The Olympic Games are still considered the most important competition in an athlete's life. But not all sports can boast of being included in the official Olympic program.
What sports are included in the Summer Olympics
The list of the Summer Olympic Games includes 41 disciplines in 28 sports.
BMX
This is a sport, the meaning of which is that athletes compete by performing various extreme stunts on special bicycles. The following disciplines exist:
- Rasing - races that are notable for their entertainment. No more than 8 athletes can take part in each race. The track consists of an embankment with curves, jumps, waves and other obstacles.
- Flatland - tricks are performed on a flat surface.
- Vert - stunts are performed on a steep ramp.
- Dirt - participants perform extreme stunts on a special track with quite significant hills.
- Street - the competition takes place on a special site, equipped for an ordinary street, with all the ensuing obstacles in the form of a curb, stairs, railings and other things.
Rowing
Competitions taking place on the water. They differ in the number of athletes in the teams:
- One athlete.
- Two athletes.
- Four athletes.
- Eight athletes.
Also, the difference occurs in the type of rowing: using one or two oars.
Badminton
In this sport, 5 sets of Olympic medals are played in the following types:
- Solitary among men.
- Male doubles.
- Solitary among women.
- Women's doubles.
- Mixed pairs.
Basketball
During the game, 5 players from each team participate on the field. The goal of each athlete is to hit the basket more times with the ball than the opponent. Both men's and women's teams participate in the main world Olympiad.
Boxing
For the first time, boxers took part in the games in 1902. Female athletes were able to compete for the first time only in 2012. A total of 13 Olympic awards apply to this sport. Athletes are categorized by weight. Athletes have 3 categories, while men are divided into 10.
Bike track race
There are 10 disciplines in total:
- The Australian Pursuit is a competition where competitors must start from different locations on the track at the same time. Those who are overtaken during the race are eliminated from the track. The winner is the one who remains the last on the cycle track.
- Git is an individual kind of rivalry, the meaning of which is extremely fast overcoming of the track.
- The points race is also an individual sport. The length of the track for men is 40 km, and for women - 25 km. Every 10 laps the first gets 5 points, the second - 3, the third - 2, the fourth - 1. The winner is the one who scored the maximum number of points on the result of the entire distance.
- A race with an unknown finish - its peculiarity is that the athletes do not know what the distance will be. The final lap will be announced by an authorized person only during the competition.
- Pursuit race - cyclists must start from different sides of the track. The goal of the competition is to show the fastest time or overtake the opponent.
- Keirin is a race in which athletes must travel a certain distance at a given speed. And then just speed up and complete the final sprint.
- Madison is a group race of two or three athletes per team.
- Omnimum is one discipline that immediately includes 6 other track cycling disciplines.
- Scratch is a 15 km race for men and 10 km for women. If an athlete is one circle behind the others, then he is eliminated from the race. The winner is the one who came to the finish line as a leader or overtook all rivals in a circle.
- A sprint is a short race. The competition takes place on just a few laps.
Water polo
Athletes in the men's category first took part in 1900 and have competed in every Olympic Games ever since. Women made their debut only in 2000 in Sydney.
Volleyball
The sportsmen made their volleyball debut at the games in 1964. Both male and female teams took part immediately. The Beach View was introduced in 1992 as a demo and remained on the list in subsequent years.
Freestyle wrestling
Participants first appeared at the Olympic Games in 1906. But then all the athletes were US citizens. This was due to the fact that no one except them knew about this type of competition.
Dressage
This sport is also called training. And this is one of 4 competitions, the meaning of which is to demonstrate the abilities of a horse and a rider. Only listed horse breeds can participate in dressage. Grades are set based on a whole range of criteria.
Handball
This group sport is considered to be similar to football. The difference in the game is that the ball must be thrown into the goal using your hands. Handball was first listed in 1936. There are both male and female teams.
Golf
The male Olympic Games, listed in 1900. But after the 1904 Olympics, golf was excluded from the list. It was brought back only in 2016.
Mountain bike
Extreme discipline, listed at 29 Olympic Games. In total, there are 10 types of minebike competition:
- Straight.
- Bicycle trial.
- Parallel slalom.
- Dirt jumping.
- Freeride.
- Slopestyle.
- Uphill.
- Cross country.
- North Shore.
- Downhill.
Rowing and canoeing
Rowing appeared at the Olympic competitions in 1865. The first demonstration race was carried out in 1924, but the sport was added to the list only in 1936.
Rowing slalom
This is a competition for extreme lovers. Its appearance as an independent species is dated September 11, 1932. Inclusion in the list of the Olympic Games took place in 1972.
Greco-Roman wrestling
One of the oldest disciplines in the Olympic Games. Greco-Roman wrestling was added to the list back in 704 BC.
