Olympic sports

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The Olympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The current Olympic program consists of 35 sports with 53 disciplines and more than 400 events — the Summer Olympics include 28 sports with 38 disciplines, and the Winter Olympics include 7 sports with 15 disciplines.^[1] Each Olympic sport is represented by a single international governing body, namely an International Federation (IF).^[2]

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) establishes a hierarchy of sports, disciplines, and events.^[2] According to this hierarchy, the Olympic sports can be subdivided into multiple disciplines, which are often assumed to be distinct sports. Examples include swimming and water polo (disciplines of Aquatics, represented by the International Swimming Federation),^[3] or figure skating and speed skating (disciplines of Skating, represented by the International Skating Union).^[4] In their turn, disciplines can be subdivided into events, for which medals are actually awarded.^[2] A sport or discipline is included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines that it is widely practiced around the world, that is, the number of countries that compete in a given sport is the indicator of the sport's prevalence. The IOC's requirements reflect participation in the Olympic Games as well — more stringent toward men (as they are represented in far higher numbers) and Summer sports (as more nations compete in the Summer Olympics). To be able to be competed at the Olympics, for instance, an event must be practiced by men in at least, fifty countries on three continents, and by women in at least thirty-five countries on three continents.^[2]

Previous Olympic Games included sports which are no longer present on the current program, like polo and tug of war.^[5] These sports, known as "discontinued sports", were later removed either because of lack of interest or absence of an appropriate governing body.^[2] Archery and tennis are examples of sports that were competed at the early Games, were eventually dropped by the IOC, but managed to return to the Olympic program (in 1972 and 1988, respectively). Demonstration sports have often been included in the Olympic Games, usually to promote a local sport from the host country or to gauge interest and support for the sport.^[6] Such sports, like baseball and curling, were successfully included in the official Olympic program (in 1992 and 1998, respectively).

Contents 1 Summer Olympic Games 1.1 Current program 1.2 Discontinued sports 1.3 Demonstration sports 2 Winter Olympic Games 2.1 Current program 2.2 Demonstration sports 3 Recognized sports 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Summer Olympic Games

At the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic Games, nine sports were contested.^[7] Since then, the number of sports contested at the Summer Olympic Games has gradually risen to the current number of twenty-eight. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, however, the number of sports will fall back to twenty-six; in early 2006, the IOC voted on the removal of baseball and softball from the Olympic schedule, in 2012. However, they remain Olympic sports and thus could return to the Olympic program, in 2016.^[8]

In order for a sport or discipline to be in included on the Summer Olympics program (but not necessarily be contested at the Olympics), it must be widely practiced by men in at least seventy-five countries on four continents, and by women in at least fourty countries on three continents.

[edit] Current program

The following sports (or disciplines) are currently on the Summer Olympic Games official program, listed according to the name used by the IOC. From the twenty-eight sports, five consist of multiple disciplines. The numbers in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport that were contested at the respective Games; a bullet denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport.

Sport (Discipline)			96	00	04	06	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08
A q u a t i c s	Diving				2	1	2	4	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	8	8	8
	Swimming		4	7	9	4	6	9	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	13	15	18	29	29	26	26	29	31	31	32	32	32	34
	Synchronized swimming																						2	2	2	1	2	2	2
	Water polo			1	1		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2
Archery				6	6		3		10											2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	4
Athletics (track and field)			12	23	25	21	26	30	29	27	27	29	29	33	33	33	34	36	36	38	37	38	41	42	43	44	46	46	47
Badminton																				•				•	4	5	5	5	5
Baseball								•					•			•		•					•	•	1	1	1	1	1
Basketball					•	•							1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Boxing					7		5		8	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	11	11
C a n o e i n g	Flatwater									•			9	9	9	9	7	7	7	7	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
	Slalom																			4					4	4	4	4	4
C y c l i n g	BMX																												2
	Mountain biking																									2	2	2	2
	Road		1			1		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	4	4	4	4
	Track		5	2	7	5	6		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	4	4	5	6	7	8	12	12	10
Equestrian				3				5	7	5	6	5	6	6	6	6	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Fencing			3	7	5	8	4	5	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10
Field hockey							1		1		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Football (soccer)				1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2
G y m n a s t i c s	Artistic		8	1	11	4	2	4	4	9	8	11	9	9	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
	Rhythmic																						1	1	1	2	2	2	2
	Trampoline																										2	2	2
Handball													1							1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Judo																		4		6	6	8	8	7	14	14	14	14	14
Modern pentathlon								1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	2	2	2
Rowing				5	5	6	4	4	5	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Sailing				10			4	4	14	3	3	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	7	8	10	10	11	11	11
Shooting			5	9		16	15	18	21	10		2	3	4	7	7	6	6	7	8	7	7	11	13	13	15	17	17	15
Softball																										1	1	1	1
Table tennis																								4	4	4	4	4	4
Taekwondo																								•	•		8	8	8
Tennis			2	4	2	4	6	8	5	5									•					4	4	4	4	4	4
Triathlon																											2	2	2
V o l l e y b a l l	Beach																									2	2	2	2
	Indoor																	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Weightlifting			2		2	2			5	5	5	5	5	6	7	7	7	7	7	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	15	15	15
Wrestling			1		8	4	10	5	10	13	13	14	14	16	16	16	16	16	16	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	16	18	18
Total events			43	89	96	78	110	102	156	126	109	116	129	136	149	151	150	163	172	195	198	203	221	237	257	271	300	301	302

[edit] Discontinued sports

The following sports were previously part of the Summer Olympic Games program as official sports, but are no longer on the current program. The numbers in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport that were contested at the respective Games; a bullet denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport.

