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Archery competition held during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. Dropped from the
Olympic program after the 1920 Antwerp games, it was reinstated in 1972.
Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games.
The 2016 Summer Olympics included 28 sports, with five additional sports due to be
added to the 2020 Summer Olympics program (which was postponed to at least 2021 due
to the COVID-19 pandemic);[1] the 2014 Winter Olympics included seven sports.[2]
The number and types of events may change slightly from one Olympiad to another.
Each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing body, namely an
International Federation (IF).[3] The International Olympic Committee (IOC)
establishes a hierarchy of sports, disciplines, and events.[3] According to this
hierarchy, each Olympic sport can be subdivided into multiple disciplines, which
are often mistaken as distinct sports. Examples include swimming and water polo,
which are in fact disciplines of the sport of aquatics (represented by the
International Swimming Federation),[4] and figure skating and speed skating, which
are both disciplines of the sport of ice skating (represented by the International
Skating Union).[5] In turn, disciplines are subdivided into events, for which
Olympic medals are awarded.[3] A sport or discipline is included in the Olympic
program if the IOC determines it to be widely practiced around the world, that is,
the popularity of a given sport or discipline is indicated by the number of
countries that compete in it. The IOC's requirements also reflect participation in
the Olympic Games – more stringent conditions are applied to men's
sports/disciplines (as men are represented at the Games in higher numbers than
women) and to summer sports/disciplines (as more nations compete in the Summer
Olympics than in the Winter Olympics).

Previous Olympic Games included sports that are no longer included in the current
program, such as polo and tug of war.[6] Known as "discontinued sports", these have
been removed due to either a lack of interest or the absence of an appropriate
governing body for the sport.[3] Some sports that were competed at the early Games
and later dropped by the IOC, have managed to return to the Olympic program, for
example Archery, which made a comeback in 1972, and tennis, which was reintroduced
in 1988. The Olympics have often included one or more demonstration sports,
normally to promote a local sport from the host country or to gauge interest in an
entirely new sport.[7] Some such sports, like baseball and curling, were added to
the official Olympic program (in 1992 and 1998, respectively). Baseball was
discontinued after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, only to be revived again for the
forthcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which will see the introduction of new
disciplines within a number of existing Summer Olympics sports as well as several
new sports, such as karate and skateboarding, making their Olympic debuts.
Contents
1 Olympic sports definitions
2 Changes in Olympic sports
2.1 Changes since 2000
3 Summer Olympics
3.1 Current and discontinued summer program
3.2 Demonstration summer sports
3.3 Classification of Olympic sports for revenue share
4 Winter Olympics
4.1 Current winter program
4.2 Demonstration winter sports
5 Recognized international federations
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Olympic sports definitions

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
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The term "sport" in Olympic terminology refers to all events sanctioned by an
international sport federation, a definition that may differ from the common
meaning of the word "sport". One sport, by Olympic definition, may comprise several
disciplines, which would often be regarded as separate sports in common usage.

For example, aquatics is a summer Olympic sport that includes six disciplines:
swimming, synchronized swimming, diving, water polo, open water swimming, and high
diving (the last of which is a non-Olympic discipline), since all these disciplines
are governed at international level by the International Swimming Federation.[2]
Skating is a winter Olympic sport represented by the International Skating Union,
and includes four disciplines: figure skating, speed skating (on a traditional long
track), short track speed skating, and synchronized skating (the latter is a non-
Olympic discipline).[2] The sport with the largest number of Olympic disciplines is
skiing, with six: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, nordic
combined, snowboarding, and freestyle skiing.

Other notable multi-discipline sports are gymnastics (artistic, rhythmic, and

trampoline), cycling (road, track, mountain, and BMX), volleyball (indoors and
beach), wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman), canoeing (flatwater and slalom), and
bobsleigh (includes skeleton). The disciplines listed here are only those contested
in the Olympics—gymnastics has two non-Olympic disciplines, while cycling and
wrestling have three each.

