# Worst Olympic Sports
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [July 31, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001 "2012-07-31T23:06:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 9
### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/161 "2012-08-06T04:05:25Z")
> [@BetsQ](#):
>
> Other than the vault, I don’t think the gymnastics equipment has changed appreciably in, I don’t know, at least 30 years? And for the record, the “padding” on the beam is pretty darn insubstantial and is there mainly to improve traction.
>
> Personally, I’d trash all the team sports. Soccer, basketball, volleyball, water polo, etc. I guess we can keep the relays and the pairs events, if we must, but I strongly prefer the individual events. I love gymnastics more than anything, but I’d happily can the team finals.
Real team sports involve cooperative interaction between players during play. This is a real athletic skill that is not found in individual contests, and is very much worth keeping.
“Team” gymnastics is just an aggregate of individual performances. Nothing is really lost by dropping it; we can still see all the same competitors doing all the same things. But if we accept that logic, we should be prepared to drop team fencing, relay swimming, et cetera.
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### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/162 "2012-08-06T08:04:09Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#):
>
> Agree that the Keirin really has no place at the Olympics, given the pressure being applied to track cycling events. The 4K pursuit was cut for London which is akin to ditching the 1500 m from the track schedule, unbelievable. The kilo went at Beijing, so that’s two absolutely classic cycling events replaced with silly bollox like the omnium and the Keirin.
People in track cycling seem to be slightly dismissive of the Omnium (Mark Cavendish punditing on BBC said it was something that kids do to get the hang of the various events), but I have to say the elimination race in the men’s Omnium was one of the most exciting events I have watched in the whole Olympics. All racing sports should have an event that uses that format.
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/163 "2012-08-06T13:40:40Z")
> [@even\_sven](#):
>
> I’m pretty much the same way. I don’t really get off on the whole “peak human performance” thing. If you think hard enough, every competition is going to have aspects that are arbitrary. Even in a sprint, you may run slightly differently depending on who you are running next to.
There’s hardly a “may” to that, it’s unquestionably true. The heat times in the 100m races get faster and faster as the races progress, even with the same sprinter, because the competition is amping up their performance.
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### Author:  [@Cumbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumbrian)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/164 "2012-08-06T13:45:13Z")
> [@Ximenean](#):
>
> People in track cycling seem to be slightly dismissive of the Omnium (Mark Cavendish punditing on BBC said it was something that kids do to get the hang of the various events), but I have to say the elimination race in the men’s Omnium was one of the most exciting events I have watched in the whole Olympics. All racing sports should have an event that uses that format.
The elimination race was awesome, I thought. I would definitely sign up to see a version in Athletics. You’d have to eliminate at the end of every 400m lap but it wouldn’t half be exciting - you’d have a bunch sprint at the end of every lap.
I can see there being logistical problems though if you fragment the group too much - as practically this is likely to be a 10k+ race, you wind up with a bunch that might well be significantly ahead of the runner being eliminated and thus not knowing that they have to sprint. Not insurmountable though - it would definitely be interesting to see what happened.
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### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/165 "2012-08-06T15:18:06Z")
They need to significantly slash the number of swimming medals as far as I’m concerned (and the accompanying TV coverage). It’s absolutely ridiculous how some athletes can rake in potentially a dozen medals at every games for doing slight variations on a theme whereas others are limited to competing for a single medal at the most.
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### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/166 "2012-08-06T15:30:48Z")
nm
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/167 "2012-08-06T15:45:39Z")
A swimming venue has to cost significantly more than most other facilities (many aren’t even permanent), so it’s not unreasonable to think the sponsoring/funding organization would want to get its money’s worth out of it. That means TV hours, and that means more events and more medals.
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### Author:  [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/168 "2012-08-06T16:51:05Z")
I love the way the cameras have to keep doing quick editing on the synchronized swimming to avoid getting beam shots of the swimmers spreading their legs wide, as the frequently do in some routines.
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/169 "2012-08-06T17:19:39Z")
It seems that, wrap your mind around this, there used to be solo synchronized swimming in the olympics.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/170 "2012-08-06T17:23:39Z")
Not a crazy notion. IIRC, the routine was synched to music, not to another swimmer. It was rhythmic gymnastics in a pool. And about as interesting.
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### Author:  [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/171 "2012-08-07T00:57:24Z")
Shooting events - Agree with Victor Charlie (and I had no idea it was that bad). I should add that I don’t mind events that require precision and skill rather than speed, strength, and endurance. But an event that requires _as slow a heart rate as possible?_ That’s bass-ackwards. Drastic curtailment needed here.
Race walking - Still don’t know what the hell kind of point Bob Costas was making with “who can whisper the loudest”. It’s an artificial limitation, no more bizarre here than for Greco-Roman wrestling, snatch weightlifting, the breaststroke, or for that matter soccer. My problem is that it’s about the dullest competition imaginable, especially for the lengths the races go. I don’t want to watch three hours of effin’ marching. At least fencing has a little excitement.
