# Worst Olympic Events **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 30, 2008, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447 "2008-04-30T07:25:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/1 "2008-04-30T07:25:58Z")
I am not a fan of the Olympics because of the Five rings – one each for hypocrisy, profit, posturing, cheating and self-interest. I love sport and reading. I have read too many [Andrew Jenning books](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Olympic-Swindle-World-Wanted/dp/0743202937) to like the Olympics. Some of the sports are respectable while some are ridiculous. One guy gets a Gold medal for running 26 miles. Another gets a gold for jumping over a bar or diving in a pool. Those should be Tin medals. And swimming 50 metres. That should be Zinc medal. And riding a bicycle is not a sport. Trampoline- what metal should that be given-aluminium. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/2 "2008-04-30T08:05:23Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] I am not a fan of the Olympics because of the Five rings – one each for hypocrisy, profit, posturing, cheating and self-interest. I love sport and reading. I have read too many [Andrew Jenning books](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Olympic-Swindle-World-Wanted/dp/0743202937) to like the Olympics. Some of the sports are respectable while some are ridiculous. One guy gets a Gold medal for running 26 miles. Another gets a gold for jumping over a bar or diving in a pool. Those should be Tin medals. And swimming 50 metres. That should be Zinc medal. And riding a bicycle is not a sport. Trampoline- what metal should that be given-aluminium. [/QUOTE] Reading through this profoundly crass post, towards the end, I notice you employ the correct IUPAC spelling of aluminium. That is a nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/3 "2008-04-30T08:09:00Z")
If you’re trying to argue that the Olympics have become too broad and embraced too many sports, I agree. I think all of the “judge-scored” events belong in some other super-games extravaganza so we can concentrate on the real, non-arbitrarily judged sports like running, throwing, and wrestling in the Olympics. Real sports don’t use judges. The really REALLY real sports don’t even use referees (much). ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/4 "2008-04-30T08:38:15Z")
[QUOTE=The Cocky Watchman] Reading through this profoundly crass post, towards the end, I notice you employ the correct IUPAC spelling of aluminium. That is a nice touch. [/QUOTE] NOOOOOOO! It’s aluminum! Why can’t everyone on the planet just give up and learn to talk 'Merican? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/5 "2008-04-30T09:08:13Z")
The sport I can’t stand is race walking. Wow, that is a super useful athletic ability. If there is a bear chasing would you walk like some doofus making sure both your feet are always touching or would you be sprinting like a motherfuck as though your life depended on it? And where do you practice without getting your ass kicked? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/6 "2008-04-30T10:20:39Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] The sport I can’t stand is race walking. Wow, that is a super useful athletic ability. If there is a bear chasing would you walk like some doofus making sure both your feet are always touching or would you be sprinting like a motherfuck as though your life depended on it? And where do you practice without getting your ass kicked? [/QUOTE] Yes, much better to sprint like a motherfuck for 100m then stop, absolutely fucked, while the bear ambles over and eats you. The Olympic sports I have a problem with are ones that require judging and team sports. I think Olympic sports should be individual against individual and should not be open to subjective interpretation. I’m confused why cycling is not a sport, if not a sport, what is it? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/7 "2008-04-30T10:27:03Z")
Have they $#!!canned the equestrian or have the media just stopped covering it? This is a good example of something that used to be a sport but is now just arid ritual. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/8 "2008-04-30T11:30:20Z")
[QUOTE=The Cocky Watchman] Reading through this profoundly crass post, towards the end, I notice you employ the correct IUPAC spelling of aluminium. That is a nice touch. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the dickwad hijack for the first post, loser. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/9 "2008-04-30T12:14:37Z")
I’d have to say the worst of the current Olympic events is beach volleyball. Was this added for any reason besides ratings? ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/10 "2008-04-30T12:28:45Z")
Anything to do with horses is not a sport. It involves another living creature and thus that creatures performance. Does the horse get a medal? I know its not real Olympics, but in the winter games there is a sport called luge that is like a toboggan on an ice slippery dip. Looks like fun but not a sport. Don’t get me started on synchronized swimming and ribbon swirling. They are way too subjective. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/11 "2008-04-30T13:03:05Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] Another gets a gold for jumping over a bar or diving in a pool. Those should be Tin medals. [/QUOTE] The high jump record is 8 feet. 8 feet. Measure that on the wall next to you and then stare at it for a while. Still think that isn’t a worthy athletic feat? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/12 "2008-04-30T13:33:04Z")
