Over the past few weeks of presentations in our class, the one that really caught my interest covered the topic of strange Olympic events of the past (tug-o-war, pigeon shooting, etc.). I was compelled to search the internet for more information about some of these sports and, maybe, discover why someone once thought it was a good idea to take them seriously.
During my search, I stumbled across this article.
If you get the chance to read it, you should. It gives a humorous look into some ridiculous Olympic events of the past (some were covered in class and some were not). For example, we are all accustomed to watching athletes dive for style, but one event used to score them on distance; “the long jump with the possibility of drowning”, as the article puts it. Underwater Swimming, another event in the early 1900s, was an understandable failure due to lack of waterproof cameras at the time. Viewers would often be clueless as to who won the race! Another pool activity mentioned, Solo Synchronized Swimming, just sounds like a complete oxymoron.
As ridiculous as these events of the past seem, should we really be so judgmental of them? Afterall,curling has only grown in popularity over the past few Games. Also, we still have an event that combines cross-country skiing with shooting a rifle! Perhaps in a few years, people will look back and wonder what the hell we were thinking.
Keeping in that frame of mind, what can we expect from the future as far as outlandish events go? I remember seriously discussing Pole Dancing in class. What’s next? Ultimate Frisbee? Kanjam? Thinking even further ahead, will technological advances of the future allow for even more outlandish and ridiculous events like jet-pack polo or Matrix-style kung-fu?
What do you think? Have we seen the last of these strange events, or is the strangest yet to come?
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