The IOC definition of a "discipline" may differ from that used by an international
federation. For example, the IOC considers artistic gymnastics a single discipline,
but the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) classifies men's and women's
artistic gymnastics as separate disciplines.[8] Similarly, the IOC considers
freestyle wrestling to be a single discipline, but United World Wrestling uses
"freestyle wrestling" strictly for the men's version, classifying women's freestyle
wrestling as the separate discipline of "female wrestling".[9]

On some occasions, notably in the case of snowboarding, the IOC agreed to add a
sport that previously had a separate international federation to the Olympics on
condition that they dissolve their governing body and instead affiliate with an
existing Olympic sport federation, therefore not increasing the number of Olympic
sports.

An event, by IOC definition, is a competition that leads to the award of medals.

Therefore, the sport of aquatics includes a total of 46 Olympic events, of which 32
are in the discipline of swimming, eight in diving, and two each in synchronized
swimming, water polo, and open water swimming. The number of events per sport
ranges from a minimum of two (until 2008, there were sports with only one event) to
a maximum of 47 in athletics, which despite its large number of events and its
diversity is not divided into disciplines except on an informal basis - the
division between, for example, swimming and diving in aquatics is not replicated
within athletics by divisions between track and field events, or stadium and road
events.

Changes in Olympic sports

Curling was promoted to official Olympic sport at the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics.
The list of Olympic sports has changed considerably during the course of Olympic
history, and has gradually increased until the early 2000s, when the IOC decided to
cap the number of sports in the Summer Olympics at 28.

The only summer sports that have never been absent from the Olympic program are
athletics, aquatics (the discipline of swimming has been in every Olympics),
cycling, fencing, and gymnastics (the discipline of artistic gymnastics has been in
every Olympics).

The only winter sports that were included in all Winter Olympic Games are skiing
(only nordic skiing), skating (figure skating and speed skating), and ice hockey.
Figure skating and ice hockey were also included in the Summer Olympics before the
Winter Olympics were introduced in 1924.

For most of the 20th century, demonstration sports were included in many Olympic
Games, usually to promote a non-Olympic sport popular in the host country, or to
gauge interest and support for the sport.[7] The competitions and ceremonies in
these sports were identical to official Olympic sports, except that the medals were
not counted in the official record. Some demonstration sports, like baseball and
curling, were later added to the official Olympic program. This changed when the
International Olympic Committee decided in 1989 to eliminate demonstration sports
from Olympics Games after 1992.[10] An exception was made in 2008, when the Beijing
Organizing Committee received permission to organize a wushu tournament.[11][12]

A sport or discipline may be included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines
that it is widely practiced around the world, that is, the number of countries and
continents that regularly compete in a given sport is the indicator of the sport's
prevalence. The requirements for winter sports are considerably lower than for
summer sports since many fewer nations compete in winter sports. The IOC also has
lower requirements for inclusion of sports and disciplines for women for the same
reason. Women are still barred from several disciplines; but on the other hand,
there are women-only disciplines, such as rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized
swimming.

Sports that depend primarily on mechanical propulsion, such as motor sports, may
not be considered for recognition as Olympic sports, though there were power-
boating events in the early days of the Olympics before this rule was enacted by
the IOC.[3][13] Part of the story of the founding of aviation sports' international
governing body, the FAI, originated from an IOC meeting in Brussels, Belgium on
June 10, 1905.[14]

These criteria are only a threshold for consideration as Olympic sport. In order to
be admitted to the Olympic program, the IOC Session has to approve its inclusion.
There are many sports that easily make the required numbers but are not recognized
as Olympic sports, mainly because the IOC has decided to put a limit on the number
of sports, as well as events and athletes, in the Summer Olympics in order not to
increase them from the 28 sports, 300 events, and 10,000 athletes of the 2000
Summer Olympics.

No such limits exist in the Winter Olympics and the number of events and athletes
continue to increase, but no sport has been added since 1998. The latest winter
sport added to the Winter Olympics was curling in 1998.

Previous Olympic Games included sports which are no longer present on the current
program, like polo and tug of war.[2] In the early days of the modern Olympics, the
organizers were able to decide which sports or disciplines were included on the
program, until the IOC took control of the program in 1924. As a result, a number
of sports were on the Olympic program for relatively brief periods before 1924.[3]
These sports, known as discontinued sports, were removed because of lack of
interest or absence of an appropriate governing body, or because they became fully
professional at the time that the Olympic Games were strictly for amateurs, as in
the case of tennis.[3] Several discontinued sports, such as archery and tennis,
were later readmitted to the Olympic program (in 1972 and 1984, respectively).
Curling, which was an official sport in 1924 and then discontinued, was reinstated
as Olympic sport in 1998.

