The phenomenon that is beach volleyball opened the sport up to a completely new market when it made its debut at the Olympic Games at Atlanta in 1996. The sand, sun and skimpy outfits made it an instant hit with spectators and television audiences alike and in many respects beach volleyball put the longer established, traditional game in the shade.
Playing outdoors presents players with fresh challenges. The sun and wind are variables and outstanding ball skills and court speed are required for a team of two to cover a court of sand. Matches are the best of three sets - the first two played to 21 points and the tie-breaker set to 15 - and a pair must win a set by two clear points. There are men's and women's beach volleyball tournaments at the Games, with 24 pairs in each. Partners have to be well matched or opponents can win easy points by targeting the weaker player.
Nude Volleyball
Beach volleyball first appeared in the early 1920s in Santa Monica, California, and by 1927 it was the chief recreational activity at a French nudist colony. It reached Czechoslovakia, Latvia and Bulgaria by the 1930s and the first official two-man tournament was held in 1947. In the 1950s, the first beach volleyball circuit was launched, involving hundreds of players and five California beaches.
Traditional volleyball has a longer history. It was invented in 1895 by William Morgan, a student at Springfield College and a director of the YMCA at Holyoke, Massachusetts. He called the game was mintonette, but it was quickly changed to volleyball. Japan was playing the game by 1896, followed closely by other Asian countries, and a specially designed ball was introduced in 1900.
Six-a-side play became standard in 1918, and in 1920 rules governing three hits per side and back-row attacks were established. At the same time, the set and spike originated in the Philippines. The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) was formed in 1946 and volleyball made its Olympic debut in Tokyo in 1964.
Libero's Role
While power and height have become vital components of international teams, FIVB introduced a new specialist role - the libero - prior to the Sydney Games that gave a vital role to shorter players. This player cannot serve, spike the ball over the net or rotate into the front-line positions, but plays a vital role in serve reception and backcourt defence.
Matches are the best of five sets, with the first four sets played to 25 points and the tiebreaker fifth to 15. A team must win a set by two clear points. There are men's and women's tournaments at the Games, with 12 teams contesting each.
Handball has certain similarities to both football and basketball. It's a fast-paced team game, with seven players in a side, and, like football, the aim is to work together to score goals and prevent the opposition scoring. Games consist of two 30-minute halves with a 10-minute half-time break, and high-scoring games with more than 40 goals are common. Like basketball, players feint, body swerve, and jump in the air to pass, control the ball and shoot, but, unlike basketball, physical contact is allowed in handball.
Berlin Debut
Men's handball made its Olympic debut as an outdoor sport played on turf football fields at the 1936 Games in Berlin. It was not until the Games returned to Germany, in 1972 at Munich, that handball appeared in its present indoor format. Women's handball was introduced four years later in Montreal.
The International Amateur Handball Federation (IAHF) was formed in 1928 and 10 years later Germany hosted the first Field Handball World Championship. The International Handball Federation was founded in 1946 and by then seven-a-side indoor handball was just as popular as 11-a-side field handball. Between 1938 and 1966 separate world championships were held for both forms of handball.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Former Olympic Sports
Baseball and softball will become the first Olympic sports to be dropped for 76 years when they are cut from the programme for the London 2012 Games. In recent times, the trend has been to add sports to the Olympic programme, but in the early part of the 20th century it was not uncommon for sports to be axed.
Polo made its last appearance at Berlin in 1936, having featured at the Games five times. Teams of mixed nationalities competed in the first Olympic polo tournament in 1900, Great Britain won gold in 1908 and 1920, and Argentina took the title in 1924 and 1936.
Rugby Union bowed out in 1924 and, although a return for the sport in the form of rugby sevens has been mooted, there are no definite plans for its reintroduction. Hosts France won gold in 1900, Australasia won in 1908 and the USA triumphed in the only other two tournaments, in 1920 and 1924.
First Winter Games
The introduction of the Winter Olympics in 1924 cut short the association of both ice hockey and figure skating with the summer programme. Figure skating had appeared in 1908 and 1920 and ice hockey in 1920 at Antwerp. Tug of war, won twice by Britain, also made the last of its five appearances in 1920.
