Sports That The 2016 Summer Olympics Are Crazy To Ignore

What sports should be in the 2016 Summer Olympics but aren’t? The list is a little longer and a lot crazier than you might think.

With the 2016 Summer Olympics just around the corner, and athletes of all shapes and sizes determined to give it their all in various sports, let’s have a look at those sports whose participants have been denied the opportunity to make their name on the world stage and cut themselves a big fat slice of Olympic glory. Below is a list of the top sports that should be in Rio 2016, but aren’t.

Skateboarding

Why skateboarding isn’t in the Olympics when synchronized swimming is beggars belief. Both street and ramp skating is full of the sort of breathtaking spills, thrills, and innovative and gravity defying trickery which guaranteed to leave spectators gob-smacked at the sheer athleticism and wizardry of today’s top skaters.

Fishing

There’s a fine art between standing at the water’s edge and pitting your wits against our cold-blooded friends and looking like a complete idiot with a large stick in your hands. I’m pretty sure if fishing was introduced into the Olympics we’d all be hooked!

Bog Snorkeling

It’s all too easy for the Olympics to get bogged down in bog-standard types of sports and ignore those brave sporting souls who make it their mission in life to put on a snorkel and dive head first into a thick and terrible bog and try to beat both the clock and their fellow competitors. Could the noble art of bog snorkeling ever become part of the Modern Pentathlon, we wonder?

Cheerleading

There should always be a place for beauty in the Olympics, and isn’t it a little bit sexist to sideline cheerleaders as a mere support act for a male dominated sport as opposed to letting the ladies compete against one another in a carnival of color, pom poms, and awe-inspiring dance moves.

Kite Flying

If it was good enough for Mary Poppins, why isn’t it in the Olympics? You’d be extremely surprised what a modern kite can do in experienced hands.

Stone Skimming

Everyone’s tried their hand at skimming a stone across a pond, lake, or river at one time or another. Some people are very, very good at it. So why not give them an opportunity to shine?

Tractor Racing

If you want the rural community to feel more of a sense of ‘ownership’ when it comes to the Summer Olympics, tractor racing is the way to do it. Farmers are a competitive bunch, and the sight of a John Deere battling through the mud against a Massey Ferguson is truly a sight to behold. Ooo ahhh!

Gravy Wrestling

Believe it or not, such a sport does exist! It involves two competitors wrestling for two minutes in a pool of gravy. What excitement such a sport could bestow upon the Olympics is anybody’s guess.

Backwards Running

Also known as reverse or retro running, the Olympic Games can only truly move forward once it recognizes backwards running as a genuine sport. On your marks, get set, go!

(Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)