The Olympic Charter decrees that Olympic sports for each edition of the Olympic
Games should be decided at an IOC Session no later than seven years prior to the
Games.

Changes since 2000

The only sports that have been dropped from the Olympics since 1936 are baseball
and softball, which were both voted out by the IOC Session in Singapore on July 11,
2005,[15] a decision that was reaffirmed on February 9, 2006,[16] and reversed on
August 3, 2016.[17] These sports were last included in 2008, although officially
they remain recognized in the Olympic Charter as a single sport, since both are now
governed internationally by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Therefore,
the number of sports in the 2012 Summer Olympics was dropped from 28 to 26.

Following the addition of women's boxing in 2012, and women's ski jumping in 2014,
there are only Greco-Roman wrestling and nordic combined, respectively, that are
only for men in those games.

Two previously discontinued sports, golf and rugby, returned for the 2016 Summer
Olympics. On August 13, 2009, the IOC Executive Board proposed that golf and rugby
sevens be added to the Olympic program for the 2016 Games.[18] On 9 October 2009,
during the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen, the IOC voted to admit both sports as
official Olympic sports and to include them in the 2016 Summer Olympics.[19] The
IOC voted 81–8 in favor of including rugby sevens and 63–27 in favor of reinstating
golf, thus bringing the number of sports back to 28.[19]

In February 2013, the IOC considered dropping a sport from the 2020 Summer Olympics
to make way for a new sport. Modern pentathlon and taekwondo were thought to be
vulnerable, but instead the IOC recommended dismissing wrestling.[20] On September
8, 2013, the IOC added wrestling to the 2020 and 2024 Summer Games.[21]

On August 3, 2016, the IOC voted to add baseball/softball, karate, sport climbing,
surfing, and skateboarding for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[17]

Summer Olympics

Volleyball has been part of the Summer Olympics since 1964.

At the first Olympic Games, nine sports were contested.[22] Since then, the number
of sports contested at the Summer Olympic Games has gradually risen to twenty-eight
on the program for 2000–2008. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, however, the number of
sports fell back to twenty-six following an IOC decision in 2005 to remove baseball
and softball from the Olympic program. These sports retain their status as Olympic
sports with the possibility of a return to the Olympic program in future games.[15]
At the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen on 9 October 2009, the IOC voted to
reinstate both golf and rugby to the Olympic program, meaning that the number of
sports to be contested in 2016 was once again 28.[23]

In order for a sport or discipline to be considered for inclusion in the list of

Summer Olympics sports, it must be widely practiced in at least 75 countries,
spread over four continents.

Current and discontinued summer program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current and
discontinued Summer Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically
according to the name used by the IOC. The discontinued sports were previously part
of the Summer Olympic Games program as official sports, but are no longer on the
current program. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each
sport contested at the respective Games; a bullet (•) denotes that the sport was
contested as a demonstration sport.

Eight of the 34 sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same
sport are grouped under the same color:

Aquatics – Basketball – Canoeing/Kayaking – Cycling – Gymnastics –

Volleyball – Equestrian – Wrestling

Sport (Discipline) Body 96 00 04 06 08 12 20 24 28

32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88
92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20

Current summer sports

Diving Diving pictogram.svg FINA 2 1 2 4 5

5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
4 4 4 4 8 8 8 8 8 8
Marathon swimming Open water swimming pictogram.svg

2 2 2 2
Swimming Swimming pictogram.svg 4 7 9 4 6 9 10 11
11 11 11 11 11 13 15 18 29 29 26 26 29
31 31 32 32 32 32 32 32 35
Synchronized swimming Synchronized swimming pictogram.svg

2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2
Water polo Water polo pictogram.svg 1 • 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2

3-on-3 basketball 3-on-3 basketball pictogram.svg FIBA

2
Basketball Basketball pictogram.svg •
• 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Canoe/kayak (sprint) Canoeing (flatwater) pictogram.svg ICF

• 9 9 9 9 7 7 7
7 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
Canoe/kayak (slalom) Canoeing (slalom) pictogram.svg
 4
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

