As part of the modern Summer Olympics, competitions are held in 28 sports, some of which have several subspecies. Throughout the history of the modern Olympic movement, the program included a total of 40 sports, but 12 of them were eventually removed from the list by the Committee.
At the Summer Olympic Games, not only the traditional summer, but also off-season competitions are held. In particular, the list includes boxing, table tennis and wrestling competitions. The summer Olympic sports program is constantly being adjusted. For example, the possibility of including women's boxing in the program is being discussed.
Modern Summer Olympic sports include rowing, judo, equestrian sports, tennis, sailing, athletics, basketball, cycling, badminton, golf, wrestling, boxing, water sports, handball, volleyball, football, taekwondo, shooting, modern pentathlon, fencing, field hockey, triathlon, rugby, gymnastics, kayaking and canoeing, judo, archery, ping-pong.
Some of these sports are divided into subspecies. For example, competitions are held in rhythmic gymnastics and in trampoline jumping, and wrestling can be freestyle and Greco-Roman. Summer Olympic water sports include synchronized swimming, water polo, diving and swimming; for equestrian - triathlon, show jumping and dressage, and for cycling - track cycling, road cycling, mountain bike and bicycle motocross.
Of all modern summer Olympic sports, only 8 were included in the program back in 1896, i.e. competitions on them have been held since the revival of the Olympic movement. These are Greco-Roman wrestling, road cycling, artistic gymnastics, athletics, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, foil and saber fencing (fencing competitions were included in the program later).
There were also 12 summer sports that were previously included in the program of the Olympic Games, but for one reason or another were excluded from it. These are softball, rocky, racket, tug-of-war, polo, Basque pelota, powerboat, baseball, cricket, croquet, same de pom, lacrosse. Baseball and softball are the last sports to be excluded. The decision to strip them of their Olympic status was taken by the IOC in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
