Olympic sports facts for kids

Archery competition during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This sport was brought back to the Olympics in 1972 after being removed in 1920.

Olympic sports are all the different sports played at the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. For example, the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris had 32 sports, and the 2022 Winter Olympics had seven sports. Each Olympic sport has its own international group that manages it, called an International Federation (IF).

The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo introduced four new sports: karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing. Breakdancing joined the fun at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Looking ahead, ski mountaineering will be new at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Also, flag football and squash will appear for the first time at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, while cricket and lacrosse will return after a long time away.

What are Olympic Sports and Events?
How Sports Get into the Olympics
Changes in Olympic Sports Over Time
- Recent Changes (Since 2000)
Summer Olympics Sports
- Past Summer Olympic Sports and Events
Winter Olympics Sports
- Current Winter Olympic Sports
Recognized Sports Not in the Olympics
Images for kids
See also

What are Olympic Sports and Events?

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sees an Olympic sport as a group of different activities managed by one international sports group. For example, aquatics is a summer Olympic sport. It includes six different types of competitions like swimming, artistic swimming, diving, water polo, and open water swimming. All these are managed by World Aquatics.

Another example is skating, a winter Olympic sport. It includes figure skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. The sport with the most types of competitions is skiing, with six different kinds like alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowboarding.

Other sports with many different types of competitions include:

Gymnastics: artistic, rhythmic, and trampoline.
Cycling: road, track, mountain, and BMX.
Volleyball: indoor and beach.
Wrestling: freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Canoeing: flatwater and slalom.

The IOC defines an event as a competition where medals are given out. So, the sport of aquatics has 46 Olympic events in total. Swimming alone has 32 events! The number of events in a sport can be as few as two or as many as 47, like in athletics.

How Sports Get into the Olympics

For a sport to be considered for the Olympics, it must be managed by an international group that the IOC officially recognizes. The city hosting the Olympic Games can suggest new sports to add. The final decision is made by the IOC.

In the past, there were rules about how popular a sport had to be. These rules have changed. However, the number of athletes and events is still limited. For the Summer Olympics, there should be about 10,500 athletes and 310 events. For the Winter Olympics, it's around 2,900 athletes and 100 events. These limits might be a bit higher for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Before 2016, sports that mainly used machines, like car racing, couldn't be Olympic sports. But this rule was removed! Now, groups that manage car racing, motorcycle racing, and air sports are recognized by the IOC. This means these sports could possibly be part of future Olympic Games.

Changes in Olympic Sports Over Time

Curling became an official Olympic sport at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

The list of Olympic sports has changed a lot throughout history and has generally grown bigger. The IOC decides which sports will be in each Olympic Games at least seven years before the Games happen.

Some summer sports have always been in the Olympics since the beginning. These are athletics (track and field), aquatics (swimming), cycling, fencing, and gymnastics (artistic gymnastics).

For the Winter Olympics, the sports that have always been included are skiing (nordic skiing), skating (figure skating and speed skating), and ice hockey. Interestingly, figure skating and ice hockey were even part of the Summer Olympics (in 1908 and 1920) before the Winter Olympics started in 1924.

Early Olympic Games (before World War II) had some sports that are no longer played, like basque pelota, croquet, polo, and tug of war. These sports were removed because not enough people were interested, or they didn't have a proper international group to manage them. It's unlikely they will return.

However, five early Olympic sports that were removed have made a comeback:

Archery returned in 1972.
Tennis returned in 1988.
Curling returned in 1998.
Golf returned in 2016.
Cricket will return in 2028.

Also, three other early Olympic sports came back in a different way:

Handball returned in 1972 as indoor handball instead of field handball.
Rugby returned in 2016 as rugby sevens instead of rugby union.
Lacrosse will return in 2028 as lacrosse sixes instead of field lacrosse.

For most of the 20th century, the Olympics also had "demonstration sports." These were sports shown off to promote a local sport or see if a new sport was popular enough to become official. Some, like baseball and curling, later became official Olympic sports. Medals were given in demonstration sports, but they didn't count towards the official medal totals. The IOC stopped having demonstration sports after 1992, mostly because of how complicated they made things. An exception was made in 2008 for a wushu tournament.

Women first competed in the 1900 Olympic Games in sports like croquet, sailing, tennis, golf, and equestrian. With the addition of women's boxing in 2012 and women's ski jumping in 2014, women can now compete in almost all Olympic sports. The only exceptions are Greco-Roman wrestling and nordic combined. There are also two sports just for women: rhythmic gymnastics and artistic swimming.

Recent Changes (Since 2000)

In 2005, baseball and softball were voted out of the Olympics. They were last included in 2008, which meant the number of sports for the 2012 Summer Olympics dropped from 28 to 26. This was the first time a sport had been removed since 1972.

However, golf (last played in 1904) and rugby (last played in 1924) returned for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2009, the IOC voted to add them back, bringing the total number of sports back to 28.

Starting with the 2020 Games, the IOC changed how it plans the Olympic program. Instead of focusing on a maximum number of sports, they now look at the total number of events. This allows for new sports to be added for specific Games, in addition to the 28 "core" sports. For the 2020 Summer Olympics, five new sports were added: baseball/softball (counted as one sport since their governing bodies merged), karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding.

For the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, breakdancing, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing were approved. In 2021, ski mountaineering was proposed and approved for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

In 2022, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing became "core" Summer Olympic sports starting in 2028, increasing the core sports to 31. For the 2028 Summer Olympics, five more optional sports were approved: baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash. Breakdancing was removed for 2028.

