10 Now Defunct Olympic Events

Sadly, you won’t be seeing these in London.

1. Tug-of-War

Yep, the classic game was once a part of the Olympics from 1900 until it was retired in 1920. Revival for the Rio games in 2016, anyone?

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2. Pigeon Shooting

This event was held only once at the 1900 games in Paris. The objective: to kill as many birds as possible in the allotted time.

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3. Rope Climb

You did it in gym class, and they did it as part of the gymnastics program from the first modern Olympiad in 1896.

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4. Plain High Diving

While diving is still around today, this event featured no acrobatic moves. Debuting in 1912, plain high diving was merged with other diving events in 1928 because, well, it was boring.

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5. Solo Synchronized Swimming

The event made no sense. How can you be in sync with yourself? Olympic Fail.

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6. Dueling Pistol Shooting

Though it sounds like a pretty bad-ass event, there was no actual dueling. Instead, competitors in this event shot at dummies. SNOOZE.

Source: megadeluxe.com

7. Club Swinging

Juggling as an Olympic sport? Close, but not quite. In this sport, competitors swung clubs around, performing a complicated routine, never allowing the clubs to escape their hands. This gymnastics event was played twice, at both the 1904 games in Saint Louis, Missouri—yes, that happened too—and the LA games in 1932.

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8. Motor Boating

Get your head out of the gutter. Real motor boats raced around a long course, though the event itself proved to have limited staying power in Olympic history. These motor bores made their first and last appearance during London’s 1908 games.

Source: media.olympics.com.au

9. The Obstacle Race

Why isn’t this still an event? What I would give to see Phelps verus Lochte in the ultimate Olympic face-off.

Source: derbyinformer.com

10. Underwater Swimming

Holding his breath for a little over a minute and swimming 60 meters earned Charles DeVandeville a gold medal in 1900. Sadly, this was the only gold medal ever given out for this lackluster event.

Source: i.chzbgr.com