Worst Sport/Event in the 2024 Olympics - submissions

[BoyBrumby]

Anything scored by a judge. I include Boxing

Definitely agree with the principle, but, being a bit of a fan of the old pugilism, my work-around is that a fighter can win without recourse to judges.

All the rhythmic gymnastics, synchronised swimming, diving and breakdancing of the world can do one though.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

The 1500m in the Decathlon is hilarious because of how ill-suited the athletes are for it. Every other event in the Decathlon calls for power, then you've got one completely wildcard event.

Haha. Good point. Looking at the 2016 1500m decathlon, I wouldn't have finished last if I'd run my PB from back in my younger days. That's pretty funny!

 

[Molehill]

Any 'sport' that requires a judge, and I include Boxing in that which has already had its share of controversy inside the first 2 days.

Any sport which does not have the Olympics as its premier event, so football, golf, tennis etc can **** off.

Any sport for which Australia wins 90% of its medals in, so see ya later swimming.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

I watched some skateboarding yesterday and they took off, jumped on a stair railing, fell off, hit the ground and some scores popped up.

I don’t mind skateboarding as a sport at all, but this particular event was dire AF. When it started I thought if you had a fall then you were out, which is why the competitors just stopped. But then someone landed their trick and they stopped too.

wtf? There’s a whole course there in front of them. Get into it ffs.

Agree with this one. I like the skateboarding version where they have a set amount of time to go around the track and do a bunch of stuff. The "best trick" part where they take turns to attempt one thing each then stop is pretty dire.

 

[Coronis]

They should open the floodgates to more sports. The stranger the better. Artistic screaming. Full frontal speed skating. Sledgehammer fencing. Jousting.

Woodchopping. Slapping.

 

[Ali TT]

While I get the "anything scored by a judge" point, it's not like the subjective decisions of umpires, referees and officials in sports like football, rugby, cricket, basketball and hockey aren't still hugely influential in match outcomes, although at least tech is reducing their influence nowadays.

 

[GIMH]

While I get the "anything scored by a judge" point, it's not like the subjective decisions of umpires, referees and officials in sports like football, rugby, cricket, basketball and hockey aren't still hugely influential in match outcomes, although at least tech is reducing their influence nowadays.

Clearly different though. It’s not analogous.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Clearly different though. It’s not analogous.

Yeah, oceans of water between "officiating" and "scoring".

 

[Ali TT]

And yet we spend so much time moaning about refs...

 

[Molehill]

Yeah, oceans of water between "officiating" and "scoring".

Yep, a corrupt football ref is going to have trouble overturning a 3-0 scoreline. Yet, it seems that's exactly what happened in a boxing bout on Saturday.

 

[BoyBrumby]

And yet we spend so much time moaning about refs...

Only when they make a mistake (or, tbh, give the correct shout) that penalises one's team of choice though.

 

[Line and Length]

Synchronised swimming, Walking, Rhythmic gymnastics and Dressage all leave me cold.

I also see no point in having golf and tennis as the Majors and Grand Slams have far more prestige.

Finally, I find it the number of medals that swimmers can win (individual, team, medley and different styles) compared with those that a top athlete can win (sprinters are different to middle distance and marathon and individuals winning in both Track and Field are very rare) is out of proportion.

 

[Burgey]

Only when they make a mistake (or, tbh, give the correct shout) that penalises one's team of choice though.

Indeed. And there's another contest in those sports within seconds or, in the case of cricket, a minute or two.

 

[Coronis]

Synchronised swimming, Walking, Rhythmic gymnastics and Dressage all leave me cold.

I also see no point in having golf and tennis as the Majors and Grand Slams have far more prestige.

Finally, I find it the number of medals that swimmers can win (individual, team, medley and different styles) compared with those that a top athlete can win (sprinters are different to middle distance and marathon and individuals winning in both Track and Field are very rare) is out of proportion.

I mean, its not their fault they’re more versatile within their disciplines than the track and field athletes.

 

[Spark]

I watched some skateboarding yesterday and they took off, jumped on a stair railing, fell off, hit the ground and some scores popped up.

I don’t mind skateboarding as a sport at all, but this particular event was dire AF. When it started I thought if you had a fall then you were out, which is why the competitors just stopped. But then someone landed their trick and they stopped too.

wtf? There’s a whole course there in front of them. Get into it ffs.

Yeah I thought it would be like half pipe snowboarding, but it's way less interesting or impressive from what I've seen.

 

[shortpitched713]

Racewalking and any non freestyle swimming event, are absolutely superfluous. Handicapping oneself while trying to go fast is not a truly competitive attempt to try to go fast.

 

[Furball]

I mean, its not their fault they’re more versatile within their disciplines than the track and field athletes.

It's got nothing to do with versatility when it comes to track and field, sprinting, middle distance and long distance are so different that you can't train effectively for more than 1 discipline.

Same with field events, they're all fairly specialist. The only one I can think of that has any sort of crossover is the long jump with 100m sprinting, and I'm not sure there's been anyone since Carl Lewis who's been world class at both.

 

[Burgey]

Apart from myself. I think that’s probably right

 

[Bahnz]

Look, it's pretty clear to me that rowing, sailing and the horse stuff are the worst **** here. I don't think it's even worthy of discussion tbh. Rowing in particular ****s me.

some reading:

What are the worst Olympic sports? I’d scrap these 9 in a heartbeat

There are far too many sports in the Olympics, so, I feel these have had their time.

www.theboltonnews.co.uk

Every sport at the Paris Olympics, ranked from least to most fun to watch

Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.

thespinoff.co.nz

Me watching rowing in a year when we have no stand out gold medal prospects.

 

[Coronis]

Eh I love rowing