BMX freestyle BMX freestyle pictogram.svg UCI

2
BMX racing Cycling (BMX) pictogram.svg

2 2 2 2
Mountain biking Cycling (mountain biking) pictogram.svg

2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Road cycling Cycling (road) pictogram.svg 1 1 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Track cycling Cycling (track) pictogram.svg 5 2 7 5 7
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 4
4 5 6 7 8 12 12 10 10 10 12

Artistic Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg FIG 8 1 11 4 2

4 4 9 8 11 9 9 15 15 14 14 14 14
14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
Rhythmic Gymnastics (rhythmic) pictogram.svg

1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Trampoline Gymnastics (trampoline) pictogram.svg

2 2 2 2 2 2

Volleyball (beach) Volleyball (beach) pictogram.svg FIVB

• 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Volleyball (indoor) Volleyball (indoor) pictogram.svg
• 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Equestrian / Dressage Equestrian Dressage pictogram.svg FEI

1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Equestrian / Eventing Equestrian Eventing pictogram.svg
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Equestrian / Jumping Equestrian Jumping pictogram.svg 3
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Freestyle wrestling Wrestling Freestyle pictogram.svg UWW 7

5 5 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 11 11 11 12 12
Greco-Roman wrestling Wrestling pictogram.svg 1 4 4 5
5 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10
10 10 10 10 10 8 7 7 7 6 6

Baseball Baseball pictogram.svg WBSC[s 1] •

• • • •
• • 1 1 1 1 1 1
Softball Softball pictogram.svg

1 1 1 1 1
Archery Archery pictogram.svg WA 6 6 3 10
2 2 2 2
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5
Athletics Athletics pictogram.svg WA 12 23 25 21 26 30 29
27 27 29 29 33 33 33 34 36 36 38 37 38
41 42 43 44 46 46 47 47 47 48
Badminton Badminton pictogram.svg BWF
•
• 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Boxing Boxing pictogram.svg AIBA 7 5 8
8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11
12 12 12 12 12 11 11 13 13 13
Fencing Fencing pictogram.svg FIE 3 7 5 8 4 5 6
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8
8 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 12
Field hockey Field hockey pictogram.svg FIH 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Football Football pictogram.svg FIFA 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Golf Golf pictogram.svg IGF 2 2

2 2
Handball Handball pictogram.svg IHF
1 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Judo Judo pictogram.svg IJF
4 6 6 8 8 7
14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15
Karate Karate icon.svg WKF

8
Modern pentathlon Modern pentathlon pictogram.svg UIPM
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2
Rowing Rowing pictogram.svg FISA 4 5 6 4 4 5
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 14 14
14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
Rugby sevens Rugby Sevens pictogram.svg WR

2 2
Sailing Sailing pictogram.svg ISAF 7 4 4 14
3 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6
7 8 10 10 11 11 11 10 10 10
Shooting Shooting pictogram.svg ISSF 5 9 16 15 18 21
10 2 3 4 7 7 6 6 7 8 7 7
11 13 13 15 17 17 15 15 15 15
Skateboarding Skateboarding pictogram.svg WS[s 2]

4
Sport climbing Climbing pictogram.svg IFSC

2
Surfing Surfing pictogram.svg ISA

2
Table tennis Table tennis pictogram.svg ITTF
 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5
Taekwondo Taekwondo pictogram.svg WT

• • 8 8 8 8 8 8
Tennis Tennis pictogram.svg ITF 2 4 2 4 6 8 5
5 •
• 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5
Triathlon Triathlon pictogram.svg ITU

2 2 2 2 2 3
Weightlifting Weightlifting pictogram.svg IWF 2 2 2
5 5 5 5 5 6 7 7 7 7 7 9 9
10 10 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 15 14

