List of Discontinued Sports and Events of the Summer Olympics
Since the first modern Games in 1896, 10 sports have disappeared completely from the Olympic schedule. These are croquet, cricket, Jeu de Paume, pelota, polo, roque, rackets, tug-of-war, lacrosse, and motor boating. Four sports that were previously listed here as discontinued have made a surprising comeback: golf and rugby were voted back in as official sports for Rio 2016, and baseball and softball returned for Tokyo 2020.
In addition to the discontinued sports listed above, there is a large number of discontinued events from sports that remain on the program, for example swimming events of plunge for distance and underwater swimming, the track and field events of the standing highjump and tug-of-war, and the shooting events of running deer shooting and dueling pistol.
Below is a list of all known discontinued Olympic Games sports and events. Every one of these sports have once been part of the official Olympic Games program at some stage.
It is not a complete list, all the main sports are here but there are many more sporting events to be added. There are a lot more discontinued sports and events than most people realize. See also the list of previous Olympic Games demonstration sports.
Follow the links for more information about some of these sports or sporting events.
| SPORT or EVENT | PARTICIPATING YEARS |
|---|---|
| Track and Field | |
| 60m dash | 1900, 1904 |
| 3000m | 1984-1992 (for women) |
| 5 mile run | 1906, 1908 |
| 80m Hurdles | 1938-1968 (for women) |
| 200m Hurdles | 1900, 1904 |
| Medley Relay (200m, 200m, 400m 800m) | 1908 |
| Steeplechase | 1900 (2500m & 4000m), 1904 (2590m), 1908 (3200m) |
| Team Race | 1900 (5000m), 1904 (4 mile), 1908 (3 mile), 1912 (3000m), 1920 (3000m), 1924 (3000m) |
| Cross Country (individual & team) | 1912 (8000m), 1920 (10000m), 1924 (10650m) |
| Walking Events | 1500m (1906), 3000m (1906, 1920), 3500m (1908), 10,000m (1912, 1920, 1924, 1948, 1952), 10-Mile (1908), 10km Road Walk 1992-1996 (for women) |
| Standing High Jump | 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912 |
| Standing Long Jump | 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912 |
| Standing Triple Jump | 1900, 1904 |
| 16lb Shot Put (2 Hands) | 1912 |
| 56lb Weight Throw | 1904, 1920 |
| Stone Throw (~6kg) | 1906 |
| Discus (Greek or Classic style) | 1906, 1908 |
| Discus (2 Hands) | 1912 |
| Javelin (Freestyle) | 1908 |
| Javelin (2 Hands) | 1912 |
| Triathlon (long jump, shot put, 100 yards) | 1904 |
| Pentathlon | 1906, 1912, 1920, 1924 |
| Pentathlon (women) | 1964 to 1980 |
| All-Round | 1904 |
| Tug-of-War | 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, 1920 |
| Cycling | |
| ½ Mile, 1 Mile, ¼ Mile, 1/3 Mile, 2 Miles, 25 Miles, 5 Miles | 1904 |
| 10km Track Race | 1896 |
| 12-Hour Race | 1896 |
| 20/25 km Track Race | 1900, 1906, 1908. |
| 1000m Time Trial Men | 1928-2004 |
| 100 km Track Race | 1896, 1908 |
| 2000m Sprint (Scratch) Men | 1896, 1900 |
| 2000m Tandem | 1906, 1908, 1920-1972. |
| 3000m Individual Pursuit Women | 1992 to 2008 |
| 4000m Individual Pursuit Men | 1964 to 2008 |
| 500m Time Trial Women | 2000, 2004 |
| 50km Track Race | 1920, 1924 |
| 5km Track Race | 1906, 1908 |
| Madison Men | 2000 to 2008 |
| Points Race Men | 1984 to 2008 |
| Points Race Women | 1996 to 2008 |
