Defunct Olympic Sports
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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The 1900 and 1904 Olympic Tug of War Events
The chapter explores the intriguing events surrounding the tug of war competitions at the 1900 and 1904 Olympics, including scheduling conflicts, mixed teams, protests, and confusion over event details, resulting in controversial outcomes and canceled ceremony presentations.
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Over the course of the modern Olympics, there have been a number of sports that have been added and struck from the roster. Today we’ll talk about a few of them, several of which are one-timers.
Research:
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- “Blast from the past: plunging in St Louis.” Olympics.com. https://olympics.com/en/news/blast-from-the-past-plunging-in-st-louis
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- “Finnish Athlete Best With Javelin.” Paterson Morning Call. July 18, 1908. https://www.newspapers.com/image/552453684/?match=1&terms=tug-of-war
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- Grannan, Cydney. "7 Canceled or Reintroduced Olympic Sports". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Oct. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/list/7-canceled-or-reintroduced-olympic-sports
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- “History of Skeleton.” Olympics.com. https://olympics.com/en/sports/skeleton/
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- Mallon, Bill. “The 1900 Olympic Games.” McFarland. 1998. https://archive.org/details/1900olympicgames00mall/page/188/mode/2up
- “New York Athletes’ Victory Protested.” New York Times. Sept. 4, 1904. https://www.newspapers.com/image/20465579/?match=1&terms=tug-of-war%20olympics
- Nichols, Paula. “Olympic tug of war and its ‘controversial’ demise.” Canadian Olympic Committee. July 22, 2014. https://olympic.ca/2014/07/22/olympic-tug-of-war-and-its-controversial-demise/
- “Olympic Games St. Louis 1904 – Tug of War Results.” Olympics.com. https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/st-louis-1904/results/tug-of-war
- “Olympics History.” Tug of War Association England. http://tugofwar.co.uk/olympics-history
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- Trex, Ethan. “Tug of War Used to be an Olympic Sport.” Mental Floss. July 22, 2021. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55107/tug-war-used-be-olympic-sport
- “Tug-of-War: London Police Challenge the Americans.” Evening Dispatch. July 21, 1908. https://www.newspapers.com/image/848724474/?match=1&terms=tug-of-war
- “Tug-of-war, Men.” Olympedia. https://www.olympedia.org/results/21100
- “Tug-Of-War at the 1912 Summer Olympics.” Olympedia. https://www.olympedia.org/editions/6/sports/TOW
- “The World Anti-Doping Code.” WADA. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/world-anti-doping-code
- Tikkanen, Amy. "6 Unusual Olympic Sports". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/list/5-unusual-olympic-sports
- “Unfairness Alleged.” Champagne Daily Gazette. July 18, 1908. https://www.newspapers.com/image/668284214/?match=1&terms=tug-of-war
- “Water Sports at Paris.” Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. July 8, 1900. https://www.newspapers.com/image/29022999/?match=1&terms=swimming%20obstacle%20race%20olympics
- Wells, Charlotte. “WHAT WAS THE 200-METER OBSTACLE EVENT AT THE OLYMPICS?” SwimSwam. July 1, 2024. https://swimswam.com/what-was-the-200-meter-obstacle-event-at-the-olympics/
- Wheeler, Kayla. “Plunge for distance: A look back at one of the weirdest Olympic events of all time.” KSDK St. Louis. July 29, 2021. https://www.ksdk.com/article/sports/olympics/1904-olympics/olympics-plunge-distance-st-louis-swimming-event/63-e047a725-3e3e-4a7c-923e-69c86ea4ed02
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