The Weird and Wonderful History of the Olympic Games

Our last part of an amazing journey. In this final part we look at what is to come - the new sports, what Paris is offering and where the Olympic movement will go from here.

This is the final part of a 20 part short nugget series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episode is stuffed full of the quirky and the cra...

The Olympics - every four years featuring the best of the best athletes from all round the world. Or is it? Well. Not really. The Olympics all too often aren't every four years or with all the planet's athletes. How, why, what, who, when? 

This is the last but one of a 20 part short nugget series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games si...

Cycling sounds so....normal. But the events in the Games have been incredible, boring, weird and kooky. Here we look everything from the 12 hour nonstop dull but arduous event through to the blind tandem.

This is a 20 part series that coincides with the run up to Paris 2024.

This series charts the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

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It was meant to be a Games that had all sorts of sports that pushed an athlete to the nth degree.  Yet some just seemed to be designed by a nasty bored PE teacher - like my old one at school - Mr Thompson. Here are just some of those he would have taught at school and which had, or has, featured in the Olympics.

A twice weekly series of podcasts in the run up to the 2024 Paris Games. 

We chart the strange and fascinating people, sp...

The founders wanted the events to be amateur only with anyone being paid for being professional being banned or DQ'd. Yet now only one sport in the Games is not professional. How did we get here? Why did we get here? This episode delves into this change of heart. 

Part 16 of a 20 part short nugget series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic ...

The first couple of Games astonishingly featured golf, tennis and cricket. For decades after though they never featured again. Yet, like a Hollywood zombie, all three sports are now back in the modern day Olympics. Here we look at how they originally featured, why they were removed and how they are allowed to return. 

A twice weekly 20 part short nugget series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, d...

Golds for Town Planning? For Poetry? For Painting, Sculpture, Music? Surely not. Here we look at the numerous Olympics where these featured, some of the best of the entrants and what caused their eventual demise.

A twice a week (Monday and Thursday) 20 episode podcast series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episo...

Who were the youngest to take part and who were the oldest? How do these incredible sports people fit into the ideals and stereotypes of the Olympics? 

This is a twice weekly 20 part short nugget series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episode is stuffed full of the quirky and the crazy and in their no more than ...

The Para, Parallel or Paraplegic Olympics. How they started, how they merged with the Olympics themselves and the fab world of Goalball.

New episodes every Sunday and Thursday for you to enjoy/

We look at the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episode is stuffed full of the quirky and the crazy and in their no more than 15 mi...

Cheats. Every sport and almost every part of life sees people who chance their arm. This episode looks at those who chanced their arms, legs and right buttock - and got caught doing so. And they are just hard to believe....

Every Sunday and Thursday we bring a new episode.

We chart the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episode...

Today we look at the sore losers - there are those who compete. And there are those who just cannot take being second best. There are some shockers!

This is a twice weekly series bringing you the weirdest things that happened in the Olympics over the years. 

We chart the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episode is stuffed ful...

We finish looking at the A-Z of crazy sports that featured in the Paris 1900 bonkers Games. The next 11 mins and 04 seconds look at the butchery of the live Pigeon Shooting through to the myth(?) of Poodle Grooming. 

This is a twice weekly podcast series in the runup to Paris and the Olympic Games

We explore the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games...

Another delve into the A-Z of crazy sports that featured in the Paris 1900 bonkers Games. This next 10 mins and 10 seconds look at Motorboating to Pigeon Racing. 

This is a twice weekly series in the run up to Paris 2024. 

We look at the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episode is stuffed full of the quirky and the crazy and ...

We meander into look at next of the A-Z of crazy sports that featured in the Paris 1900 bonkers Games. The next 7 mins and 49 seconds look everything from Cannon Shooting to Firefighting.  

This is a twice a week podcast that will chart the Games before the start of the 2024 Paris Games. 

We chart the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896...

We start to look at the A-Z of crazy sports that featured in the Paris 1900 bonkers Games. The next 9 mins and 40 seconds look at Angling through to Croquet.

A twice weekly podcast in the run up to the Paris 2024 Games. We chart

the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episode is stuffed full of the quirky and the crazy and in th...

Paris - 1900. The first real Games. And what a Games it was. Almost six months of some of the most bizarre sports ever conceived. This is the first of five episodes looking at this absolutely bonkers Olympic Games.

The countdown to Paris 2024 Olympic Games is on us. 

This is the fifth of a 20 part short nugget series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in...

This episode looks at the very first winners for Team GB in the Olympics and how, these two individuals, were not as red, white and blue as they first may seem.

This is the fourth of a 20 part short nugget series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896.

It is just weeks now until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Each episode is st...

This episode looks at the 1896 marathon in Marathon, how the marathon came about, why it ended up at 26.2 miles, the amazing winner and the cheeky cheat.  

It is just weeks now until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

This is the third of a 20 part short nugget series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episode is stuffed...

This episode looks at that very first Olympics in Athens in 1896, how it came about and some of the bizarre events and people that took part.

It is just weeks now until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

This is the second of a 20 part short nugget series charting the strange and fascinating people, sports, cheats, boycotts, doping and so much more that have happened in the Olympic Games since 1896. 

Each episode is stuffed full of the ...