Four sports - rackets, lacrosse, jeu de paume and water motorsports - were axed after the 1908 Games in London. Jeu de paume, or real tennis, is an ancestor of lawn tennis and made its one and only Olympic appearance in London, as did rackets - an indoor sport related to squash - and water motorsports, which involved racing powered boats around five laps of course eight nautical miles long. Canada won the only lacrosse tournaments held, in 1904 and 1908.
Roque, an American derivative of croquet, appeared at the 1904 Games in Saint Louis, but only Americans took part. Golf made its second and last appearance in 1904 too.
Croquet Clean Sweep
There were three sports - Basque pelota, cricket and croquet - made their only appearances at the 1900 Games in Paris. Nine of the 10 competitors - seven men and three women - in the croquet competition were French and, not surprisingly, the host nation took a clean sweep of medals.
Four nations were expected to contest the cricket tournament, but Belgium and Holland pulled out and left Britain and France to compete for gold in a two-day game. Britain batted first, scored 117 and bowled out France for 78. The Brits then scored 145 for five in their second innings to set the hosts a target of 185. The French fell well short, being bowled out for 26.
Like in cricket, there were only two nations represented in the Olympic Basque pelota tournament. A ball sport played on a two-walled court, Basque pelota has numerous variations and players can be barehanded or may use a bat, racket or special glove that extends into a long, curved basket. Spain defeated France to earn gold in 1900, and Basque pelota has been a demonstration sport in 1924, 1968 and 1992.
Polo made its last appearance at Berlin in 1936, having featured at the Games five times. Teams of mixed nationalities competed in the first Olympic polo tournament in 1900, Great Britain won gold in 1908 and 1920, and Argentina took the title in 1924 and 1936.
Rugby Union bowed out in 1924 and, although a return for the sport in the form of rugby sevens has been mooted, there are no definite plans for its reintroduction. Hosts France won gold in 1900, Australasia won in 1908 and the USA triumphed in the only other two tournaments, in 1920 and 1924.
First Winter Games
The introduction of the Winter Olympics in 1924 cut short the association of both ice hockey and figure skating with the summer programme. Figure skating had appeared in 1908 and 1920 and ice hockey in 1920 at Antwerp. Tug of war, won twice by Britain, also made the last of its five appearances in 1920.
Four sports - rackets, lacrosse, jeu de paume and water motorsports - were axed after the 1908 Games in London. Jeu de paume, or real tennis, is an ancestor of lawn tennis and made its one and only Olympic appearance in London, as did rackets - an indoor sport related to squash - and water motorsports, which involved racing powered boats around five laps of course eight nautical miles long. Canada won the only lacrosse tournaments held, in 1904 and 1908.
Roque, an American derivative of croquet, appeared at the 1904 Games in Saint Louis, but only Americans took part. Golf made its second and last appearance in 1904 too.
Croquet Clean Sweep
There were three sports - Basque pelota, cricket and croquet - made their only appearances at the 1900 Games in Paris. Nine of the 10 competitors - seven men and three women - in the croquet competition were French and, not surprisingly, the host nation took a clean sweep of medals.
Four nations were expected to contest the cricket tournament, but Belgium and Holland pulled out and left Britain and France to compete for gold in a two-day game. Britain batted first, scored 117 and bowled out France for 78. The Brits then scored 145 for five in their second innings to set the hosts a target of 185. The French fell well short, being bowled out for 26.
Like in cricket, there were only two nations represented in the Olympic Basque pelota tournament. A ball sport played on a two-walled court, Basque pelota has numerous variations and players can be barehanded or may use a bat, racket or special glove that extends into a long, curved basket. Spain defeated France to earn gold in 1900, and Basque pelota has been a demonstration sport in 1924, 1968 and 1992.
Guide to Olympic Tennis and Table Tennis
Table tennis is the world's largest participation sport, with an incredible 40 million competitive players and countless millions more playing recreationally. Leading players hit the ball at speeds up to 160 kilometres per hour using rubber-coated wooden and carbon-fibre rackets.
A variety of glues and rubber compounds can be applied to the rackets to impart greater spin or speed, and some glues are banned from the Olympic competition because they make the ball travel up to 30 kilometres per hour faster.
