Yes, tug of war was once a part of the Olympics. But that's not the only surprise when it comes to Olympic sports over the years.
Some other team sports with serious global followings were once a part of the Olympics as well. Those include rugby union, which was a part of four Summer Olympics: 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924.
The United States actually won gold in the latter two competitions -- rather surprising, given the U.S. has failed to develop into one of the world's rugby superpowers. The sport re-emerged at the Olympics, in the sevens format, in 2016.
Cricket was also a part of the Olympics in 1900, with Great Britain winning gold. This was the only Olympics in which cricket was included.
Lacrosse was an Olympic sport, too -- included in both 1904 and 1908.
But our favorite two surprises on the all-time list of Olympic sports, besides tug of war, were croquet and water motorsports -- yes, you read that right.
Croquet was included in 1900 -- but there were only 10 competitors, and all of them were from France. Doesn't seem fair, does it?
Water motorsports featured competitors from two countries, France and Great Britain, in 1908. But it was quickly abandoned as well -- too bad, since those are two "sports" many of us could at least aspire to be Olympians in.