| One-Lap Race | 1896, 1906, 1908 |
| Team Road Race Men 100km | 1912 to 1992 |
| Gymnastics | |
| Team (Swedish & Free System) | 1912, 1920 |
| Team (Horizontal Bars) | 1896 |
| Team (Parallel Bars) | 1896 |
| Club Swinging | 1904 |
| Indian Club | 1932 |
| Rope Climb | 1896, 1904, 1906, 1924, 1932 |
| Sidehorse Vault | 1924 |
| Tumbling | 1932 |
| Triathlon | 1904 |
| Combined 4 events | 1904 |
| Swimming | |
| Relay Races | 1900, 1904, 1906 |
| 100m Freestyle for Sailors | 1896 |
| 200m Freestyle | 1900, 1904 (200yrd freestyle) |
| 400m Breaststroke | 1904, 1912, 1920 |
| 880yrd & 50yrd Freestyle | 1904 |
| 4000m Freestyle | 1900 |
| Solo Synchronized Swimming | 1984, 1988, 1992 |
| Underwater | 1900 |
| Obstacle race | 1900 |
| Plunge for Distance (Diving) | 1904 |
| Plain High Diving | 1912, 1920, 1924 |
| Weightlifting | |
| One Hand | 1896, 1904, 1906 |
| Two Hands | 1896, 1904, 1906 |
| All Round Dumbbell Contest | 1904 |
| Shooting | |
| Dueling Pistol | 1906 |
| 100m Running Deer | 1908 - 1948 |
| 25 and 30 meter military pistol | 1896, 1912, 1920 |
| 200m, 300m, 600m military rifle | 1912, 1920 |
| 25 and 50m rifle | 1908, 1912, 1920 |
| 25 yd rifle, disappearing and moving target | 1908 |
| 50 yd + 100 yd rifle, stationary target | 1908 |
| 300m, 600m, 100yard rifle | 1896, 1900, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924 |
| 10m and 50m running target | 1992-2004 |
| 50 meter running target | 1972-1988 |
| pistol, team | 1900, 1908, 1912, 1920 |
| trap, team | 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924 |
| Sailing | |
| 6m Class | 1900, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952 |
| 6.5m Class | 1920 |
| 7m Class | 1908, 1920 |
| 8m Class | 1900, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936 |
| 10m Class | 1900, 1912, 1920 |
| 12m Class | 1908, 1912, 1920, 1956 |
| Firefly Class | 1948 |
| Monotype Class | 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936 |
| 30m Class | 1920 |
| 40m Class | 1920 |
| 18-Foot Centerboard | 1920 |
| Rowing | |
| 17-Man Naval Rowing Boats | 1906 |
| various (inrigger fours, plus many more) | 1900 + |
| Equestrian | |
| Vaulting | 1920 |
| High jump | 1900 |
| Long jump | 1900 |
| Canoeing | |
| Kayaking (Folding Kayak) | 1936 |
| Canoe Marathon | 1936-1956 |
| Other sports or events | |
| Archery: Various events | 1900, 1904, 1908, 1920 |
| Archery (Pole) | 1920 |
| Baseball | 1992-2008, 2021 |
| Basque Pelota | 1900 |
| Breakdancing | 2024 |
| Cricket | 1900 |
| Croquet | 1900 |
| Fencing: Sword and Sabre | 1904, 1906 |
| Fencing: Singlesticks | 1904 |
| Field Handball | 1936 |
| Figure Skating | 1908, 1920 |
| Golf | 1900, 1904 (men only), 2016-2021 |
| Ice Hockey | 1920 |
| Jeu de Paume | 1908 |
| Karate | 2021 |
| Lacrosse | 1904, 1908 |
| Motor Boating | 1908 |
| Polo | 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924, 1936 |
| Racquets (Mens) | 1908 |
| Roque (Like Croquet) | 1904 |
| Rugby Union | 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924 |
| Softball | 1996-2008, 2021 |
| Art Competitions | 1912-1948 |
| Winter Sports |
Related Pages
- My list of some the more unusual discontinued sports.
- List of demonstration sports
- Discontinued sports home page
- Summer Olympic Sports
- Winter Olympic Sports
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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