Judo
This discipline first appeared on the rivalry in Tokyo in 1964. Games in Mexico City in 1968 is the only time that judokas did not come to the Olympics. Women first appeared in major events in 1992.
Show jumping
A type of competition where a horse and a rider take part. The point is overcoming obstacles. Show jumping was introduced to the Summer Olympics in 1900.
Equestrian Eventing
It consists of three disciplines: obstacle passing, dressage riding and cross-country. The debut of this sport at the Olympic Games dates back to 1912.
Athletics
This is the queen of sports. As many as 47 sets of awards are played at the Olympiad. Athletics was listed as a modern Olympic Games in 1896. It includes not only various types of running, but also walking, long and high jumping, all-around, cross-country and other technical types.
Table tennis
It was added to the list of games in 1988. During the Olympics, 4 sets of awards are played.
Sailing
The listing of sailing in the Olympic Games dates back to 1900. Initially there were mixed teams. There are currently 10 sets of awards being played: 1 for mixed, 4 for women and 5 for men.
Swimming
It first appeared as a gaming discipline in Athens in 1896. During the competition, 34 sets of medals are played.
Diving
It was first included in the program in 1904. The essence of the competition lies in the technically correct performance of acrobatic stunts after jumping from a springboard. In addition, the judges evaluate the smoothness of the entry into the water.
Trampoline jumping
It wasn't until the 2000 Sydney Games that trampoline became an official Olympic sport.
Rugby
Rugby appeared at competitions in Paris in 1900. It is interesting that until 1924 only 3 teams took part, which subsequently all became prize-winners. After the 1924 games, rugby was dropped and only appeared in 2016.
Synchronized swimming
This discipline first appeared in 1984. Synchronized swimming as a type of the Olympic Games has one peculiarity. Only women are officially allowed to participate in it. Although international competitions have categories for both women and men.
Modern pentathlon
It was first incorporated in 1912. Women's discipline only appeared in 2000. This is an individual type of competition that includes shooting and running (since 2009 they have been combined), fencing, show jumping and swimming.
Gymnastics
Currently, 14 sets of medals are being played. Among men, this discipline appeared in the modern Olympic Games in 1896. Women started taking part in 1928.
Shooting sport
Appeared at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens. Until 1968, only men could take part. Since 1984, there has been a division into men's and women's competitions in some disciplines. In 1996, the remaining disciplines were also separated. 15 sets of medals are played in the competition.
Archery
Archery officially appeared as an Olympic discipline in 1900. But until 1972, it was considered optional.
Tennis
The sport appeared at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens. After 1924, tennis was canceled and returned only in 1988.
Triathlon
It is an individual sport consisting of a phased passage of three stages:
- Swimming.
- Run.
- Cycling race.
Triathlon as a full-fledged discipline was first included in the Summer Olympic Games in 2000.
Taekwondo
Taekwondo came to the Olympic Games from Korea. Its peculiarity lies in allowing the use of legs for throwing and striking the opponent. Both male athletes and women are officially allowed. As part of the demonstration, the taekwondo athletes made their debut at the 1988 Olympic Games. But athletes were officially admitted only in Sydney in 2000. There are 8 sets of awards in total, dividing athletes by weight and gender.
Weightlifting
This sport has been listed since the first Summer Olympics of the modern era. Later, men did not compete in the 1900, 1908 and 1912 Olympics. Women have been able to compete for medals only since 2000. Among male athletes, 8 sets of awards are played, and among women 7. The division takes place into categories depending on the weight of the participants.
Fencing
The fight with the use of edged weapons appeared in the first games in Athens. The appearance of women at the Olympics dates back to 1924. There are 10 awards in total. 5 sets for men and women. The Olympic Games include the following fencing categories:
- Sword.
- Saber among the teams for women.
- Rapier.
- The rapier is among the men's teams.
- Saber
- Epee among mixed teams.
Football
For the first time, this sport, which at present can be confidently called one of the most popular in the world, started at the Olympic Games in France in 1900. Further, football was present at all the Olympics except 1932. Since 1996, a separate category of football has appeared - women. Before that, only men's teams could compete.
Field hockey
This sport differs from ordinary hockey in many ways: the presence of grass instead of ice, lack of equipment, replacing the puck with a hard ball. For the first time the summer variation of hockey appeared at the Olympic Games in 1908. At that time, only men could take part. Women's teams first appeared in Moscow in 1980.
Rhythmic gymnastics
This graceful and purely feminine competition was born in 1984. The awards are played out in the all-around category both in an individual game and in a group. The performance of athletes is usually carried out using one or two objects. Previously, it was allowed to perform dance and acrobatic tricks without additional items. But now at the Olympic Games this kind of performance is practically not observed.
Road cycling
Cyclists of this discipline first appeared at the 1896 Olympic Games. Women were able to take part only in 1984. In total, 2 sets of awards are played for men and for women. Races are divided into group and separate.