With shots named the kill, the hit and the chop, modern table tennis is a far cry from the genteel, after-dinner alternative to lawn tennis played in 1890s England with cigar-box lids for rackets and a carved champagne cork for a ball.
Seoul Debut
The sport made its Olympic debut at the Seoul Games in 1988 and there are four events: men's singles and doubles and women's singles and doubles. The top 16 seeds advance straight into the main singles draw, while another 48 players compete in a qualification round for the other 16 places. The main draw is a single-elimination tournament and matches are the best of five games. Semi-finals winners go on to play for gold and silver medals, with the semi-finals losers playing for bronze. Doubles follows a similar format, but 32 teams are involved.
There are various psychological ploys used in table tennis to gain the upper hand, despite a strict code of conduct that penalises unsporting behaviour. Staring out opponents or delaying the action by towelling off and tying shoelaces are all common tactics.
Dominant Chinese
The Chinese have been close to invincible in Olympic table tennis, winning an astounding 16 of the 20 gold medals awarded between 1988 and 2004. Tiny Deng Yaping made a big impact on the women's events at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, teaming up with Qiao Hong to win the doubles title and, two days later, defeating Qiao in the singles final. Deng and Qiao defended their doubles title in 1996, and Deng earned her fourth gold with victory over Chinese Taipei's Chen Jing, who had won gold in the singles in 1988 when representing China. In 2003, Deng was elected Chinese athlete of the century.
Liu Guoliang became a double Olympic champion in men's table tennis at the 1996 Atlanta Games, winning the doubles with Kong Linghui and the singles. He failed to defend either title four years later in Sydney, but did take bronze in the singles and teamed up with Kong once more to take silver in the doubles.
Tennis Dropped
Tennis was included in the first modern Olympics in 1896, but was dropped from the programme after 1924 amid turmoil over issues such as where to draw the line between amateurism and professionalism.
It did not return as a medal sport until 1988, but now all of the world's leading professional players are eligible. Andre Agassi has won the men's singles, while the impressive list of winners of the women's singles includes Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Justin Henin-Hardenne.
There are four events - men's singles and doubles and women's singles and doubles - all decided by knockout competitions. Mixed doubles is not part of the current programme, although it has been included in the past. Semi-finals winners play to decide the gold and silver medals, with semi-finals losers playing for the bronze.
A variety of glues and rubber compounds can be applied to the rackets to impart greater spin or speed, and some glues are banned from the Olympic competition because they make the ball travel up to 30 kilometres per hour faster.
With shots named the kill, the hit and the chop, modern table tennis is a far cry from the genteel, after-dinner alternative to lawn tennis played in 1890s England with cigar-box lids for rackets and a carved champagne cork for a ball.
Seoul Debut
The sport made its Olympic debut at the Seoul Games in 1988 and there are four events: men's singles and doubles and women's singles and doubles. The top 16 seeds advance straight into the main singles draw, while another 48 players compete in a qualification round for the other 16 places. The main draw is a single-elimination tournament and matches are the best of five games. Semi-finals winners go on to play for gold and silver medals, with the semi-finals losers playing for bronze. Doubles follows a similar format, but 32 teams are involved.
There are various psychological ploys used in table tennis to gain the upper hand, despite a strict code of conduct that penalises unsporting behaviour. Staring out opponents or delaying the action by towelling off and tying shoelaces are all common tactics.
Dominant Chinese
The Chinese have been close to invincible in Olympic table tennis, winning an astounding 16 of the 20 gold medals awarded between 1988 and 2004. Tiny Deng Yaping made a big impact on the women's events at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, teaming up with Qiao Hong to win the doubles title and, two days later, defeating Qiao in the singles final. Deng and Qiao defended their doubles title in 1996, and Deng earned her fourth gold with victory over Chinese Taipei's Chen Jing, who had won gold in the singles in 1988 when representing China. In 2003, Deng was elected Chinese athlete of the century.
Liu Guoliang became a double Olympic champion in men's table tennis at the 1996 Atlanta Games, winning the doubles with Kong Linghui and the singles. He failed to defend either title four years later in Sydney, but did take bronze in the singles and teamed up with Kong once more to take silver in the doubles.
