Olympic demonstration sports which have become official sports
There are many sports that were once Olympic Games demonstration sports, and are now official medal sports on the Olympic Games program. One of the aims of demonstration sports is to show off a local sport to the world, but it has also been used as a means of trialling a sport on the Olympic stage for possible future official sport status. The sports listed below are those which were first demonstration sports, then became official sports. There are also a few other sports that have been on the program first, then later had a stint of being a demonstration sport, such as lacrosse, handball and tennis, or windsurfing, which was a demonstration the same year it was first included.
- Baseball: Baseball has had a long history of competition in various forms at the Olympic Games (there were games in 1904, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1984 and 1988). Baseball did not achieve full sport status until 1992, though was dropped after the 2008 Olympics. However, baseball is back on the program for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
- Badminton: Badminton was a demonstration or exhibition sport twice at the Olympic Games, in 1972 and 1988, before it became an official part of the Olympic program in 1992.
- Basketball: Basketball was a demonstration event at the Olympic Games in 1904 in St. Louis. There was also games of basketball played as part of the children's games and sports demonstration at the 1924 Olympics. It has also been an official sport from 1936 onwards.
- Beach Volleyball: Beach volleyball was first introduced at the 1992 Games as a demonstration sport, and was added as an official sport at the Olympic Games in 1996, and has been played at the Olympics ever since.
- Boxing: There was a demonstration of boxing at the 1896 Olympics, then it was included in 1904 and ever since (except for in 1912 in Stockholm as Swedish law banned the sport at the time). For women, there are reports it was demonstrated in 1904, though it was not until 2012 that the IOC voted to officially include women's boxing on the program.
- Canoeing: A Canadian canoeing competition was a demonstration event at the Olympic Games in 1924. Twelve years later, in Berlin 1936, canoe sprint races were officially held, and have been on the program ever since.
- Equestrian: There was apparently a demonstration of equestrian events in 1896, then show jumping was introduced to the Olympic Games in 1900. Dressage and Three-day eventing were introduced in 1912.
- Football: Although it is not widely known, there is evidence of an Association Football match played as a demonstration sport during the 1896 Olympics. At the following Olympics, in Paris 1900, football became the first team sport added to the Olympics.
- Judo: While judo has been on the official Olympic program for men since 1964, there was a demonstration of women's judo in 1988 before becoming an official medal sport for women in 1992.
- Synchronized Swimming: There was a demonstration of 'figure swimming' at the 1906 Intercalated Games as part of the Swedish aquatic exhibition in the Neo Phalerum Bay. Then there have been reports of demonstrations of the sport at several Olympic games between 1952-1968, though possibly never as an 'official' demonstration sport. Synchronized swimming was first officially on the Olympic Games program in 1984 in LA, and has been ever since.
- Taekwondo: Taekwondo was a demonstration sport at the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Games before becoming an official sport in Sydney 2000.
- Volleyball: Indoor volleyball has been officially played at the Olympic Games since 1964, though the sport appeared earlier as part of a children's sports demonstration in 1924.
Related Pages
- Full list of Summer Olympics demonstration sports
- See also demonstration Winter Sports.
- Demonstration Sports at the Olympic Games of 1912, 1928
- About demonstration sports
- Official Olympic Games Sports
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