If you think some of the sports being contested at the Paris Olympics are a little unusual, you might be even more surprised by some of the codes that have been previously held at the quadrennial Games.
Looking back, the Olympic programme has featured some interesting disciplines, including tug of war, pigeon shooting and obstacle swimming.
None of these sports are still contested at the Games, but even some existing codes have been questioned in terms of why they are included on the greatest sporting stage of them all.
As much as you might not be used to watching competitive dressage or dancing, however, all codes in the programme have to tick a long list of boxes and must be voted in.
Criteria requiredTo be approved, sports must comply with the Olympic Charter and the World Anti-Doping Code, and they must receive enoughvotes from the member federations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which takes various things into account. These include the sports global appeal, how long it has existed and how popular it is in the host country, among other factors.
