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List of Discontinued Sports and Events of the Summer Olympics

Since the first modern Games in 1896, 10 sports have disappeared completely from the Olympic schedule. These are croquet, cricket, Jeu de Paume, pelota, polo, roque, rackets, tug-of-war, lacrosse, and motor boating. Four sports that were previously listed here as discontinued have made a surprising comeback: golf and rugby were voted back in as official sports for Rio 2016, and baseball and softball returned for Tokyo 2020.



In addition to the discontinued sports listed above, there is a large number of discontinued events from sports that remain on the program, for example swimming events of plunge for distance and underwater swimming, the track and field events of the standing highjump and tug-of-war, and the shooting events of running deer shooting and dueling pistol.

Below is a list of all known discontinued Olympic Games sports and events. Every one of these sports have once been part of the official Olympic Games program at some stage.

It is not a complete list, all the main sports are here but there are many more sporting events to be added. There are a lot more discontinued sports and events than most people realize. See also the list of previous Olympic Games demonstration sports.

Follow the links for more information about some of these sports or sporting events.

SPORT or EVENT PARTICIPATING YEARS
Track and Field  
60m dash 1900, 1904
3000m 1984-1992 (for women)
5 mile run 1906, 1908
80m Hurdles 1938-1968 (for women)
200m Hurdles 1900, 1904
Medley Relay (200m, 200m, 400m 800m) 1908
Steeplechase 1900 (2500m & 4000m), 1904 (2590m), 1908 (3200m)
Team Race 1900 (5000m), 1904 (4 mile), 1908 (3 mile), 1912 (3000m), 1920 (3000m), 1924 (3000m)
Cross Country (individual & team) 1912 (8000m), 1920 (10000m), 1924 (10650m)
Walking Events 1500m (1906), 3000m (1906, 1920), 3500m (1908), 10,000m (1912, 1920, 1924, 1948, 1952), 10-Mile (1908), 10km Road Walk 1992-1996 (for women)
Standing High Jump 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912
Standing Long Jump 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912
Standing Triple Jump 1900, 1904
16lb Shot Put (2 Hands) 1912
56lb Weight Throw 1904, 1920
Stone Throw (~6kg) 1906
Discus (Greek or Classic style) 1906, 1908
Discus (2 Hands) 1912
Javelin (Freestyle) 1908
Javelin (2 Hands) 1912
Triathlon (long jump, shot put, 100 yards) 1904
Pentathlon  1906, 1912, 1920, 1924
Pentathlon (women) 1964 to 1980
All-Round 1904
Tug-of-War  1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, 1920
Cycling  
½ Mile, 1 Mile, ¼ Mile, 1/3 Mile, 2 Miles, 25 Miles, 5 Miles 1904
10km Track Race 1896
12-Hour Race 1896
20/25 km Track Race 1900, 1906, 1908.
1000m Time Trial Men 1928-2004
100 km Track Race 1896, 1908
2000m Sprint (Scratch) Men 1896, 1900
2000m Tandem 1906, 1908, 1920-1972.
3000m Individual Pursuit Women 1992 to 2008
4000m Individual Pursuit Men 1964 to 2008
500m Time Trial Women 2000, 2004
50km Track Race 1920, 1924
5km Track Race 1906, 1908
Madison Men 2000 to 2008
Points Race Men 1984 to 2008
Points Race Women 1996 to 2008
One-Lap Race 1896, 1906, 1908
Team Road Race Men 100km 1912 to 1992
Gymnastics  
Team (Swedish & Free System) 1912, 1920
Team (Horizontal Bars) 1896
Team (Parallel Bars) 1896
Club Swinging 1904
Indian Club 1932
Rope Climb  1896, 1904, 1906, 1924, 1932
Sidehorse Vault 1924
Tumbling 1932
Triathlon 1904
Combined 4 events 1904
Swimming  
Relay Races 1900, 1904, 1906
100m Freestyle for Sailors 1896
200m Freestyle  1900, 1904 (200yrd freestyle)
400m Breaststroke  1904, 1912, 1920
880yrd & 50yrd Freestyle  1904
4000m Freestyle  1900
Solo Synchronized Swimming 1984, 1988, 1992
Underwater 1900
Obstacle race 1900
Plunge for Distance (Diving)  1904
Plain High Diving 1912, 1920, 1924
Weightlifting  
One Hand 1896, 1904, 1906
Two Hands  1896, 1904, 1906
All Round Dumbbell Contest 1904
Shooting  
Dueling Pistol 1906
100m Running Deer 1908 - 1948
25 and 30 meter military pistol 1896, 1912, 1920
200m, 300m, 600m military rifle 1912, 1920
25 and 50m rifle 1908, 1912, 1920
25 yd rifle, disappearing and moving target 1908
50 yd + 100 yd rifle, stationary target 1908
300m, 600m, 100yard rifle 1896, 1900, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924
10m and 50m running target 1992-2004
50 meter running target 1972-1988
pistol, team 1900, 1908, 1912, 1920
trap, team 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924
Sailing  
6m Class  1900, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952
6.5m Class  1920
7m Class  1908, 1920
8m Class  1900, 1908, 1912, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936
10m Class  1900, 1912, 1920
12m Class  1908, 1912, 1920, 1956
Firefly Class  1948
Monotype Class  1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936
30m Class  1920
40m Class  1920
18-Foot Centerboard  1920
Rowing  
17-Man Naval Rowing Boats 1906
various (inrigger fours, plus many more) 1900 +
Equestrian  
Vaulting 1920
High jump 1900
Long jump 1900
Canoeing  
Kayaking (Folding Kayak) 1936
Canoe Marathon 1936-1956
Other sports or events  
Archery: Various events 1900, 1904, 1908, 1920
Archery (Pole) 1920
Baseball 1992-2008, 2021
Basque Pelota 1900
Breakdancing 2024
Cricket 1900
Croquet 1900
Fencing: Sword and Sabre 1904, 1906
Fencing: Singlesticks 1904
Field Handball 1936
Figure Skating 1908, 1920
Golf 1900, 1904 (men only), 2016-2021
Ice Hockey 1920
Jeu de Paume 1908
Karate 2021
Lacrosse 1904, 1908
Motor Boating 1908
Polo 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924, 1936
Racquets (Mens)  1908
Roque (Like Croquet)  1904
Rugby Union  1900, 1908, 1920, 1924
Softball 1996-2008, 2021
Art Competitions 1912-1948
Winter Sports  


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Olympics Extra

The next Olympics will be in LA 2028, the next Winter edition in Milan-Cortina 2026. Check out the list of Olympic Games sports, as well as discontinued and demonstration sports.

Major Events Extra

The largest sporting event in the world is the Olympic Games, but there are many other multi-sport games. In terms of single sport events, nothing beats the FIFA World Cup. To see what's coming up, check out the calendar of major sporting events.

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