6 Plunge for Distance

Plunge for Distance was at one time part of the 1904 Olympic games. In this game, participants don’t have to swim fast or beat others, but they have to just drop as far into the water as possible. The diver with the farthest distance wins. Honestly, as a viewer, it looks like a dead man resting under the water.

Plunge for Distance is the lamest sport of all time. It was a part of the 1904 Paris Olympic games. In this sport, participants dive into the water from a standing position.

Competitors have 60 seconds to dive as far as possible, the movement of arms and legs is forbidden. The winner is decided based on the distance after the 60 seconds or until their heads break the surface of the water.

Only five divers competed in Plunge for Distance. William Dickey from the USA secured gold with a distance of 19.05 meters.

The silver was secured by Edgar Adams from the USA with 17.53 meters, and bronze was grabbed by Leo ‘Budd’ Goodwin from the USA with a 17.37-meter distance.

Plunge for Distance was never a part of the Olympics after 1904 because, and let’s face the facts, people didn’t enjoy watching a corpse floating in the water. (1, 2)

7 Motorboating

Considering Motorboating as a sport is kind of funny. The Power Boating sport was included in the 1900 and 1908 Olympic games. This game was strictly for men where boats have to complete a five-lap, 40-nautical-mile course. This event was discontinued as mechanical propulsion is not acceptable in the Olympics now.

Motorboating was the part of Olympic games in 1900 and 1908. Yes, you heard it right! It has been given many names like “Watersports”, “Motor Boats”, and “Power Boating”. In the 1908 Olympics, Motorboating had three categories: 8 meters, 60-foot, and the open class.

The event was strictly reserved for men where boats have to race around a five-lap, 40-nautical-mile course. There were few drawbacks of this event. The average speed of the motorboat was around 19 mph, the audience was unable to watch the action, and six out of nine races were canceled due to bad weather.

Now, with the improvement in technology, Motorboating could appear in the Olympics again but there are few chances. The Olympic Charter will not permit such sports, and that is because sports or events where performance is influenced by mechanical propulsion are not acceptable.

The winners of the Motor Boating competition were Emile Thubron in Class A (open) from France, Thomas Thornycroft, Bernard Redwood, John Field-Richard in Class B (under 60 feet) from Great Britain, and Thomas Thornycroft, Bernard Redwood, John Field-Richard in Class C (6.5 to 8 meters) from Great Britain. (source)

8 Hot Air Ballooning

Hot Air Ballooning is a weird and odd sport to be included in the Olympics. It was only included in the Summer Olympic Games in 1900. The winner was decided based on distance, duration, elevation, and closest to their target with and without stopping. Hot Air Ballooning was removed from the Olympics due to the ban on motorized sports.

Hot Air Ballooning is one of the oddest sports that was held in Olympics history. It was an official event in the 1900 Summer Olympic games. The prizes are allotted to the winner based on duration, distance, elevation, ability to land, and closeness to target with and without stopping.

Around 61 men and three women competed in this event. The event was opened to all nations but was restricted to amateurs.

The pilot Henry de la Vaulx from France set two world records for duration and distance in balloon flight piloting. The 1900 Summer Olympics was the ray of hope for Hot Air Ballooning enthusiasts, but it came crashing down because the event did not continue to happen in future Olympics. (1, 2)

9 Roller Hockey

Roller Hockey is an interesting and odd sport simultaneously. It is like ice hockey played wearing quad-roller skates. Players use a flat batting glove for maximum rebounds. Roller Hockey was included in the 1992 Olympic games but unfortunately was discontinued due to few viewers.

Roller Hockey, also known as Rink Hockey, was held once in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games. It was one of the three official demonstration games in the 1992 Olympics.

Over 12 nations entered this event, 120 players in total. It was a single event for men which was held from July 26 to August 7, 1992. Roller Hockey is like ice hockey being played on roller skates, as participants have to wear quad skates. This game does not follow the rules of hockey. 

Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Argentina were star teams of the event, and they successfully secured the first four places. Unfortunately, the medals were not counted in the final medal table. Roller Hockey wasn’t able to make it to future Olympic games after 1992 because there weren’t many fans of Roller Hockey. (1, 2)

10 Pistol Dueling 

Pistol Dueling was part of the 1906 Athens Intercalated/Olympic games and demonstration event in the 1908 London Olympics. Pistol Dueling was bloodless dueling, as people did not shoot each other when dueling. In 1906, the competitors had to shoot human silhouettes. In 1908, contestants shot at each other with wax bullets and complete precautions.

In dueling, people challenge each other with identical weapons and fight until death. Dueling has been banned for many years. However, an event named “Pistol Dueling” was organized in the 1906 Athens Intercalated/Olympic games and also as a demonstration event in the 1908 London Olympics. Unfortunately, Pistol Dueling never made a comeback, but it would be interesting to watch if it does return.

In the 1906 Athens Olympics, people did not shoot each other to death, as no one wants to die for an event. Instead, competitors shot mannequins dressed in frock coats. They had to shoot at a bull’s eye on the dummy’s chest. Léon Moreaux grabbed gold for France, whereas Cesare Liverziani took silver home for Italy, and Maurice Lecoq won the bronze for France.

 In the 1908 London Olympics, Pistol Dueling was organized as a demonstration sport only for London. The difference was that this time instead of mannequins, contestants fired at each other. The guns were loaded with wax bullets, and modified pistols were used for the protection of the participant’s hands.

Duelists wore chunky metal masks and heavy clothes for safety, but still, some injuries occurred. Konstantinos Skarlatos took gold home for Greece, whereas Hohan Huber von Hoist won silver for Sweden, and Wilheim Carlberg grabbed bronze for Sweden. (1, 2)