Discontinued summer sports

Equestrian / Vaulting EQ Vaulting pictogram.svg FEI

2

Handball / Field Handball Handball Field Handball pictogram.svg IHF

1 •

Rugby / Rugby union Rugby union pictogram.svg WR 1

1 1 1

Basque pelota Basque pelota pictogram.svg FIPV 1

• •
•
Cricket Cricket pictogram.svg ICC 1

Croquet Croquet pictogram.svg WCF 3

Lacrosse Lacrosse pictogram.svg FIL 1 1

• • •

Jeu de paume Jeu de paume pictogram.svg • 1

•

Polo Polo pictogram.svg FIP 1 1 1 1

1

Rackets Racquets pictogram.svg 2

Roque Roque pictogram.svg 1

Tug of war Tug of war pictogram.svg TWIF 1 1 1 1 1

1

Water motorsports Water motorsports pictogram.svg UIM •

3
Figure skating Figure skating pictogram.svg ISU 4
3 Rescheduled during winter games
Ice hockey Ice hockey pictogram.svg IIHF
1

Total events 43 85 94 78 110 102 156 126 109 117 129

136 149 151 150 163 172 195 198 203 221 237 257 271
300 301 302 302 306 339
Total Sports 10 21 17 14 25 18 29 23 20 20 25
23 23 23 23 25 24 28 27 27 29 31 34 37
40 40 42 40 42 50
Sport (Discipline) Body 96 00 04 06 08 12 20 24 28
32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88
92 96 00 04 08 12 16 20
The World Baseball Softball Confederation, which currently governs both baseball
and softball, was created by a 2013 merger of two former governing bodies—the
International Baseball Federation and the International Softball Federation, thus
at the Olympic games until 2012 baseball and softball were presented as two
different sports.
At the time skateboarding was announced as part of the 2020 Summer Games, the
sport was governed by the International Skateboarding Federation. That body merged
with Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports in September 2017 to form the
current World Skate.
Demonstration summer sports
Further information: Demonstration sport § Summer Olympics
The following sports or disciplines have been demonstrated at the Summer Olympic
Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic
program:

American football pictogram.svg American football (1932)

Australian football pictogram.svg Australian football (1956)
Ballooning pictogram.svg Ballooning (1900)
Bowling pictogram.svg Tenpin Bowling (1988)
Boules sports pictogram.svg Boules (1900)
Kendo pictogram.svg Kyuodo Archery pictogram.svg Sumo pictogram.svg Budō (1964)
Pesäpallo pictogram.svg Pesäpallo (1952)
Gaelic football pictogram.svg Gaelic football (1904)
Glima Wrestling pictogram.svg Glima (1912)
Gliding pictogram.svg Gliding (1936)
Hurling pictogram.svg Hurling (1904)
Kaatsen pictogram.svg Kaatsen (1928)
Korfball pictogram.svg Korfball (1920 and 1928)
Fencing pictogram.svg La canne (1924)
Lifesaving pictogram.svg Surf lifesaving (1900)
Jeu de paume pictogram.svg Longue paume (1900)
Motor sport (automobile) pictogram.svg Motor sport (boat) pictogram.svg Motor sport
(motorcycle) pictogram.svg Motorsport (1900)
Roller hockey pictogram.svg Roller hockey (1992)
Savate pictogram.svg Savate (1924)
Gymnastics (ling) pictogram.svg Swedish (Ling) gymnastics (1948)
Weightlifting pictogram.svg Weight training with dumbbells (1904)
Water skiing pictogram.svg Water skiing (1972)
Gliding was promoted from demonstration sport to an official Olympic sport in 1936
in time for the 1940 Summer Olympics, but the Games were cancelled due to the
outbreak of World War II.[24][25]

Tenpin bowling, demonstrated separately from the Olympics in 1936 in Germany

(alongside forms of ninepin bowling), but part of the demonstration sports at Seoul
in 1988, has been a regular medal sport of the World Games since 1981 and the Pan
American Games since 1991.

Classification of Olympic sports for revenue share

Summer Olympic sports are divided into categories based on popularity, gauged by:
television viewing figures (40%), Internet popularity (20%), public surveys (15%),
ticket requests (10%), press coverage (10%), and number of national federations
(5%). The category determines the share the sport's International Federation
receives of Olympic revenue.[26][27]

The current categories, as of 2013, are as follows, with the pre-2013

categorizations also being available.[28] Category A represents the most popular
sports; category E lists either the sports that are the least popular or that are
new to the Olympics (golf and rugby).

