword, swim, and run.

American football was demonstrated at the 1932 Summer Olympics in an attempt to promote it as an international sport to be included in future Olympic games. It was not picked up and has remained unpopular outside of the USA.

Female athletes participating in sports competitions are often required to undergo a gender verification test. The issue has arisen multiple times in the Olympic games where women with an intersex condition were thought to have an unfair advantage.

Badminton became an Olympic sport in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympics.

In 1984 Michael Jordan was a member of the United States Olympic basketball team. They won the gold medal in California.

The founder of the modern Olympics Baron Pierre de Coubertin was a rower.

Professional soccer players were not allowed in the Olympics until 1984. They are permitted to play as long as they are in the Under-23 level.

The first Olympics competition for women was held in 1928.

This is our collection of basic interesting facts about Olympic Sport. The fact lists are intended for research in school, for college students or just to feed your brain with new realities. Possible use cases are in quizzes, differences, riddles, homework facts legend, cover facts, and many more. Whatever your case, learn the truth of the matter why is Olympic Sport so important!

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