Sport		96	00	04	06	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08
Basque pelota			1						•									•						•
Cricket			1
Croquet			3
Figure skating						4		3	included in the Winter Olympic Games program
Golf			2	2
Ice hockey								1	included in the Winter Olympic Games program
Jeu de paume			•			1
Lacrosse				1		1				•	•		•
Polo			1			1		1	1			1
Rackets						2
Roque				1
Rugby union			1			1		1	1
Tug of war			1	1	1	1	1	1
Water motorsports			•			3

[edit] Demonstration sports

Main article: Demonstration sport

The following sports or disciplines have been demonstrated at the Summer Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:

American football (1904 and 1932) Australian rules football (1956) Ballooning (1900) Bowling (1988) Boules (1900) Budo (1964) Field handball (1952) Finnish baseball (1952)

Glima (1912) Gliding (1936) Kaatsen (1928) Korfball (1920 and 1928) La canne (1924) Lifesaving (1900) Longue paume (1900) Motorsport (1900)

Roller hockey (1992) Sambo (1980) Savate (1924) Swedish (Ling) gymnastics (1948) Weight training with dumbbells (1904) Water skiing (1972)

The Beijing Olympic Committee has received permission to organize a wushu competition, but it will not be considered a demonstration or exhibition sport at the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[9][10]

[edit] Winter Olympic Games

Before 1924, when the first Winter Olympic Games were celebrated, sports held on ice, like figure skating and ice hockey, were contested at the Summer Olympics. These two sports made their debuts at the 1908 and the 1920 Summer Olympics respectively, but were permanently integrated in the Winter Olympics program in 1924. The International Winter Sports Week, later dubbed the I Olympic Winter Games and retroactively recognized as such by the IOC, consisted of nine sports. The number of sports contested at the Winter Olympics decreased to seven nowadays, but comprise they include a total of fifteen disciplines.^[11]

A sport or discipline must be widely practiced in at least twenty-five countries on three continents in order to be included on the Winter Olympics program.^[2]

[edit] Current program

The following sports (or disciplines) are currently on the official program of the Winter Olympic Games, listed according to the name used by the IOC. From the seven sports, three consist of multiple disciplines.

The numbers in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport that were contested at the respective Games (the blue cells indicate that those sports were held at the Summer Games); a bullet denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport. On some occasions, both official medal events and demonstration events were contested in the same sport at the same Games.

Sport (Discipline)			08	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	94	98	02	06
Biathlon					1	•		•	•			1	1	2	2	2	3	3	3	6	6	6	8	10
B o b s l e i g h	Bobsleigh				1	1	2	2	2	2	2		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3
	Skeleton					1			1														2	2
Curling					1		•												•	•		2	2	2
Ice hockey				1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2
Luge													3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
S k a t i n g	Figure skating		4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
	Short track speed skating																		•	4	6	6	8	8
	Speed skating				5	4	4 •	4	4	4	4	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	12
S k i i n g	Alpine skiing							2	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	10	10	10	10	10	10
	Cross country skiing				2	2	2	3	3	4	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	10	10	10	12	12
	Freestyle skiing																		•	2 •	4	4	4	4
	Nordic combined				1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3
	Ski jumping				1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3
	Snowboarding																					4	4	6
Total events					16	14	14	17	22	22	24	27	34	35	35	37	38	39	46	57	61	68	78	84

[edit] Demonstration sports

Main article: Demonstration sport

The following sports have been demonstrated at the Winter Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:

• Bandy (1952)
• Disabled alpine skiing (1984 and 1988)
• Disabled cross-country skiing (1988)
• Ice stock sport (1936, 1964)
• Military patrol (1928, 1936 and 1948) — official skiing event in 1924 but currently considered an event of biathlon in those Games
• Ski ballet (acroski) — demonstration event of freestyle skiing (1988 and 1992)
• Skijoring (1928)
• Sled-dog racing (1932)
• Speed skiing (1992)
• Winter pentathlon (1948)

[edit] Recognized sports

The following sports are not part of the Olympic program, but are recognized by the IOC.^[12] Their respective International Federations (IFs) are responsible for ensuring that the sport's activities follow the Olympic Charter.

A recognized sport may be added to the Olympic program in future Games, by recommendation of the IOC Olympic Programme Commission and a vote by the IOC members. Usually, the sport will appear as a demonstration sport or an event of similar status before being officially promoted.^[6] On July 11, 2005, the IOC voted to drop baseball and softball from the Olympic program for 2012,^[13] a decision that was reaffirmed on February 9, 2006.^[8] Nevertheless, the IOC members rejected their replacement with karate and squash, which were selected from a list that included golf, roller sports and rugby sevens. Recognized sports that are not part of the competition schedule for an Olympic Games, including the following, usually become part of the schedule of the World Games.

Air sports Bandy Billiard sports Boules Bowling Bridge Chess DanceSport Golf Karate

Korfball Lifesaving Motorcycle sport Mountaineering/ Climbing Netball Orienteering Pelote Basque Polo Powerboating

Racquetball Roller sports Rugby Squash Sumo Surfing Tug of war Underwater sports Water skiing Wushu

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Olympic Official Reports
• International Olympic Committee - Sports
• IOC Olympic Programme Commission
• International Sports Federations

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