Tennis Dropped
Tennis was included in the first modern Olympics in 1896, but was dropped from the programme after 1924 amid turmoil over issues such as where to draw the line between amateurism and professionalism.
It did not return as a medal sport until 1988, but now all of the world's leading professional players are eligible. Andre Agassi has won the men's singles, while the impressive list of winners of the women's singles includes Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Justin Henin-Hardenne.
There are four events - men's singles and doubles and women's singles and doubles - all decided by knockout competitions. Mixed doubles is not part of the current programme, although it has been included in the past. Semi-finals winners play to decide the gold and silver medals, with semi-finals losers playing for the bronze.
Olympic Equestrian Events
Equestrianism is the only Olympic sport to team up athletes with animals and one of the few in which men and women compete on equal terms. Horse and rider work together for years to hone the skills required for these tests of agility, speed and grace.
Chariot races and horse riding featured in the ancient Greek Games, and equestrian events made their debut in the modern Olympics at the 2nd Olympiad in 1900, when a high jump and long jump were held for the only time. In 1912 at Stockholm the competition began to resemble the one known today.
Vaulting made a single appearance in 1920, but otherwise the Olympic programme has rarely varied and includes three disciplines - dressage, show jumping and three-day eventing - with individual and team competitions in each.
In dressage, the horse is guided through a series of complex manoeuvres by slight movements of the rider's hands, legs, and weight. Medals are decided over three rounds. In the first two, the horse and rider must complete a set routine of dressage movements, including passages, pirouettes and piaffes in a walk, trot and canter. The third round is freestyle, and individually choreographed routines are performed to music.
Ballet for Horses
Dressage is like watching a horse perform ballet as it responds to its rider's subtle aids and signals. Judges evaluate how well the horse has executed the moves and score accordingly. The event has changed little since the Renaissance, when Neapolitan nobleman Federico Grisone founded a riding academy in Naples in 1532. The term dressage stems from the French word dresser, meaning to train, and European cavalrymen developed dressage for use on the battlefield and parade ground.
Show jumping is more exciting to watch and easier to follow. It originated in Ireland, where fox hunting is a popular pursuit. The first jumping competitions were organised by the Royal Dublin Society in the 19th century.
Olympic show jumping requires horse and rider to negotiate a course of about 15 obstacles, including triple bars, parallel rails, simulated stone walls and water jumps. Penalties are incurred if jumps are taken in the wrong order, if a horse knocks down a rail, refuses a jump, takes jumps in the wrong order or exceeds a time limit.
German Gold
Germany's Hans Günter Winkler was one of the finest Olympic show jumpers and is the only rider in any discipline to win medals at six different Games. His Olympic career began in 1956 at Stockholm, where he won individual and team gold on Halla. Four years later, Halla became the only horse to win three gold medals as Winkler added another team gold and, although Halla retired, Winkler went on to win team gold in 1964, bronze in 1968, gold in 1972 and silver in 1976. He is the only show jumper to win five gold medals and the only one to win seven medals in total.
Three-day eventing combines dressage and show jumping and adds a third element - a cross-country course that tests horse and rider against the clock. Initially, Olympic eventing was restricted to military officers, although show jumping and dressage competitions were open to civilians. Women were allowed to compete in equestrian events at the 1952 Games in Helsinki and men and women have competed against each other since.
Chariot races and horse riding featured in the ancient Greek Games, and equestrian events made their debut in the modern Olympics at the 2nd Olympiad in 1900, when a high jump and long jump were held for the only time. In 1912 at Stockholm the competition began to resemble the one known today.
Vaulting made a single appearance in 1920, but otherwise the Olympic programme has rarely varied and includes three disciplines - dressage, show jumping and three-day eventing - with individual and team competitions in each.
In dressage, the horse is guided through a series of complex manoeuvres by slight movements of the rider's hands, legs, and weight. Medals are decided over three rounds. In the first two, the horse and rider must complete a set routine of dressage movements, including passages, pirouettes and piaffes in a walk, trot and canter. The third round is freestyle, and individually choreographed routines are performed to music.