Category Sport
A athletics, aquatics, gymnastics
B cycling, tennis, basketball, football, volleyball
C archery, badminton, boxing, judo, rowing, shooting, table tennis,
weightlifting
D canoe/kayaking, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, handball, sailing,
taekwondo, triathlon, wrestling
E modern pentathlon, golf, rugby
Winter Olympics

Ice hockey was first introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and later transferred
to the Winter Games in 1924.
Before 1924, when the first Winter Olympic Games were celebrated, sports held on
ice, like figure skating and ice hockey, were held at the Summer Olympics.[29]
These two sports made their debuts at the 1908 and the 1920 Summer Olympics,
respectively, but were permanently integrated in the Winter Olympics program as of
the first edition. The International Winter Sports Week, later dubbed the I Olympic
Winter Games and retroactively recognized as such by the IOC, consisted of nine
sports. The number of sports contested at the Winter Olympics has since been
decreased to seven, comprising a total of fifteen disciplines.[30]

A sport or discipline must be widely practiced in at least 25 countries on three

continents in order to be included on the Winter Olympics program.[3]

Current winter program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current Winter Olympic
Games official program and are listed alphabetically, according to the name used by
the IOC. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport that
were contested at the respective Games (the red cells indicate that those sports
were held at the Summer Games); a bullet (•) denotes that the sport was contested
as a demonstration sport. On some occasions, both official medal events and
demonstration events were contested in the same sport at the same Games.

Three out of the seven sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the
same sport are grouped under the same color:

Skating – Skiing – Bobsleigh

Sport (Discipline) Body 08 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56

60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06
10 14 18

Figure skating Figure skating pictogram.svg ISU 4 3 3 3 3

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4
4 4 4 4 4 5 5
Speed skating Speed skating pictogram.svg 5 4 4 4 4
4 4 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 10
10 12 12 12 14
Short track speed skating Short track speed skating pictogram.svg
•
4 6 6 8 8 8 8 8

Ice hockey Ice hockey pictogram.svg IIHF 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2 2

Curling Curling pictogram.svg WCF 1 •

• • 2 2 2
2 2 3

Cross-country skiing Cross country skiing pictogram.svg FIS 2 2

2 3 3 4 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 8 8
10 10 10 12 12 12 12 12
Alpine skiing Alpine skiing pictogram.svg 2 6
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 10 10 10 10
10 10 10 10 11
Ski jumping Ski jumping pictogram.svg 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 4 4
Nordic combined Nordic combined pictogram.svg 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3 3
Freestyle skiing Freestyle skiing pictogram.svg
• 2 4 4
4 4 6 10 10
Snowboarding Snowboarding pictogram.svg
4 4
6 6 10 10

Biathlon Biathlon pictogram.svg IBU

1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 6 8 10
10 11 11

Luge Luge pictogram.svg FIL

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
4 4

Bobsleigh Bobsleigh pictogram.svg IBSF 1 1 2 2 2 2

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3
3 3 3 3
Skeleton Skeleton pictogram.svg 1 1
2 2 2
2 2

Discontinued winter sports

Biathlon / Military Patrol Military patrol pictogram.svg IBU 1 •

• •

Total events 16 14 14 17 22 22 24 27 34 35 35
37 38 39 46 57 61 68 78 84 86 98 102
Total Sports 9 8 7 8 9 8 8 8 10 10 10
10 10 10 10 12 12 14 15 15 15 15 15
The official website of the Olympic Movement designates men's military patrol at
the 1924 Games as an event within the sport of biathlon.[31][32] The Official
Report of the 1924 Games regards it as an event within the sport of skiing.[33][34]

Demonstration winter sports

Further information: Demonstration_sport § Winter_Olympics
The following sports have been demonstrated at the Winter Olympic Games for the
years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:

Bandy pictogram.svg Bandy (1952)

Alpine skiing - Paralympic pictogram.svg Disabled skiing (1984 and 1988)
Ice stock sport pictogram.svg Ice stock sport (1936, 1964)
Ski ballet pictogram.svg Ski ballet (acroski) (1988 and 1992)
Skijoring pictogram.svg Skijoring (1928)
Sled dog racing pictogram.svg Sled-dog racing (1932)
Speed skiing pictogram.svg Speed skiing (1992)
Winter pentathlon (all stages) pictogram.svg Winter pentathlon (1948)
Ice climbing was showcased at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, was on the non-
competition program at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games, and aims to become an
official competition sport.[35] Ski ballet was a demonstration event under the
scope of freestyle skiing. Disabled sports are now part of the Winter Paralympic
Games.

