While sports like swimming and athletics have hogged the limelight at the Olympics, there are some, which though played at the competitive level, are barely noticed. Watch out for them at Rio 2016!
The 31st Olympiad will see 207 countries fight for 306 medals in 28 sports and 41 disciplines. Everyone has heard of popular sports like archery and badminton, but were you aware trampoline gymnastics is a discipline in the Games? We list some of the sporting events you probably never knew existed.
MARATHON SWIMMING
It entered the Games at Beijing 2008, as part of the swimming event. But in Rio, it is a standalone discipline. Competitors race over a 10-km open-water circuit, with the first swimmer to strike the touch pad at the finish line winning the race. It is a test of strength, strategy and endurance. The average duration of the event is two hours. Swimmers wear a microchip bracelet on their wrists to record their time.
Medal tally: Men: Thomas Lurz (Germany): 2 (1S, 1B); Women: Larisa Ilchenko (Russia): 1 (1G).
CYCLING BMX
It debuted at the 2008 Beijing Games with eight cyclists racing simultaneously over an obstacle course, with the first to cross the finish line being the winner. Riders start at the top of an 8-metre-high ramp. The track is usually 300m-400m long, full of turns, jumps, tight corners, rises and descents. A BMX bike is smaller than a mountain bike and has only one gear and a break. With crashes being very common, riders are required to wear padded suits and crash helmets.
Medal tally: Men: Maris Strombergs (Latvia): 2 (2G); Women: Anne-Caroline Chausson (France): 1 (1G).
RUGBY SEVENS
2016 marks the debut of this discipline. It is a faster and shorter adaptation of the traditional ‘rugby’ event. Teams are made up of seven participants playing seven-minute halves instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. It is commonly referred to as simply ‘sevens’. There are four ways to score points: Try (5 points), Conversion (2 points), Penalty (3 points) and Drop Goal (3 points). A ‘scrum’ is awarded for less serious fouls, where three players from each side come together, with the aim of starting another offensive play. At Rio, men’s and women’s tournaments consist of 12 teams each.
CANOE SLALOM
It has been a discipline since the 1972 Munich Games. Inspired by slalom skiing, the discipline has been a permanent fixture since Barcelona 1992. Competitors navigate the course on board kayaks or canoes, in single or double events. Athletes must complete a 250-m white-water course, passing through 18-25 gates, avoiding obstacles, in the shortest time possible. At the Rio Games, there will be four events awarding medals: three for men, one for women. In the single and double canoe events, single-bladed paddles are used, while in the single kayak event, double-bladed paddles are used.
Medal tally: Men: Michal Martikan (Slovakia): 5 (2G, 2S, 1B); Women: Stepanka Hilgertova (Czechoslovakia): 2 (2G)
TRAMPOLINE GYMNASTICS
It has been a part of the Games since Sydney 2000. Performing on a trampoline, athletes must be able to make acrobatic jumps in the air. They are awarded points for difficulty, execution and flight. Each gymnast performs two sets of 10 routines, with simple, double or triple jumps.
Medal tally: Men: Alexander Moskalenko (Russia): 2 (1G, 1S); Women: Karen Cockburn (Canada): 3 (2S, 1B)
Phelps to lead for the first time
Michael Phelps has already achieved a new Olympic first, three weeks before the Rio Games. Phelps was named captain of the US Olympic swim team for the first time, in his record-making fifth Olympic appearance.
First Indian gymnast
Dipa Karmakar created history by becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics as she booked a berth for the Rio Games after a strong performance at the final qualifying and test event. She will also be an Indian gymnast qualifying for the quadrennial extravaganza after 52 years. Since Independence, 11 Indian male gymnasts have taken part in the Olympics (two in 1952, three in 1956 and six in 1964).
More women than men in historic summer Olympic Team
For the first time at a Summer Olympic Games, Australia will be represented by more women than men. With the addition of a women’s crew of eight to the rowing team, the number has grown to 419 athletes – 212 women and 207 men. The Australian Winter Olympic teams have a longer history of gender equality, with at least an equal number of men and women competing in Vancouver and Sochi.
Professional boxers
IOC has allowed professional boxers to compete in the boxing events previously restricted to amateurs. Thailand’s former IBF flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng and Cameroon middleweight contender Hassan D’Nam N’Jikam are just two of the confirmed professionals who will be aiming for gold.
Triplets
The Luik family from Estonia will have not just one but three competitors to cheer on in the same race when the women’s marathon takes place on August 14. Thirty-year-old sisters Leila, Liina and Lily will all be running, making them the first ever set of identical triplets to compete in the same Olympics event.
First ever refugee team to compete
The athletes, six men and four women, will compete in swimming, judo and athletics. They include swimmer Yusra Mardini from Syria who trains in Germany, South Sudanese middle distance runner Rose Nathike Lokonyen, living in a refugee camp in Kenya, and democratic Republic of Congo judoka Yolande Bukasa Mabika, training in Brazil. The Olympic anthem will be played in their honour, the Olympic flag will lead them into the stadium. The team will be housed in the athletes’ village along with all other national teams and will enter the stadium as the penultimate team at the opening ceremony, ahead of the host nation. The IOC had said it wanted to draw the world’s attention to the plight of refugees.