Ballet for Horses
Dressage is like watching a horse perform ballet as it responds to its rider's subtle aids and signals. Judges evaluate how well the horse has executed the moves and score accordingly. The event has changed little since the Renaissance, when Neapolitan nobleman Federico Grisone founded a riding academy in Naples in 1532. The term dressage stems from the French word dresser, meaning to train, and European cavalrymen developed dressage for use on the battlefield and parade ground.
Show jumping is more exciting to watch and easier to follow. It originated in Ireland, where fox hunting is a popular pursuit. The first jumping competitions were organised by the Royal Dublin Society in the 19th century.
Olympic show jumping requires horse and rider to negotiate a course of about 15 obstacles, including triple bars, parallel rails, simulated stone walls and water jumps. Penalties are incurred if jumps are taken in the wrong order, if a horse knocks down a rail, refuses a jump, takes jumps in the wrong order or exceeds a time limit.
German Gold
Germany's Hans Günter Winkler was one of the finest Olympic show jumpers and is the only rider in any discipline to win medals at six different Games. His Olympic career began in 1956 at Stockholm, where he won individual and team gold on Halla. Four years later, Halla became the only horse to win three gold medals as Winkler added another team gold and, although Halla retired, Winkler went on to win team gold in 1964, bronze in 1968, gold in 1972 and silver in 1976. He is the only show jumper to win five gold medals and the only one to win seven medals in total.
Three-day eventing combines dressage and show jumping and adds a third element - a cross-country course that tests horse and rider against the clock. Initially, Olympic eventing was restricted to military officers, although show jumping and dressage competitions were open to civilians. Women were allowed to compete in equestrian events at the 1952 Games in Helsinki and men and women have competed against each other since.
Olympic Track and Field Events
In many ways, track and field athletics epitomises the Olympic Games. It is the original Olympic sport, dating back to the first recorded ancient Games in 776BC, and it is the embodiment of the Olympic motto 'Citius, Altius, Fortius' - faster, higher, stronger.
Until the 13th Olympiad in 728BC, the Games consisted of one running event - the stade race over the length of the stadium (192.27m). In 724BC the double stadium race appeared, and then came a long race held over seven, 12 or 20 lengths of the stadium. In 708BC, the pentathlon first appeared. Its five trials were discus, stade race, javelin, long jump - performed with a weight in each hand - and wrestling.
Most of the failed attempts to revive the ancient Games in the late 1700s and throughout the 19th century focused on track and field events, and when the Games were reincarnated in 1896 it was with athletics at their heart.
Early Events Dropped
All the competitors were men at the first modern Olympics in Athens and, although women participated at Paris in 1900, women's athletics was not introduced until the 9th Olympiad at Amsterdam in 1928. Some of the track and field events contested at early Olympiads, such as the 60metres, 200m hurdles, cross country and standing high jump, were dropped and by Los Angeles in 1932 the men's programme was more or less standardised.
Women were restricted to only a few events initially, but now there are very few differences between the track and field events for men and women. The women's steeplechase was introduced in Beijing, although there is still no women's 50-kilometre walk and women's high hurdles is over 100m as opposed to 110m for men. Also, women compete in the heptathlon rather than the decathlon.
Going for Gold
There were 47 track and field titles won in Beijing: the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5,000m, 10,000m, sprint hurdles, 400m hurdles, 3,000m steeplechase, 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay for men and women on the track; the long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot, discus, javelin and hammer for men and women in the field; the decathlon (100m, long jump, shot, high jump, 400m, 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m) for men and heptathlon (100m hurdles, high jump, shot, 200m, long jump, javelin, 800m) for women; and the marathon and 20km walk for men and women and 50km walk for men on the road.
In the ancient Games, the first stade race - a short, sprint race - was the most prestigious and the winner gave his name to the Olympiad. Koroibos was the first champion in 776BC and Leonidas of Rhodes was the greatest, winning four times between 164 and 152BC. Little has changed in many respects and the men's 100m - to find the fastest man in the world - is still one of the most prestigious events at the Games.
Track and field enjoys unwavering popularity, despite doping scandals, and creates more Olympic legends than any other sport. At the first modern Games, USA's men dominated and they have done since, although African nations now dominate the distance races. Soviet and East German women were all conquering until those two nations dissolved, and now the USA face a strong challenge from Caribbean nations.
