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10 weird and wonderful former Olympic sports

 

The modern Olympic Games began in 1896, since then a lot more than the sporting attire and facial hairstyles has changed. From live bird shooting to solo synchronised swimming, we take a look at some of the most interesting and bizarre of discontinued Olympic sports...

  • Tug of War

    Dates played: From 1900 to 1920

    The tug of war is a familiar event at summer fairs and informal sporting events across the UK. But for 20 years it was also a feature of the Olympic Games. Originally, individual clubs entered as opposed to one team per country and in 1908 Great Britain won Gold, Silver and Bronze as a number of teams were allowed to represent the same country (in this case - City of London Police, Liverpool Police and Metropolitan Police K Division.)

    Tug of War is a game of strength and consists of two teams pulling a rope in opposite directions until the midpoint of the rope passes into the strongest team's territory.

    The photo, from 1908, depicts the Liverpool Police tug-of-war team who won the silver medal that year at the London Olympics.

    IMAGE CREDITS:
    • Getty Images
    • IOC Olympic Museum
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