Recognized international federations

Tug of war was contested at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It was later dropped from the
Olympic program but remains a recognized sport.
Many sports are not recognized as Olympic sports although their governing bodies
are recognized by the IOC.[36] Such sports, if eligible under the terms of the
Olympic Charter, may apply for inclusion in the program of future Games, through a
recommendation by the IOC Olympic Programme Commission, followed by a decision of
the IOC Executive Board and a vote of the IOC Session. When Olympic demonstration
sports were allowed, a sport usually appeared as such before being officially
admitted.[7] An International Sport Federation (IF) is responsible for ensuring
that the sport's activities follow the Olympic Charter. When a sport is recognized
the IF become an official Olympic sport federation and can assemble with other
Olympic IFs in the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF,
for summer sports contested in the Olympic Games), Association of International
Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWS, for winter sports contested in the
Olympic Games) or Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations
(ARISF, for sports not contested in the Olympic Games).[2] A number of recognized
sports are included in the program of the World Games, a multi-sport event run by
the International World Games Association, an organization that operates under the
patronage of the IOC. Since the start of the World Games in 1981, a number of
sports, including badminton, taekwondo, and triathlon have subsequently been
incorporated into the Olympic program.

In 2020, the IOC altered the way it plans the Olympic Games from one based around a
maximum number of sports, to taking total events into account, opening the schedule
up for the inclusion on a Games by Games basis of additional sports to the 25
"core" sports. For the 2020 Summer Olympics, the local organizing committee was
thus permitted to add a total of five sports to the programme in addition to the
existing 28, taking the total to 33.[17][37]

The governing bodies of the following sports, though not contested in the Olympic
Games, are recognized by the IOC:[38]

Paragliding pictogram.svg Air sports1,3

American football pictogram.svg American football[39]
F1 pictogram.svg Auto racing3
Bandy pictogram.svg Bandy
Baseball pictogram.svg Baseball and Softball1,2,4,5
Cue sports pictogram.svg Billiard sports1
Boules sports pictogram.svg Boules1
Bowling pictogram.svg Bowling1
Contract bridge pictogram.svg Bridge
Cheerleading pictogram converted.svg Cheerleading
Chess pictogram.svg Chess
Cricket pictogram.svg Cricket2
DanceSport pictogram.svg Dancesport1
Floorball pictogram.svg Floorball1
Ice stock sport pictogram.svg Ice stock sport
Karate pictogram.svg Karate1,5
Kickboxing pictogram.svg Kickboxing1
Korfball pictogram.svg Korfball1
Lacrosse pictogram.svg Lacrosse1
Lifesaving pictogram.jpg Lifesaving1
Motor cycle pictogram.svg Motorcycle racing3
Mountaineering pictogram (2).svg Mountaineering and Climbing
Muay pictogram.svg Muay Thai1
Netball pictogram.svg Netball
Orienteering pictogram.svg Orienteering1
Basque pelota pictogram.svg Pelota Vasca
Polo pictogram.svg Polo2
Motor sport (boat) pictogram.svg Powerboating3
Racquets pictogram.svg Racquetball1
Skating pictogram.svg Roller sports1, 6
Sambo pictogram.svg Sambo
Ski mountaineering pictogram.svg Ski mountaineering
Sport climbing pictogram.svg Sport climbing1, 5
Squash pictogram.svg Squash1
Sumo pictogram.svg Sumo1
Surfing pictogram.svg Surfing5
Tug of war pictogram.svg Tug of war1,2
Finswimming pictogram.svg Underwater sports1
Ultimate pictogram.svg Ultimate (Flying disc)1 [40]
Water skiing pictogram.svg Water skiing1, 3
Wushu pictogram.svg Wushu

1 Official sport at the World Games

2 Discontinued Olympic sport
3 Ineligible to be included because the Olympic Charter bans sports with
motorization elements
4 The governing bodies for baseball and softball merged into a single international
federation in 2013.
5 Included at the 2020 Summer Olympics
6 Skateboarding, now a discipline within roller sports, is Included at the 2020
Summer Olympics.

