There are some Olympic sports dating back thousands of years: think that they were already practiced in ancient Greece. Today, these disciplines continue to be played during Olympics such as those that will take place in Tokyo in the summer of this year.
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The Olympic games of antiquity were held in Greece, more precisely in the city of Olympia, in honor of the god Zeus. Did you know that many Olympic sports from that period are still practiced today? In this article we will see together which are the oldest Olympic sports .
What are the oldest Olympic sports
The Olympic games of antiquity had a rather religious character. However, they also served to demonstrate the political and military power of the Greeks.
According to the beliefs of the time, the winner of each edition (the first was Corebo) was the man who seemed most similar in appearance and ability to Zeus . This was one of the reasons why women were unable to participate.
The competition consisted of numerous sporting events, fights and competitions . Among these disciplines, there are still five that continue to be played during the most important event in world sport, the Olympics. Let’s see together which are the most ancient Olympic sports.
- Pentathlon
It consists of five tests: the 180-meter run (stadion), the fight, the long jump, the discus throw and the javelin throw. Currently they have been replaced by the following sports: fencing, swimming , horse jumping, laser gun shooting and cross-country running.
Athletes who practiced the old pentathlon were considered superior to the rest of the participants , since they trained during the Olympics (four years between matches) and were part of the Greek military service.
- Javelin throw
As the name suggests, the goal of this sport is to throw a javelin as much as possible, which consists of a long stick with a sharp point. This launch occurs from a long distance.
The throwing of the javelin, at that time, was practiced with a different technique than the current one, which included the use of leather strips to push the javelin, almost as if it were a bow. The throwing of the javelin is one of the oldest Olympic sports still practiced.
Boxing
Boxing was one of the sports included in the triad of hand-to-hand combat sports together with pancrazio and free fight. It was one of the most popular disciplines of the time, as many Greeks practiced it , even if they didn’t participate in the Olympic Games.
The fighters of the time trained by hitting sandbags and covered their hands, wrists and forearms (but not their fingers) with leather straps.
- Discus throw
Discus throwing is another of the Olympic sports that were practiced during Ancient Greece and that have continued to be played in modern games since their foundation in 1896. This athletics test consists of throwing a heavy circular object (called disc) with one hand.
In ancient times there was no regulation concerning the weight of the disk, nor its size. Think that pieces from one to four kilos with different diameters have been found, much larger than the current ones. Discus throwing is a very ancient Olympic sport.
Long jump, one of the traditional Olympic sports
The last discipline to be considered among the oldest Olympic sports is long jump. It is a sport that is classified within athletics . His goal is to run and then jump as far as possible.
During Ancient Greece, the long jump was included in the pentathlon . However, running from a long distance like now was not allowed. In addition, the athletes had to support the weight with both hands. Therefore, it was considered one of the most complicated sports of all the Olympic games.
The long jump record is held by Chionis, who was able to jump more than seven meters. Today the limit does not reach nine meters and with an initial run, so it is worth recognizing the great skills of the Greeks for this type of sport.
In addition to these five Olympic sports that are still practiced today, we must mention the equestrian events of Ancient Greece. Many of them led to the emergence of modern equestrian sports such as show jumping.
Finally, it is worth noting that, until the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, civilians were unable to participate in the trials , as they were only for military officers. Olympic history is very rich and surprising!
