Last PB post (honest)..

Beijing may be a controversial choice to host
the Olympics but it won't get close to Paris,
in 1900, for sheer weirdness and eventfulness.
Many of these disciplines didn't make it on
to 1904, surprisingly.

1. Poodle-clipping
A farmer's wife won the gold medal. She
trimmed 17 poodles in two hours.

2. Pigeon Shooting
On this occasion, there were live pigeons to be shot.
300 pigeons were let loose. Leon Lunden, from
Belgium, was the winner, with 21 birds.

3. Rowing
Adult coxes were replaced by children in the
rowing events for some bizarre reason. These
were probably the youngest ever contestants.

4. Women
For the first time women competitors took part.
Charlotte Cooper was the first female Olympic
champion, winning the tennis singles. However
she was not the first gold medallist, as Olympic
medals were not awarded to anyone until 1904.

5. Cricket
The Olympics cricket contest only had two teams
in it - Britain and France. And the French team
was largely filled with Brits from the embassy
in Paris. Britain won. Cricket didn't feature
in the Olympics again.

6. Equestrian high and long jump
Sounds like the best sport ever.

Posted By: Fierce Panda on August 7th 2008 at 15:01:30

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