See also
Association of Summer Olympic International Federations
Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations
Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations
References
"Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020
Organising Committee". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
"Olympic Sports". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
"Olympic Sports, Disciplines & Events". HickokSports.com. 2005-02-04. Archived
from the original on 2007-04-18. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
 "Aquatics". Sports. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
"Skating". Sports. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
"Olympic sports of the past". Sports. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved
2007-04-06.
"Demonstration Sports at the Olympic Games". Top End Sports. 2007-01-26. Retrieved
2007-03-18.
"Disciplines". International Federation of Gymnastics. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
Clicking on the "Disciplines" tab in the main menu bar brings up a list of FIG
disciplines; men's and women's artistic gymnastics are listed separately.
"Disciplines". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
"Albertville 1992". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
"Wushu to be part of Beijing Olympic Games". News Guangdong. 2005-10-14. Retrieved
2007-03-18.
"Rogge says wushu no "Olympic sport" in 2008". Xinhua News Agency. 2005-10-16.
Archived from the original on 2006-11-28. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
What Events are Olympic? Olympics at SportsReference.com. Accessed on 15 Aug 2008.
"The Postal History of ICAO". Icao.int. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
"They'rrre out! Olympics drop baseball, softball". NBC Sports. Associated Press. 9
July 2005. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
Rogge has basically conspired against the sports to get them removed
de Vries, Lloyd (9 February 2006). "Strike 3 for Olympic Baseball". CBS News.
Retrieved 15 August 2008.
"IOC approves five new sports for Olympic Games Tokyo 2020". Olympic.org. 2016-08-
03. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
Wilson, Stephen (August 13, 2009). "Golf, rugby backed by IOC board for 2016
Games". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
"Golf & rugby voted into Olympics". BBC. October 9, 2009. Retrieved 4 January
2010.
"Wrestling to be dropped from 2020 Olympic Games", BBC Sport, 12 February 2013.
"Wrestling added to Olympic programme for 2020 and 2024 Games". Retrieved 8
September 2013.
"Athens 1896". Olympic Games. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2010-03-
13.
Klein, Jeff Z. (August 14, 2009). "IOC Decision Draws Cheers and Complaints From
Athletes". New York Times.
Welch, Ann (1980). The Story of Gliding 2nd edition. John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-
3659-6.
"DFS-Olympia-Meise". Deutsches Museum. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
"Athletics to share limelight as one of top Olympic sports". The Queensland Times.
2013-05-31. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
"Winners Include Gymnastics, Swimming - and Wrestling - as IOC Announces New
Funding Distribution Groupings". The Association of Summer Olympic International
Federations. Retrieved 2013-07-18.
Editorial, Reuters. "Olympics-IOC sports revenue rankings". reuters.com. Retrieved
28 October 2018.
"A History of Winter Olympic Games: Celebration and Contrariety". WorldWeb Travel
Guide. 2000. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
"Chamonix 1924". Olympic Games. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2010-
03-13.
"Biathlon Results - Chamonix 1924". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 17
February 2014.
"Olympic Games Medals, Chamonix 1924". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved
17 February 2014.
Official Report (1924), p 646: Le Programme ... II. — Epreuves par équipes - 12.
Ski : Course militaire (20 à 30 kilomètres, avec tir). (The Programme ... II. —
Team events - 12. Skiing : Military Race (20 to 30 kilometres, with shooting)).
Official Report (1924), p 664: CONCOURS DE SKI - Jurys - COURSE MILITAIRE. (Skiing
Competitions - Juries - Military Race)
"The UIAA and its Olympic Goal". Union Internationale des Associations
d'Alpinisme. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 4 April
2017.
www.immagica.it, Immagica -. "ARISF Association of IOC Recognised International
Sport Federation". www.arisf.org. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
"You're in! Baseball/softball, 4 other sports make Tokyo cut". USA Today. 2016-08-
03. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
"International Sports Federations (IFs)". Olympic.org. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
"IFAF Earns Recognition by the International Olympic Committee". IFAF.org.
Retrieved 2014-02-20.
"Get Horizontal | Ultimate & WFDF Receive Recognition By IOC !!!!".
Gethorizontal.be. 2013-01-24. Archived from the original on 2013-06-13. Retrieved
2014-02-09.
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