Boxing - Have to go with the consensus. After all the tweaks and dinks and patches and hitches and band-aids and jury-rigs in an attempt to restore respectability to this sport, it’s become sadly obvious that it’s beyond saving. A country attempting to BUY a gold medal (and if this was 1988, it would’ve had a pretty good chance of succeeding) is way past the point of no return. It’s reached the point where it’s shocking when there _isn’t_ some outrageous scandal. Any sports showcase of any kind should be embarrassed to have boxing.
Don’t see the problem with rhythmic gymnastics (everything except floor exercise uses some kind of prop). The synchronized events are a bit weird, but no more than, say, taekwondo, and I don’t think they’ve gone overboard. The only problem I see with all the swimming disciplines is that they skew the overall medal count (which I’ve addressed in a previous thread); we can find a way to fix that without taking away events. Don’t care much either way about dressage.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/172 "2012-08-07T01:08:03Z")
Anybody who thinks there are too many medals in swimming must also agree that there are too many medals in track. It’s just walking, after all.
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### Author:  [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/173 "2012-08-07T01:41:12Z")
There are no track events like 3 x 100 run/walk/hurdle individual medley. Although come to think of it, I’d pay to see it!
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/174 "2012-08-07T01:48:46Z")
> [@Ximenean](#):
>
> There are no track events like 3 x 100 run/walk/hurdle individual medley. Although come to think of it, I’d pay to see it!
That is the…
neatest idea I’ve heard lately. 😃
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/175 "2012-08-07T01:53:26Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> Anybody who thinks there are too many medals in swimming must also agree that there are too many medals in track. It’s just walking, after all.
I don’t see them doing a 100-metre running backwards event.
In general, however, I wish the Olympics had MORE sports, not fewer; if it’s going to be a celebration of sport they should invite every sport that’s popular in a reasonably large number of countries and that has an international federation that isn’t hopelessly corrupt. Bring back baseball. I wanna see billiards, golf, bowling, squash, racquetball, karate, skateboarding, darts, and cricket. And I want more competitors. More Eric the Eels. Give shitty countries a chance to cheer someone on.
But boxing’s gotta come out.
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### Author:  [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/176 "2012-08-07T06:29:32Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> I don’t see them doing a 100-metre running backwards event.
>
> In general, however, I wish the Olympics had MORE sports, not fewer; if it’s going to be a celebration of sport they should invite every sport that’s popular in a reasonably large number of countries and that has an international federation that isn’t hopelessly corrupt. Bring back baseball. I wanna see billiards, golf, bowling, squash, racquetball, karate, skateboarding, darts, and cricket. And I want more competitors. More Eric the Eels. Give shitty countries a chance to cheer someone on.
>
> But boxing’s gotta come out.
In general, I think the IOC agrees. But they’ve come to realize that putting on the summer Olympics is hugely expensive to the host, and adding more sports just makes it worse. That’s why they are reluctant to add new sports nowadays.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/177 "2012-08-07T07:45:02Z")
> [@suranyi](#):
>
> In general, I think the IOC agrees. But they’ve come to realize that putting on the summer Olympics is hugely expensive to the host, and adding more sports just makes it worse. That’s why they are reluctant to add new sports nowadays.
Different sports have different costs. I was just watching some of the white-water canoe and that venue, essentially an artificial river, must have set them back a bit. On the other hand, I think the table tennis, badminton, judo, fencing, and maybe something else, are all being held in a big convention center that’s been partitioned into sections. Bring in some seating and you’re good to go. Tennis is simpler yet; they’re just holding that at Wimbledon.
I don’t know if the IOC would want (or want to admit) cost to be a deciding factor on what sports to include. And the host city would factor into it as well. I don’t know if Rio de Janeiro has a tennis stadium.
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### Author:  [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/178 "2012-08-07T14:55:24Z")
I missed the cycling Keirin and Omnium events, but I found myself being inordinately irritated by the cycling sprints that NBC televised last night. A “sprint” where 2 cyclists spend 80% of the race going as slowly as possible? I understand that I have not grasped the strategy involved here, but if the runners in the 400 meter spent the first three-quarters of the race walking briskly and looking over their shoulders at the guy behind them, trying to decide when to actually run, I’m pretty sure nobody would watch.
The fact that the cyclists have a big dude holding them up in a parental embrace at the start of the race is funny, but does not make up for the rest of it.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/179 "2012-08-07T15:22:05Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#):
>
> so that’s two absolutely classic cycling events replaced with silly bollox like the omnium.
Which suggests another Olympic rule: if it sounds like a brand of dishwasher detergent, it shouldn’t be an Olympic sport.
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### Author:  [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)
#### Post date: [August 7, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-olympic-sports/630001/180 "2012-08-07T18:17:24Z")
Does anyone else watch the synchronized swimming for the sheer absurdist spectacle of it. It’s like a Busby Berkeley routine in an Esther Williams movie that is somehow a sport.
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