The Weirdest Olympic Sports in the History of the Olympics

It goes without saying, but the Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world. People from different countries all over the world gather in one place to compete with each other. While there are several sports that are worthy of your time, and many that have us biting our nails in anticipation, there have also been some… incredibly strange ones, too. To give you a better view, here are some of the weirdest Olympic sports that have come about throughout the history of the Olympics.

Handball

Handball is a sport that involves two teams with seven players. The team that scores more goals by throwing the ball into the goal or base of the other team with their hands wins. One match has two periods of 30 minutes.

Handball has been one of the top events in the Olympics since 1936, and it’s still around today… even though it never got the attention of Americans. Frankly, many of us don’t quite get it. Plus, it is exciting to watch despite some people thinking that it is quite weird.

Live Pigeon Shooting

One of the weirdest Olympic sports from the history of the Olympics is the live pigeon shooting. This event raised a lot of eyebrows during the 1900 Paris Games because they used live pigeons. During the event, competitors had to shoot as many pigeons as possible. The competitor was eliminated when he misses two birds in a row.

After the event, the live pigeon shooting looked gruesome. I mean, it really was. To be specific, about 300 birds died that day, and the place was filled with blood and dead pigeons. Afterwards, animal rights activists protested, resulting in the use of clay pigeons instead.

While shooting events continued to take place in the Olympics after this, the use of live targets has thankfully since been a thing of the past.

Korfball

Another Olympic sport that may seem weird is korfball. This sport has similarities with basketball. The difference is that korfball is played by two teams with eight players, four men and four women. The players must throw the ball in a netless basket that is mounted on a pole with a height of about 3.5 meters.

Some people think that korfball is weird because of the team composition. As mentioned, this game is played by both men and women. Even so, a lot of people around the world are playing this game. One, in particular, is Charlize Theron, who grew up playing korfball in South Africa.

Obstacle Swimming

Finally, the last on this list of weirdest Olympic sports is obstacle swimming. To explain further, the event was part of the 1900 Paris Games, and it was held on the Seine River. The competitors have to swim under and climb over the boats and poles in this event.

Despite being strange, some people on the International Olympic Committee are considering bringing back this event. If it happens, a lot of viewers will surely be thrilled to see the winner of this challenging event.