The Olympics: Bizarre facts

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021, was a new experience for all of us. This was because the coronavirus pandemic prevented the games from holding in 2020. However, rescheduling the games because of a pandemic is not the most bizarre thing that has happened to the Olympics. Here are seven facts that prove that. 

1. In ancient Greece, athletes competed naked. 

The Olympics started as a festival to honor the god Zeus. Therefore, nude athletics were seen as a tribute to Zeus.  There are many speculations as to why the athletes competed naked. According to Britanica.com, scholars have theorized that nudity represented a rite of passage. It is also said that athletes wanted to show their physical power and muscular physique to Zeus. 

2. The Olympic games have been canceled three times.

Throughout its history, the games have been canceled three times (five if you count the Winter Olympics separately). The games were first cancelled in 1916. Scheduled to hold in in Berlin, Germany, the games were canceled because of WWI . Then in 1940, according  to Historias.org, Japan forfeited its rights to host the games due to the outbreak of the second Sino-Japanese war. The 1944 Summer Olympics were scheduled for London, but were also canceled due to WWII. 

The games have also only been postponed once. That was in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

3. The first modern Olympics Games happened 1,500 years after its abolishment. 

According to the Athens Environmental Foundation, the ancient Olympics lasted for more than 1,000 years, but began to lose its significance when the Romans began to take over Greece. Although the Romans kept the games, they dismantled the spirit and traditional importance of the Olympics. In 394 AD, Emperor Theodosis of Rome abolished the games because he wanted to promote Christianity and put an end to pagan festivals. The Olympics returned on  April 6, 1896,  when the first modern games were hosted in Athens.

4. The Olympics used live pigeons for the pigeons shooting event. 

In the 1900s, the Olympics in Paris included the ‘sport’ of shooting live pigeons. The object of the game was to kill as many birds as possible. The winner was Leon de Lunde of Belgium, who shot 21 of the 300 pigeons that were released to the competitors. This game never returned to the Olympics. 

5. Poodle clipping was an Olympic sport. 

The 1900  games in Paris hosted one of the strangest Olympic Games. One hundred and twenty eight  people competed to see who would trim the most poodles in two hours.. The gold medal went to Avril Lafoule from the Auvergne region of France, who clipped 17 poodles in two hours.

6. More than 450,000 condoms were used during the Rio Olympics. 

In the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, more than 10,500 athletes resided in the Olympic Village. It was estimated that 450,000 condoms were used (about 42 condoms per athlete), beating the previous record of 150,000 condoms in the 2012 London games. Durex is the official condom provider for the Olympics and distributing other brands in the Olympic Village is strictly forbidden. 

7. Drug suspension was not a thing until 1968.

Mexico City hosted the 1968 Olympics and was the first  to drug test medallists. Also, this was the first Olympics to disqualify athletes for its consumption. Swedish pentathlete Hans-Gunnar Lijienwall was disqualified when he tested positive for excessive alcohol. 

Overall, throughout its history, the Olympics have been shaped by time and  people. This year’s was no different. The  2020 Tokyo Olympics will join  the Olympics’ long list of bizarre events and casualties. Who knows what the 2024 Olympics will bring.