I like the luge, the fencing, the equestrian events, etc. My problem with the Olympics these days is with events like tennis and basketball. I used to enjoy the Olympics because it was the only chance to ever see sports like luge and fencing. In 2004, it seemed like every time I turned on the coverage of the games, they were showing another basketball game. Don’t people get enough basketball already? It’s on nine months out of the year, and March is practically devoted to it. I want to see something different. Is two weeks out of every four years too much to ask? ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/13 "2008-04-30T14:10:17Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] Thanks for the dickwad hijack for the first post, loser. [/QUOTE] **blinkingblinking** , what has gotten into you? If you want to call out another user, the appropriate place is the Pit, not in the middle of a Game Room thread. You’re acting jerkishly. This is a warning to cut it out. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/14 "2008-04-30T14:23:59Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] I’d have to say the worst of the current Olympic events is beach volleyball. Was this added for any reason besides ratings? [/QUOTE] No. As proof: Female competitors MUST wear bikinis. They are forbidden from wearing a more modest bathing suit. shorts, or a T-shirt. Other ridiculous choices: 1. The amazing plethora of swimming events. I appreciate that you can’t just have one event called “swimming,” and that there are different disciplines and a difference between a sprinter and a distance swimmer, but it’s sort of painfully obvious that they came up with as many events as conceivably possble just so they could win more medals. Precisely what sporting discipline is being demonstrated in the 4x100m medley relay that wasn’t already being demonstrated in the individual 100m races? There are THIRTY-FOUR different swimming events in the Olympics. 2. Luge. Luge is a sport beyond any doubt or question, but it appears to be a sport that was invented solely to be in the Olympics. I think Olympic sports should be things that people do anyway even if they have no shot at the Olympic games; people dive, swim, run, play hockey, do gymnastics, and all that stuff all the time. Nobody luges except to make it to the Olympics. 3. Modern pentathlon. “Not great at any one sport, but good at a bunch of unrelated sports? Here’s your event!” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/15 "2008-04-30T14:28:11Z")
“Rhythmic” or “Synchronized” anything. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/16 "2008-04-30T14:41:51Z")
curling Unless you require the participants to be drunk, they way the ‘inventors’ of this sport obviously were when they invented it. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/17 "2008-04-30T14:48:57Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] 3. Modern pentathlon. “Not great at any one sport, but good at a bunch of unrelated sports? Here’s your event!” [/QUOTE] Do you mean the modern athletic pentathlon with the hurdles, shot put, high and long jumps and 1500 meter run, or the modern pentathlon with shooting, fencing, swimming, riding and running? If it’s the latter, I have to disagree. An event to replicate the skills needed by a 19th century battlefiled courier or cavalry soldier caught behind enemy lines the same way the ancient pentathlon was supposed to replicate martial prowess? That’s just all kinds of cool! They should make them wear period costumes. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/18 "2008-04-30T15:02:56Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] The high jump record is 8 feet. 8 feet. Measure that on the wall next to you and then stare at it for a while. Still think that isn’t a worthy athletic feat? [/QUOTE] Here’s a video of the last Olympic champion jumping 6’ (about what an average high school jumper can do.) Of course, he’s\* hurdling\* them. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WVZ3ZcorTF0/hqdefault.jpg "Stefan Holm Hurdles Training") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVZ3ZcorTF0) ---
**Author:** ![Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intravenus_De_Milo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/19 "2008-04-30T15:47:09Z")
To the OP: I like the Olympics, but I agree that they’re plagued with a number of problems. That doesn’t keep me from enjoying watching the athletic competitions, because for one it’s a chance to watch sports that I don’t normally get to see where I live. And call me corny, but I do like the concept of people from all over the world coming together to do something peaceful. I sure as hell don’t watch them for the Coca-Cola ads or whatever. I won’t make _you_ watch them, don’t worry 😉 In the winter games, I do follow figure skating a lot, but I’m not a fan of the new judging system that was implemented after the Salt Lake scandal. The event that was hit the worst was ice dancing, where it appears that the contestants are now compelled to cram as many lifts and complicated maneuvers into their routine as possible - which isn’t necessarily a good thing. In 2006, it was surprising to see how many of the couples had falls or drops during their routines, since in the past ice dancing probably had that sort of thing happen the least of any of the figure skating events. It really seemed as if the medal contenders were the only ones who HADN’T fallen during one of their previous routines. It was horrible. While I enjoy figure skating, I do agree that as long as it is a sport that is judged, there will always be problems. I don’t know what the alternative is, however. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447/20 "2008-04-30T16:31:32Z")
[QUOTE=pravnik] An event to replicate the skills needed by a 19th century battlefiled courier or cavalry soldier caught behind enemy lines the same way the ancient pentathlon was supposed to replicate martial prowess? That’s just all kinds of cool! They should make them wear period costumes. [/QUOTE] Yeah! The pentathalon is the BEST event! It the perfect mix of randomness, anachronism and general WTFness. All sports should aspire to be that cool. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-events/447447.md?page=2)