Until the 13th Olympiad in 728BC, the Games consisted of one running event - the stade race over the length of the stadium (192.27m). In 724BC the double stadium race appeared, and then came a long race held over seven, 12 or 20 lengths of the stadium. In 708BC, the pentathlon first appeared. Its five trials were discus, stade race, javelin, long jump - performed with a weight in each hand - and wrestling.
Most of the failed attempts to revive the ancient Games in the late 1700s and throughout the 19th century focused on track and field events, and when the Games were reincarnated in 1896 it was with athletics at their heart.
Early Events Dropped
All the competitors were men at the first modern Olympics in Athens and, although women participated at Paris in 1900, women's athletics was not introduced until the 9th Olympiad at Amsterdam in 1928. Some of the track and field events contested at early Olympiads, such as the 60metres, 200m hurdles, cross country and standing high jump, were dropped and by Los Angeles in 1932 the men's programme was more or less standardised.
Women were restricted to only a few events initially, but now there are very few differences between the track and field events for men and women. The women's steeplechase was introduced in Beijing, although there is still no women's 50-kilometre walk and women's high hurdles is over 100m as opposed to 110m for men. Also, women compete in the heptathlon rather than the decathlon.
Going for Gold
There were 47 track and field titles won in Beijing: the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5,000m, 10,000m, sprint hurdles, 400m hurdles, 3,000m steeplechase, 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay for men and women on the track; the long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault, shot, discus, javelin and hammer for men and women in the field; the decathlon (100m, long jump, shot, high jump, 400m, 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m) for men and heptathlon (100m hurdles, high jump, shot, 200m, long jump, javelin, 800m) for women; and the marathon and 20km walk for men and women and 50km walk for men on the road.
In the ancient Games, the first stade race - a short, sprint race - was the most prestigious and the winner gave his name to the Olympiad. Koroibos was the first champion in 776BC and Leonidas of Rhodes was the greatest, winning four times between 164 and 152BC. Little has changed in many respects and the men's 100m - to find the fastest man in the world - is still one of the most prestigious events at the Games.
Track and field enjoys unwavering popularity, despite doping scandals, and creates more Olympic legends than any other sport. At the first modern Games, USA's men dominated and they have done since, although African nations now dominate the distance races. Soviet and East German women were all conquering until those two nations dissolved, and now the USA face a strong challenge from Caribbean nations.
Rowing and Canoeing Events at the Olympics
The recorded modern history of competitive rowing precedes that of most other Olympic sports. The first Oxford-Cambridge race took place in 1828 and in 1852 Yale and Harvard rowed against each other for the first time on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. The first modern Olympiad in 1896 was the only one not to feature rowing. The sport was on the programme that year, but rough seas forced its cancellation.
Women's rowing was added at Montreal in 1976 and women now contest six of the 14 events. Both men and women compete in single, double and quadruple sculls, lightweight double scull, the eight and coxless pair. Men also race in coxless four and lightweight coxless four. For lightweight events, women must not weigh more than 59 kilograms with the average crew weight no more than 57kg, while men must not weigh more than 72.5kg with the average crew weight no more than 70kg.
Sculling and Sweep Rowing
Rowers have an oar in each hand in sculling, but only one oar in sweep rowing. Boats have one, two, four or eight rowers, and the eights have a cox to steer the boat and direct the crew. In all the other boats, one rower steers using a foot pedal to control a small rudder.
Boats race in heats and advance to either semi-finals or directly to a six-boat final depending on the number of contestants in each event. Losing boats get a second chance, with the top boats again qualifying.
Although rowing is an endurance sport, boats can be travelling at up to 10 metres per second at the end of the 2,000m race. Crews sprint the first 500m at as many as 47 strokes per minute, drop to around 40 strokes per minute for the middle 1000m and shift back up a gear for the last 500m.
Canoes and Kayaks
Canoe and kayak racing was a demonstration sport at the 1924 Games and a full medal sport in 1936. Women's kayak events were added in 1948, but until 1972 only flatwater racing was on the Olympic programme. These are pure tests of speed held on calm water with competitors assigned to lanes. The more spectacular slalom racing was first held at the Munich Games, but then disappeared from the Olympics until 1992.