Summer Olympics Sports

Volleyball has been part of the Summer Olympics since 1964.

At the very first Olympic Games in 1896, ten sports were played. Since then, the number of sports at the Summer Olympics has grown to 36 for the 2028 Games.

To be considered for the Summer Olympics, a sport must be widely played in at least 75 countries across four continents.

Past Summer Olympic Sports and Events

Over the years, many sports have been part of the Summer Olympics. Some have been there since the beginning, while others have been added or removed.

Aquatics (swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, marathon swimming) has been a core part of almost every Games.
Athletics (track and field) is another sport that has been in every Summer Olympics.
Archery was in early Games, then removed, and brought back in 1972.
Baseball and Softball have been in and out of the Games, returning for 2020 and 2028.
Basketball (including 3x3) has been a regular since 1936.
Boxing has been in most Games since 1904, but will not be in 2028.
Canoeing (sprint and slalom) joined in 1936.
Cycling (road, track, mountain bike, BMX racing, BMX freestyle) has been a key sport since 1896.
Equestrian (dressage, eventing, jumping) has been part of the Games since 1912.
Fencing has been in every Summer Olympics since 1896.
Football (soccer) has been a regular since 1900.
Golf returned in 2016 after a long break.
Gymnastics (artistic, rhythmic, trampoline) has been a core sport since 1896.
Handball (indoor) has been a regular since 1972.
Judo joined the Olympics in 1964.
Modern Pentathlon has been in the Games since 1912.
Rowing has been in almost every Games since 1900.
Rugby (sevens) returned in 2016.
Sailing has been a regular since 1900.
Shooting has been in most Games since 1896.
Skateboarding, Sport Climbing, and Surfing are newer additions, starting in 2020.
Table Tennis joined in 1988.
Taekwondo joined in 2000.
Tennis was in early Games, then removed, and brought back in 1988.
Triathlon joined in 2000.
Volleyball (indoor and beach) has been a regular since 1964.
Weightlifting has been in most Games since 1896.
Wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman) has been a core sport since 1896.

Some sports were only in the Olympics for a short time and are now discontinued, like Basque Pelota (1900), Croquet (1900), Jeu de Paume (1908), Polo (last in 1936), Rackets (1908), Roque (1904), Tug of War (last in 1920), and Water Motorsports (1908).

Winter Olympics Sports

Ice hockey was first played at the 1920 Summer Olympics before moving to the Winter Games in 1924.

Before 1924, ice sports like figure skating and ice hockey were actually part of the Summer Olympic Games! They debuted in 1908 and 1920. But in 1924, they moved to the very first Winter Olympic Games and have been there ever since.

The first Winter Olympics in 1924 had nine different types of competitions across six sports.

To be included in the Winter Olympics, a sport must be widely played in at least 25 countries across three continents.

Current Winter Olympic Sports

Here are the main sports you'll see at the Winter Olympics:

Biathlon: Combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.
Bobsleigh: Teams race down an ice track in a special sled.
Skeleton: Athletes slide head-first down an ice track on a small sled.
Curling: Teams slide stones across ice towards a target area.
Ice Hockey: A popular team sport played on ice with skates and sticks.
Luge: Athletes race feet-first down an ice track on a small sled.
Skating:
- Figure Skating: Athletes perform jumps, spins, and routines on ice.
- Short Track Speed Skating: Skaters race against each other on an oval track.
- Speed Skating: Skaters race against the clock on a long oval track.
Skiing:
- Alpine Skiing: Downhill, slalom, and giant slalom races.
- Cross-Country Skiing: Long-distance skiing over varied terrain.
- Freestyle Skiing: Includes aerials, moguls, slopestyle, and halfpipe.
- Nordic Combined: Combines ski jumping and cross-country skiing.
- Ski Jumping: Skiers launch themselves from a ramp, aiming for distance and style.
- Snowboarding: Includes halfpipe, slopestyle, parallel giant slalom, and snowboard cross.
Ski Mountaineering: A new sport for 2026, combining skiing and climbing.

Some sports were demonstration sports in the Winter Olympics, like Bandy (1952), Ice stock sport (1936, 1964), and Ski ballet (1988, 1992).

Recognized Sports Not in the Olympics

Tug of war was part of the 1904 Summer Olympics. It's no longer an Olympic sport but is still recognized by the IOC.

Many sports have their international governing bodies recognized by the IOC, even if they aren't currently part of the Olympic Games. These sports can apply to be included in future Games if they meet the rules. Sometimes, a sport might first appear as a demonstration sport before becoming official.

When a sport is recognized by the IOC, its international group joins one of three main associations:

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) for summer sports.
The Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF) for winter sports.
The Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) for non-Olympic sports.

Many recognized sports that are not in the Olympics are part of the World Games. This is another big sports event that happens every four years, supported by the IOC. Since 1981, many sports that were first in the World Games have later been added to the Olympic program. These include badminton, baseball, beach volleyball, softball, taekwondo, trampoline, triathlon, rugby sevens, karate, sport climbing, breakdancing, flag football, lacrosse sixes, and squash.

Here are some of the sports whose international groups are recognized by the IOC, but are not currently in the Olympic Games:

It's important to remember that a sport can be in the Olympics even if most of its different types of competitions are not. For example, roller sports (like roller skating) are managed by World Skate, but only skateboarding is currently an Olympic sport.

The International Paralympic Committee, which organizes the Paralympic Games for athletes with disabilities, is also recognized by the IOC.