Croquet to Racquets: Unique Olympic Sports Quiz

Answer: Men's all-around

This event was held on July 4 at Francis Field. Though six of the seven athletes were from the United States, Tom Kiely of the United Kingdom won the gold medal. The events were the 100 yard dash, shot put, high jump, 880 yard walk, hammer throw, pole vault, 120 yard hurdles, 56 pound hammer throw, long jump, and one mile run.

Interesting the all-around was classed with the gymnastic events at the time, rather than the athletic events.

Answer: Water motorsports

Water motorsports was an event at the 1900 Olympics but it was later considered unofficial. All three water motorsport events (August 28-29) featured five laps around an eight nautical mile course. The difference was the size of the craft: open, under 60 feet, and 6.5-8 meters. 17 competitors were involved: 13 from the United Kingdom and 4 from France. Emile Thurbon of France won the gold for the open class and four man teams from the UK won each of the other two.

In each case, the gold medal winner(s) had the only craft to complete the race.

Answer: Racquets

This event was held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club from April 27-May 1. Seven British athletes competed in singles and doubles competition. Racquets (or Rackets) would later evolve into racquetball. Interestingly, Evan Noel and Henry Leaf, who were, respectively the gold and silver medal winners for the singles competition, as a team won the bronze medal for the doubles competition.

Answer: Singlestick

Singlestick, sometimes also called cudgels, is a fencing variant where the competitor uses a wooden stick. Apart from that, the rules are very similar to standard fencing rules. This event was held on September 8 at Francis Gymnasium. Albertson Van Zo Post, who won the gold medal, is sometimes listed as coming from Cuba.

Answer: Two-handed shot put

This event occurred at Stockholm Olympic Stadium on July 11 with seven athletes from five nations. In this event, each athlete would put the shot three times with his right hand and three times with his left hand. The best distance with each hand would be added to form a total score.

The three finalists repeated this procedure. Ralph Rose of the United States won the gold medal with a total distance of 27.70 meters.

Answer: Croquet

Croquet was held at Bois de Boulogne, a public park in Paris. A total of 10 competitors, all from France, were involved. (The competitions was open, however, to amateurs from all nations.) The three competitions were doubles (June 28), singles with one croquet ball (July 4), and singles with two croquet balls (July 11).

A variant of croquet called roque was played at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Compared to croquet, roque is played on a harder surface that has a border wall, allowing banked shots.

Answer: 1/4 mile cycling race

The races were held on August 3 on the track of Francis Field at Washington University. All 11 competitors in the 1/4 mile race were from the United States, with Marcus Hurley winning the gold medal with a time of 31.8 seconds. There were four initial heats, from which the top two finishers were chosen for one of two semifinals, from which, again, the top finishers were chosen from each for the final race. Cycling races of 1/3 mile, 1/2 mile, 1 mile, 2 miles, 5 miles, and 25 miles were also held at the 1904 Olympics, the only time in the 20th century.

Answer: Men's Sailors 100 meter freestyle swim

This event was only open to members of the Greek Royal Navy. 11 sailors entered but only three competed (April 11). The three competitors are considered to have won gold, silver, and bronze. Ioannis Malokinis won the race with a time of 2:20.4. By comparison, Alfred Hajos of Hungary won the open 100 meter frestyle swim with a time of 1:22.2. Both events were held in the Bay of Zea, located near Athens.

Answer: Jeu de paume

A variant of jeu de paume (real tennis) appeared at the 1900 Olympics as an outdoor exhibition sport. Jeu de paume was played from May 18-23 at Queen's Club. Of the 11 athletes competing, nine were from the United Kingdom and two from the United States. Jay Gould of the United States won the gold medal. In the records, tennis was described in 1908 as "lawn tennis".

Answer: Cricket

Cricket was played at the Vélodrome de Vincennes on August 19-20. 12-man teams representing France and the United Kingdom competed in the only match, with the UK winning in a decisive victory. There is a suggestion that cricket was played in Athens in 1896, but as an exhibition match and not official competition.