The paddler's position, the one or two-blade paddle and the covered parts of the boat are all key in differentiating between canoes and kayaks. The original kayak, developed by Inuits in the northern Arctic regions, was made by stretching sea-lion skins over a frame of whalebone and driftwood. It was then waterproofed with whale fat. Kayakers sit in the cockpit of the boat and use a paddle with a blade on each end.
North American Indians developed the original canoe - a dug-out, open-topped bark canoe. Canoeists paddle either kneeling on one knee or seated and use a single-bladed paddle. Canoes (often called Canadian canoes) are more open, but deck covers a proportion of the boat bow and stern.
Flatwater Events
There are 12 flatwater events at the Olympic, nine for men and three for women. Men compete over both 500m and 1000m with one or two paddlers in canoe and kayak, and also over 1000m with four paddlers in Kayak. Women compete only in kayak over 500m, with one, two or four paddlers.
In slalom racing, whitewater paddlers must cope with waves, holes, eddies and currents to negotiate between 20 and 25 gates in turbulent rapids. The quickest over a 300m course wins, although there are penalties for missing or touching gates. There are four events, three for men and one for women. Men compete in single and double canoe and single kayak, while women compete only in kayak singles.
Women's rowing was added at Montreal in 1976 and women now contest six of the 14 events. Both men and women compete in single, double and quadruple sculls, lightweight double scull, the eight and coxless pair. Men also race in coxless four and lightweight coxless four. For lightweight events, women must not weigh more than 59 kilograms with the average crew weight no more than 57kg, while men must not weigh more than 72.5kg with the average crew weight no more than 70kg.
Sculling and Sweep Rowing
Rowers have an oar in each hand in sculling, but only one oar in sweep rowing. Boats have one, two, four or eight rowers, and the eights have a cox to steer the boat and direct the crew. In all the other boats, one rower steers using a foot pedal to control a small rudder.
Boats race in heats and advance to either semi-finals or directly to a six-boat final depending on the number of contestants in each event. Losing boats get a second chance, with the top boats again qualifying.
Although rowing is an endurance sport, boats can be travelling at up to 10 metres per second at the end of the 2,000m race. Crews sprint the first 500m at as many as 47 strokes per minute, drop to around 40 strokes per minute for the middle 1000m and shift back up a gear for the last 500m.
Canoes and Kayaks
Canoe and kayak racing was a demonstration sport at the 1924 Games and a full medal sport in 1936. Women's kayak events were added in 1948, but until 1972 only flatwater racing was on the Olympic programme. These are pure tests of speed held on calm water with competitors assigned to lanes. The more spectacular slalom racing was first held at the Munich Games, but then disappeared from the Olympics until 1992.
The paddler's position, the one or two-blade paddle and the covered parts of the boat are all key in differentiating between canoes and kayaks. The original kayak, developed by Inuits in the northern Arctic regions, was made by stretching sea-lion skins over a frame of whalebone and driftwood. It was then waterproofed with whale fat. Kayakers sit in the cockpit of the boat and use a paddle with a blade on each end.
North American Indians developed the original canoe - a dug-out, open-topped bark canoe. Canoeists paddle either kneeling on one knee or seated and use a single-bladed paddle. Canoes (often called Canadian canoes) are more open, but deck covers a proportion of the boat bow and stern.
Flatwater Events
There are 12 flatwater events at the Olympic, nine for men and three for women. Men compete over both 500m and 1000m with one or two paddlers in canoe and kayak, and also over 1000m with four paddlers in Kayak. Women compete only in kayak over 500m, with one, two or four paddlers.
In slalom racing, whitewater paddlers must cope with waves, holes, eddies and currents to negotiate between 20 and 25 gates in turbulent rapids. The quickest over a 300m course wins, although there are penalties for missing or touching gates. There are four events, three for men and one for women. Men compete in single and double canoe and single kayak, while women compete only in kayak singles.
Rules & Format of Olympic Hockey
India produced one of the longest winning streaks in the history of the Olympic Games by winning six consecutive hockey gold medals between 1928 and 1956. They won 30 matches in succession and, although Pakistan took the Olympic crown in 1960, India regained it four years later in Tokyo and won it for an eighth time at the Moscow Games in 1980. Balbir Singh was one of the many stars of the India teams, scoring five times in the 6-1 win over Holland in the 1952 final in Helsinki.
