Facts

1. Synchronised Swimming began as a sport for men in the 1800s. But only women are eligible to compete at the Olympic Games.
2. At the first three modern Olympic Games, Swimming took place in open water - in seas, rivers and lakes. A pool was used for the first time at the London 1908 Games, where the rules were finally standardised.
3. The swimming pool for the London 1908 Olympic Games was built inside the atletic tracks.

Tags:   Eggbeater   Pike   Negative split   tumble turn   dry pass

Facts

1. Archery was one of the only Olympic sports open to women in early modern Olympic Games.
2. In the 14th century, Archery was considered so important to the defence of the nation that an English law made it compulsory for every man aged between seven and 60.
3. Hollywood actress Geena Davis took part in US trials for the Sydney 2000 Olympic team.

Tags:   Boss   Nock   Robin Hood   Spotter   Bowman

Facts

1. Athletics has always been part of the Olympics ever since 776BC.
2. The Marathon distance was changed from 24 miles to 26.2 miles at the London 1908 Olympic Games, so that the race could finish in front of the Royal family's viewing box.
3. Women first took part in Amsterdam 1928

Tags:   Anchor   Heat   Fosbury Flop   Hurdles   Track   Field   Road

Facts

1. Modern badminton was named by Englishman John Loraine Baldwin after Badminton House where he and his visitors enjoyed playing 'battledores'.
2. A shuttlecock can travel at speeds of 200 miles/hour.
3. The best shuttlecocks are said to be made from the feathers of a goose's left wing.

Tags:   Kill   Sling   Drive   Smash   Lift   Slice

Facts

1. The US men's team has dominated Olympic Basketball.
2. Women's basketball was first held in Montreal 1976.
3. The original Basketball hoops were not bottomless nets, but peach baskets with bottoms. An official had to use a ladder to retrieve the ball after every score.

Tags:   Slam dunk   Downturn   Time-out   Live Ball   Assist

Facts

1. Muhammad Ali, regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, won a gold medal at Rome 1960 - his only Olympic appearance.
2. An Olympic Boxing glove weighs 284 grams (10 ounces).
3. Boxing was excluded from the first modern Olympic Games for being too dangerous. It was introduced again in Antwerp 1920.

Tags:   Thrown in the towel   Southpaw   Belt   Jab   Uppercut   Hook

Facts

1. Canoe Sprint became a full medal sport at Berlin 1936.
2. Canoe Slalom was introduced in Munich 1972.
3. The original Inuit kayaks were made by stretching animal skin over a wooden frame.

Tags:   Paddler   Shaft   Blade   Boat control

Facts

1. The first official cycling race - a two-kilometre (1.25 mile) event in Paris - was held in 1868.
2. Bradley Wiggins won three Track medals for Great Britain at Athens 2004 - more than any other GB athlete at the Games.
3. Track Cycling was first held indoors at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.

Tags:   Attack   Break   Handsling   Repechage   Velodrome

Facts

1. At the Olympic Games, horses must be the same nationality as their riders, and each horse must be at least seven years old.
2. HRH Princess Anne, the daughter of HM Queen Elizabeth II, was a member of the GB Eventing team at the Montreal 1976 Games. Her own daughter, Zara, became European Eventing Champion in 2005, World Eventing Champion in 2006.
3. Equestrian has been part of the Olympic programme since Stockholm 1912.

Tags:   Fault   Schooling area   Run-out   Half Pass   Gallop

Facts

1. Fencing began in the 17th century.
2. After the Paris 1924 Games, the Italian and Hungarian teams settled a scoring controversy with a real-life duel.
3. Originally, there was no time limit for a Fencing contest. This was changed after one match lasted seven hours in the 1930s.

Tags:   En garde   Bout   Fleche   Lunge   Parry

Facts

1. Football became a full medal sport from London 1908.
2. Great Britain won the first Olympic Football gold medal at the London 1908 Olympic Games.
3. Hungary has won three Football gold medals - more than any other country.

Tags:   Foul   Own goal   Striker

Facts

1. Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina has 18 Olympic medals - the most ever won in any sport.
2. The word 'Gymnastics' comes from the Greek for 'naked' - early gymnasts used to perform without any clothes.
3. Shun Fujimoto competed with a broken leg to help Japan win Team gold at Montreal 1976.

Tags:   Stick   Pike   Podium   Start Value   Dismount

Facts

1. Shots at goal can reach speeds of 100km/h.
2. Handball is thought to pre-date Basketball and Football
3. Team Handball was introduced as an Olympic sport for men at the 1936 Summer Olympics, in Berlin, but dropped after that, only to be resumed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, again on German territory.

