Contents
The Summer Olympics are a major international multi-sport event held every four years. This blog will give you all the information on what events are in the Summer Olympics.
Checkout this video:
Introduction
The Summer Olympics are an international sporting event that is held every four years. The games are comprised of a variety of different sports, with each sport having its own set of events. Some of the more popular sports in the Summer Olympics include track and field, swimming, gymnastics, and basketball.
Swimming
The swimming program for the 2016 Olympics featured a total of 34 events, evenly split between the sexes. There were 17 events each for men and women, including two mixed-sex events. Events were held in a 50-meter pool (Olympic-sized), with competitions taking place in both freestyle and backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley.
Diving
Diving has been an Olympic sport since the 1904 Summer Olympics. It is one of four Olympic sports which involve motor skills (the others being athletics, gymnastics, and swimming).
There are five competitions in diving: 1m and 3m springboard, and 10m platform. In all cases, divers compete in both a preliminary round and a final. The dives are either executed standing on the edge of the pool (platform), or from a springboard which is positioned at either end of the pool.
Both men and women compete in all five events, with each gender having separate competitions. Mixed gender events were first introduced at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Water Polo
Water polo was introduced as a men’s Olympic sport in 1900. Women’s water polo became an Olympic sport in 2000. The sport is usually played in a swimming pool with teams of seven players (six field players and one goalkeeper). The game consists of four eight-minute quarters.
Water polo is a physically demanding sport, as players must tread water throughout the game. Because of this, water polo players have some of the highest VO2max levels of any athlete.
The object of the game is to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team’s net. Players can only touch the ball with one hand at a time, and they can only hold on to the ball for three seconds before they must pass or shoot. Players can only shoot when they are outside of the five-meter line (called the “shooting zone”).
Synchronized Swimming
Synchronized swimming first appeared as a demonstration event at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. It was then included as a full medal sport at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
There are two events in synchronized swimming–the duet and the team competition. In both events, the swimmers perform a required routine and a free routine. The free routine must be performed to music and is worth 50% of the final score, while the required routine is worth the other 50%.
There are eight synchronized swimming events contested at the Summer Olympics: four for duets and four for teams.
Track and Field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests in running, jumping and throwing. The name is derived from the sport’s typical venue: a running track and a grass field for the throwing and jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running and race walking.
The summer Olympic Games have included track and field events since the first modern Olympiad in 1896. Women’s track and field events were added to the Olympics in 1928.
Today, there are 42 different events in the Olympic program for track and field, divided evenly between men’s and women’s competitions. These events fall into four broad categories: sprints, middle-distance races, long-distance races and relays.
Basketball
Basketball will be one of the sports featured in the upcoming Summer Olympics. Here is a list of other sports that will be included in the games:
-Archery
-Badminton
-Baseball/Softball
-Basketball
-Beach Volleyball
-Boxing
-Canoeing/Kayaking
-Cycling
-Diving
-Equestrian
-Fencing
-Field Hockey
-Gymnastics
-Judo
-Modern Pentathlon
-Rowing
-(Sailing)
-(Shooting) Soccer Swimming Table Tennis Taekwondo Tennis Track & Field Triathlon Volleyball Water Polo Weightlifting Wrestling
Soccer
Soccer has been an Olympic sport since the 1900 Summer Olympics. Men’s soccer was included in the first Olympiad, while women’s soccer was added to the program in 1996.
Soccer at the Summer Olympics is usually held every four years, coinciding with the FIFA World Cup. However, there were no soccer tournaments held in 1916, 1940 or 1944 due to World War I and World War II.
In recent years, the sport has been dominated by European and South American nations. Brazil is the most successful nation in Olympic soccer history, having won five gold medals and three silver medals. Italy and Germany have each won three gold medals, while France has won two gold medals.
Gymnastics
Gymnastics has been a part of the Olympic Games since the very first summer Olympics in 1896. Gymnastics was originally only for men, but women were allowed to compete starting in 1928. Gymnastics is divided into three main categories: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline.
There are multiple events within each category. Artistic gymnastics is further split up into disciplines like floor exercise, vault, beam, and bars. Rhythmic gymnastics includes events like individual all-around, rope, hoop, ball, and ribbon. Trampoline features disciplines such as individual and synchronized trampoline.
Some of the most popular Olympic gymnasts include Mary Lou Retton, Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, Kerri Strug, Paul Hamm, and Simone Biles. Gymnasts must have strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and endurance to be successful. If you’re interested in getting into gymnastics or just want to learn more about this sport, check out our articles on how to get started in gymnastics or the different types of gymnastics.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many different types of events that are held during the Summer Olympics. Some of these events are more popular than others, but all of them require a great deal of skill and training. If you are interested in watching the Olympics, be sure to check out all of the different events that will be taking place.
