That's not cricket! Odd one's out

Not all Olympic sports encapsulate the citius, altius, fortius motto of the Summer Games. We look at a few that made it on to the Olympic stage but failed to retain their spot...

Not all Olympic sports encapsulate the citius, altius, fortius motto of the Summer Games. We look at a few that made it on to the Olympic stage but failed to retain their spot...

Tug of war 1900-20
The ancient Greeks were renowned for their physical strength, and, were clever enough to come up with a way to test their, staging the first ever tug in 500BC. In modern Olympic rules, a team of eight had to pull the opponents six feet to win, but if they failed to do so in five minutes, the side who had pulled their opponents the furthest triumphed. London 1908 saw the sport at its most intense, when America were beaten in just a few short seconds by Great Britain. The unhappy losers accused Team GB, all of whom were policemen, of wearing illegal spiked boots. They were offered a rematch with Team GB in our socks ... the outcome remained the same.

Solo synchronised swimming 1984-92
If two and eight-person synchronized swimming team events were not enough, the fun doubled for the fans (really!) when solo synchronized swimming was introduced in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. However, it was cast out in 1992. Why? It could’ve had something to do with the fact that one lonely person floating in a pool could never, would never, be in sync with anyone else (the obfuscators maintain that it's the choreography that is synchronised with the music). That tune, however, fell on deaf ears as IOC put an end to the event. Good riddance!

Pistol duelling 1906
Before Olympic nit-pickers start writing angry letters, we know the 1906 Intercalated games don't count as an official Olympiad. But this one entry is just too good to leave out. Despite the name of the event giving the allusion of a scene straight out of a John Wayne western with the town sheriff and the outlaw ready to go mano-a-mano, there's no actual duel. Instead of shooting at each other, participants shot at dummies in fancy frock coats with a bullseye embroidered on the chest. The event failed to live on after that brief appearance. Probably a mob of angry fans expecting a battle unto death went to the ticket counter asking for a refund!

Tandem bicycling 1906, 1908,1920-72
The sport was introduced in an era when more people owned cycles than motor vehicles, and the tandem bicycle was more popular with Olympic hopefuls than college sweethearts.

Club swinging 1932
No, not a contest for bored couples on a night out, but an event that involved swinging a club bedecked with ribbons very quickly around the body and head. Cut them some slack, it was the Great Depression after all!