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The Summer Olympics are just around the corner! Check out which sports will be featured in this year’s games.
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Track and Field
Track and field is a sport that includes running, jumping, and throwing events. The summer Olympics features a variety of track and field events, including the following:
-100 meter dash
-200 meter dash
-400 meter dash
-800 meter run
-1500 meter run
-5000 meter run
-10,000 meter run
-Marathon
-110 meter hurdles
-400 meter hurdles
-3000 meter steeplechase
Gymnastics
Gymnastics are a set of physical activities that require balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and endurance. The most common types of gymnastics performed in the Summer Olympics are artistic gymnastics, which include individual and team events on various apparatus, such as the floor, beam, uneven bars, and vault. Rhythmic gymnastics are also included in the Summer Olympics program, although this discipline is performed by individuals or teams with ribbons, hoops, balls, ropes, or clubs instead of apparatus.
Swimming
Of the 33 sports contested at the Summer Olympics, swimming is one of the most popular. It has been a part of the Games since 1896 and features a wide variety of events, from sprints to long-distance races.
There are four different strokes used in Olympic swimming: freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke. Freestyle is by far the most common, and it is used in all events except for the breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke individually. These three strokes are also used in medley events.
Swimming is often considered one of the best ways to stay fit and healthy, as it works all major muscle groups and is suitable for people of all ages and abilities.
Diving
Diving has been a part of the Summer Olympics since the 1904 games in St. Louis, Missouri. Originally, jumping off of platforms was the only events held, but now there are three disciplines in diving: springboard, platform and synchronized. In all three disciplines, both men and women compete.
There are two types of springboard dives: forward dives and backward dives. In a forward dive, the diver leaps off the board facing forward and executes a somersault or twists before entering the water. A diver does a backward dive by jumping off the board backward and then performing flips or twists before hitting the water.
The platform event takes place on either a 10-meter high (for men) or 7.5-meter high (for women) platform. Divers can perform either a forward dive or a backward dive from the platform in this event as well. The platform synchronized event is similar to regular platform diving except that two divers perform their dives at the same time.
In all Olympic diving events, each diver performs five compulsory dives before moving on to optional dives. The judges give each dive a score between 0 and 10 based on its degree of difficulty, Execution and entry into the water. The divers with the highest scores after all five compulsory and three optional dives win medals in each event!
Boxing
Boxing has been an Olympic sport since the early 1900s. It is open to both men and women and is divided into four weight categories: light flyweight, flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight. There are three rounds in each bout, and the winner is determined by either a points decision or a knockout.
Fencing
The sport of fencing is one of the oldest sports in the world, with origins dating back to ancient Greece. Fencing was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, and has been a part of every Summer Olympics since then.
Fencing is a sport that involves two opponents battling it out with swords. There are three different types of swords used in fencing – the foil, the epee, and the saber. Foil and epee are both thrusting weapons, while the saber is a slashing weapon.
Fencers score points by making contact with their opponent’s target area – either the torso for foil and epee, or the entire body for saber. The first fencer to score 15 points wins the match. If both fencers manage to score 15 points, then the match goes into sudden death mode, where the first fencer to score a point wins.
Fencing is categorized as an individual sport, meaning that there are no team competitions at the Olympics. However, there is a team event at the world championships.
Judo
Judo became an Olympic sport for men in 1964 and for women in 1988. It is widely practiced today by people of all ages around the world. The object of the game is to either throw or takedown an opponent to the ground, immobilize or subdue an opponent with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke.
Wrestling
Wrestling has been a part of the Summer Olympics since the inaugural games in 708 BC. It was, however, dropped from the program after the 7th century AD until it was reinstated in 96 BC. Today, there are two different types of wrestling that are contested at the Summer Olympics: freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Freestyle wrestling is the more common of the two disciplines and is practiced in almost all countries that have an organized wrestling program. The object of the sport is to throw or takedown one’s opponent to the mat, pinning them for a certain amount of time. There are three different weight classes for men (lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight) and four for women (lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, and heavyweight).
Greco-Roman wrestling is similar to freestyle wrestling, but with one major difference: athletes are not allowed to use their legs to take down their opponents. This makes it a very strenuous sport that relies heavily on upper body strength. Like freestyle wrestling, there are also three weight classes for men and four for women.
Weightlifting
Weightlifting is a sport that involves lifting weights. The two types of weightlifting events are the snatch and the clean and jerk. In the snatch, the weightlifter lifts the weight from the ground to above their head in one movement. In the clean and jerk, the weightlifter first cleans the weight from the ground to their shoulders, and then jerks it overhead.
Canoeing/Kayaking
Canoeing and kayaking are two sports that are often grouped together because they both involve propelling a small boat through the water using a paddle. Canoeing is done in boats that seat one or two people, while kayaking is done in boats that seat one person.
These two sports are both included in the Summer Olympics, and there are several different events that athletes can compete in. In canoeing, there are sprint events as well as slalom events, while in kayaking there are sprint and whitewater events.