Men's hockey made its Olympic debut in 1908 and has featured at every Games since 1920, while women's hockey was introduced in 1980. Australian midfielder Rechelle Hawkes is the only female hockey player to earn three medals and the only one to win medals 12 years apart. All of her medals are gold - won at Seoul in 1988, Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. In addition, Hawkes was given the honour of reciting the Athletes' Oath on behalf of all the athletes at the Opening Ceremony in Sydney.
Route to Gold
Both the men's and women's Olympic tournaments are now contested by 12 teams, which are split into pools of six for the preliminary rounds. The top two teams in each pool qualify for the semi-finals and the remaining teams play classification matches for fifth to 12th places. The semi-final winners play for the gold and silver medals, while the losers play for bronze.
Hockey is the oldest known ball and stick game, with evidence it was played in Persia in 2000BC. Canterbury and Gloucester cathedrals have stained-glass windows of men playing a game with hooked sticks in mediaeval Europe, and the sport became so popular by the Middle Ages that it was banned in England because it interfered with archery practice, the basis for national defence.
The game became more organised in the late 19th century and London's Blackheath Football and Hockey Club, which dates back to at least 1861, is considered to be the first hockey club.
Britain's Leading Role
Although the word hockey comes from the old French word hocquet, which means shepherd's crook and refers to the crooked stick used to hit a small ball, it was the British who developed hockey as a sport. The Amateur Hockey Association, the national governing body, was formed in London in 1886, and the National Hockey Union was located in the Bristol area between 1887 and 1895.
Hockey was then carried throughout the British Empire by the nation's armed forces and other workers, and so it is no coincidence that most of the dominant nations in the sport are, or were, members of the British Empire, including India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. Other nations have made huge advances in recent times - Germany won the men's Olympic crown in 1992 and Holland landed back-to-back titles in 1996 and 2000 - and the game is now a truly worldwide sport. Until the 1970s, the game at international level was mainly played on natural grass, but it has become an even more exciting and skilful sport since the introduction of synthetic surfaces.
Men's hockey made its Olympic debut in 1908 and has featured at every Games since 1920, while women's hockey was introduced in 1980. Australian midfielder Rechelle Hawkes is the only female hockey player to earn three medals and the only one to win medals 12 years apart. All of her medals are gold - won at Seoul in 1988, Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. In addition, Hawkes was given the honour of reciting the Athletes' Oath on behalf of all the athletes at the Opening Ceremony in Sydney.
Route to Gold
Both the men's and women's Olympic tournaments are now contested by 12 teams, which are split into pools of six for the preliminary rounds. The top two teams in each pool qualify for the semi-finals and the remaining teams play classification matches for fifth to 12th places. The semi-final winners play for the gold and silver medals, while the losers play for bronze.
Hockey is the oldest known ball and stick game, with evidence it was played in Persia in 2000BC. Canterbury and Gloucester cathedrals have stained-glass windows of men playing a game with hooked sticks in mediaeval Europe, and the sport became so popular by the Middle Ages that it was banned in England because it interfered with archery practice, the basis for national defence.
The game became more organised in the late 19th century and London's Blackheath Football and Hockey Club, which dates back to at least 1861, is considered to be the first hockey club.
Britain's Leading Role
Although the word hockey comes from the old French word hocquet, which means shepherd's crook and refers to the crooked stick used to hit a small ball, it was the British who developed hockey as a sport. The Amateur Hockey Association, the national governing body, was formed in London in 1886, and the National Hockey Union was located in the Bristol area between 1887 and 1895.
Hockey was then carried throughout the British Empire by the nation's armed forces and other workers, and so it is no coincidence that most of the dominant nations in the sport are, or were, members of the British Empire, including India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. Other nations have made huge advances in recent times - Germany won the men's Olympic crown in 1992 and Holland landed back-to-back titles in 1996 and 2000 - and the game is now a truly worldwide sport. Until the 1970s, the game at international level was mainly played on natural grass, but it has become an even more exciting and skilful sport since the introduction of synthetic surfaces.