From pigeon shooting to tug-of-war, 5 sports that are no longer part of the Olympics

In the following years, Olympic officials decided to not use the living targets. Instead, they introduced clay pigeons which were thrown into the air at different speeds and heights as targets.

Maurice Fauré (France), Léon de Lunden (Belgium), and Donald Mackintosh (Australia) participated in the live pigeon shooting event. (Wikimedia Commons)

2. Hot air ballooning (1900)

The event of hot air ballooning, introduced as a demonstration sport, had multiple contests over several months at the 1900 Olympic Games. Drivers competed in different categories, including the distance travelled, altitude reached, and the best photograph taken from a balloon.

French balloonist Henry de La Vaulx won the distance race by flying his balloon 768 miles from Paris to Poland, which was then part of Russia. When he landed, Russian police took him into custody for not putting in a passport request.

3. Tug-of-war (1900 to 1920)

Tug-of-war took place at five Olympic Games between 1900 and 1920. According to the rules, an eight-man team had to pull their opponents six feet to win. If either side failed to achieve this goal, judges would give the struggle a further five minutes and then declare the team, who had made the most progress, the winner.

At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, a controversy erupted after the British team was accused of wearing heavier than usual boots, making it hard for them to be tugged over.

4. Plunge for the distance (1904-1908)

The event required the athlete to dive into the pool from a standing position and coast underwater without moving their body for as long as possible.

“After 60 seconds had passed – or competitors had floated to the surface, whichever came first – referees measured the distance the athletes had drifted,” according to a report by Time magazine.

W E Dickey of the New York Athletic Club, winner of the plunge for distance competition at the 1904 Olympics with a distance of 62 feet, 6 inches. (Wikimedia Commons)

5. Running deer shooting (1908-1924)

No live deer was involved in the event, but competitors had to shoot a piece of wood in the shape of a deer mounted on a cart on rails. The target used to be 100 metres away and competitors had 4 seconds to shoot the deer as it moved through the track.

At the 1920 Olympic Games, Sweden’s Oscar Swahn,72, won the silver medal in the event, becoming the oldest Olympic medallist.