Tags:   Dribble   Jump Shot   Pivot   Shooter   Playmaker

Facts

1. Hockey gets its name from the French word 'hocquet', which means 'shepherd's crook'.
2. Hockey was originally considered too dangerous to be played by women - the first women's Hockey Club was not formed until 1887.
3. The modern sport of Field Hockey was developed in the British Isles as an alternative to Football for cricketers seeking a winter sport in the mid-19th century.

Tags:   Bully-off   Dribble   Golden goal   Flick   Tackle

Facts

1. The first Judo school was opened in Japan in 1882 by Dr. Jigoro Kano.
2. Judo was first introduced to the Games at Tokyo 1964.
3. The strangest Judo rule requires competitors to "be free from body odour."

Tags:   Rei   Hajime   Soremade   Obi   Matte

Facts

1. Modern Pentathlon has been part of every Games since Stockholm 1912.
2. The sport was invented by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who founded the modern Olympic movement.
3. Until Atlanta 1996, the Modern Pentathlon competition was held over four or five days.

Tags:   En garde   Freestyle   Handicap Start

Facts

1. Top rowers complete 40-45 strokes a minute towards the end of a race.
2. Women's races were introduced at the Montreal 1976 Games.
3. The oldest Olympic Rowing champion was Great Britain's Guy Nickalls who was 41 when he won gold at London 1908.

Tags:   Catch a crab   Bowside   Regatta   Rating   Full paddle

Facts

1. Great Britain was the most successful Sailing nation at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008 - winning four of the 11 gold medals.
2. Sailing has been present at every Summer Olympics since 1900 in Paris bar St Louis 1904.
3. The sport's name was changed from 'Yachting' to 'Sailing' at the Sydney 2000 Games.

Tags:   Craft   Class   Fleet racing   Port   Starboard   Tack

Facts

1. Women first took part in Shooting at Mexico City 1968. They used to compete alongside men, but separate men's and women's events have been held since 1996.
2. Shooting featured in the first modern Olympic Games in Athens 1896.
3. Shooting had more athletes than any other sport at the Athens 1896 Olympic Games.

Tags:   Firing line   Clayshooting   String   Lost   Three positions

Facts

1. Table Tennis was introduced at the Olympics in Seoul 1988.
2. Most of the world's top players are based in Asia.
3. Table Tennis was banned in the former Soviet Union from 1930 to 1950 because the sport was believed to be harmful to the eyes.

Tags:   Pen holder   Chop   Loop   Push   Shakehands

Facts

1. Taekwondo became a full medal sport at the Sydney 2000 Games.
2. On average, it takes two or three years' training to reach the 'Black Belt' status.
3. There are only four weight divisions at the Olympic Games, compared to eight at the World Championships.

Tags:   Deuk-jeom   Gam-jeom   Chung   Hong   Taekwonda

Facts

1. The first Tennis rackets were wooden, with strings made of sheep or bovine intestines.
2. At Athens 1896, the first Olympic Tennis tournament was won by Irish student John Boland. He went to the Games just to watch, but returned an Olympic champion.
3. Some of the world's most famous players have since become Olympic champions, including the USA's Andre Agassi and his wife, Germany's Steffi Graf.

Tags:   Love   Lob   Half volley   Match point   Straight sets   Baseline   Serve   Ace

Facts

1. Triathlon made its Games debut at Sydney 2000.
2. London hosts Europe's largest triathlon at ExCeL - a London 2012 venue.
3. The world's leading competitors take less than one hour 50 minutes to complete an Olympic-distance triathlon.

Tags:   Drafting   Pontoon   Wet suit

Facts

1. Volleyball first appeared in the Games at Tokyo 1964, with the first Beach tournament held in Atlanta 1996.
2. A Volleyball ball weighs between 260g and 280g. It is made of rubber or synthetic leather.
3. The dominant forces in Volleyball include: Brazil,Italy, Russia and the USA.

Tags:   Spike   Dig   Setter   Libero   Block   Wipe   Shoot   Tomahawk

Facts

1. Weightlifting was introduced as an individual sport at Paris 1924, and has featured at every Games since.
2. Competitors' bodyweights are used to break ties, with the lighter lifter winning out.
3. The first women's events were held at Sydney 2000.

Tags:   Press out   No Lift   Squat   Hooking

Facts

1. Greco-Roman Wrestling was an event at the first modern Games in Athens 1896.
2. Women were able to compete at Athens 2004.
3. Before point scoring was introduced, matches continued until one wrestler was finally forced to the ground. At Stockholm 1912, Russia's Max Klein and Finland's Alfred Asikainen set an Olympic Games record with a match that lasted 11 hours.

Tags:   Press out   No Lift   Squat   Hooking