Ceri David
Sunday August 1, 2004
Observer Sport Monthly
1 Tug of war
1900-1920
Entertainment for West Country cider heads during the summer fête? Tell that to the ancient Greeks, renowned for their physical and intellectual stamina, who staged their first tug in 500BC. In modern Olympic rules, a team of eight had to pull the opposition six feet to win, but if no such drama had occurred after five minutes, the side who had pulled their opponents the furthest triumphed. London 1908 saw the sport at its most intense, when America were beaten in just a few short seconds by Great Britain. The unhappy losers accused Team GB, all of them policemen, of wearing illegal spiked boots, so we offered them a rematch in our socks ... and still stuffed them.
2 Motor boating1908
Britannia ruled the waves all right, or at least we did until the solitary appearance of motor boating at the Games. Rome, the original choice for 1908, had gone into a suitable panic following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, so London stepped in to host the event, bringing some brand new sea toys along for the party. There were three categories - the eight-metre, 60-foot and open class - and average speeds were almost funereal, hovering around the underwhelming 19mph mark. To make matters even less appealing, virtually no one could see the action, which took place off Southampton. Lousy British weather meant six out of the nine scheduled races were cancelled. A first-rate flop all round, then, and never to be repeated.
3 Cricket
1900
The gentleman's game was so unpopular at the turn of the last century that only two nations competed at the games in Paris: Great Britain and France. L'equipe francaise was comprised almost entirely of ringers: British Embassy staff who secured a few days off from the office. A report summed up the hopelessly one-sided contest (England won the two-innings match by 158 runs) thus: 'The French temperament is too excitable to enjoy the game and no Frenchman can be persuaded to play more than once.' More significantly, no one on the Olympic committee could be persuaded that cricket should stay in the games.
4 Club swinging
1904, 1932
Not in fact a night out for bored couples, but an event that involved swinging a club festooned with ribbons very quickly around the body and head, in a complicated routine. At the 1932 Games, American George Roth displayed a level of dedication seldom seen in the modern Olympic era. It was the Great Depression and Roth was unemployed and hungry. Yet he won gold. Seconds after being awarded his medal in front of 60,000 spectators, he walked out of the stadium in Los Angeles and hitchhiked home.
5 Solo synchronised swimming
1992
This exercise in stupidity sneaked its way on to the O-list in 1984, only to be cast out in 1992. Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that one lonely person floating in a pool could never, would never, be in sync with anyone else (pedants maintain that it's the choreography that is synchronised with the music). Whatever, it's no big loss, and the strange smiles, nose clips and pointless treading of water linger on, courtesy of the two- and eight-person team events.
6 Tumbling
1932
Certain black-and-white era mat events (hands up callisthenics) had all the acrobatic verve of school gymnastics certificate six, which, I recall, featured skills as demanding as the 'forward roll' and the gravity-defying 'standing up'. Tumbling, however, was no such primary-school farce. American Rowland 'Flip' Wolfe took gold in Los Angeles thanks to his revolutionary backflip with double twist, only to see the event flick-flack off the floor and into gymnastic history.
7 Rope climb
1896, 1904, 1906, 1924, 1932
How long is a piece of string? In this case, anywhere between 7.62m and 14m, depending on which year you were competing. The object of the 'climb' was to shin up to the top of your rope. This was no easy task: only two of the 1896 climbers made it to the summit, prompting officials to send the rope back for alterations. Yet whatever the length of the rope, this event was a crowd-pleaser. For a modern-day equivalent, you need look no further than to the heyday of Gladiators . And, indeed, the two were linked by a common, tragic fate: both spectacles were unceremoniously dumped.
8 Live pigeon shooting
1900
For a country that happily permits dogs to dine in restaurants, though not on the table, France has an alarming track record when it comes to animal cruelty. Quel surprise , then, that Paris 1900 featured the only Olympic event in history at which animals were deliberately harmed: 300 poor, defenceless pigeons, to be precise. Pest control fans watched in awe as Belgium's Leon de Lunden (above) won gold, bagging himself a healthy 21 birds and, presumably, a place on the RSPB's most wanted list.
9 Pistol duelling
1906
Before Olympic anoraks start writing letters, we know the 1906 Intercalated games don't count as an official Olympiad (see Rationale). But this one entry is too good to leave out. Instead of shooting at each other, participants shot at dummies in fancy frock coats with a bullseye embroidered on the chest. The event never appeared on the Olympic list again, but qualifies here for its exhilarating oddity.
10 Long jump for horses
1900
Yes, this was an event for horses, although it is not clear whether the beasts themselves ever mounted the podium to collect their own medals. From an animal as lean, powerful and disciplined as the horse, one would expect Eddie Kidd bus-jumping antics, but, in fact, these equine leaps were a tad more modest. Extra Dry won the contest at the Paris Olympics with a jump of 20 feet and a quarter of an inch. Putting it into perspective, that's 2.63 metres shy of the current world record. For humans.
1 comment:
It was really interesting and enjoyable. Just keep it this way!! Tzeluu, Mama.
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