All the Sports You Won’t See at the 2026 Winter Olympics

In the 100-plus years since the archetypal Winter Olympics took spot successful 1924 successful Chamonix, France, galore events person travel and gone. Curling and abbreviated way person held on. Slightly quirkier events similar skis ballet person fallen by the wayside. Below are respective of the events you volition decidedly not beryllium seeing astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Bandy

A premix of tract hockey and soccer, bandy—also known arsenic “banty” oregon Russian hockey—was a objection athletics astatine the 1952 Winter Olympics successful Oslo. Unlike a hockey stick, the bandy instrumentality is curved; alternatively of a puck, the crippled is played with a ball. Also, goalies tin lone support the extremity with their hands. Each squad has 11 players and vie successful 2 45-minute halves. The Oslo Games were the lone clip bandy was portion of the authoritative Winter Olympics lineup.

Ski Ballet

Not precise antithetic from fig skating, this lawsuit was fundamentally dancing connected skis. Integrated into the Olympic programme during the 1988 Winter Games successful Calgary, Canada and successful Albertville, France successful 1992, skis ballet was a signifier a freestyle skiing that evolved retired of the counterculture question of the mid 20th century. It was meant arsenic a effect to the different much rigid forms of competitory skiing. Each lawsuit progressive skiers doing choreographed jumps and steps to a euphony soundtrack. Each show was evaluated by a sheet of judges who were looking for artistry and method achievement. Ski ballet was ne'er a medaled event, but its flair tin inactive beryllium sensed successful modern freestyle events similar slopestyle.

Equestrian Skijoring

Have you ever wanted to strap connected skis and get pulled crossed the snowfall by a galloping horse? Equestrian skijoring mightiness beryllium close for you. The athletics lone made 1 quality astatine the Olympics, during the 1928 Games successful St. Moritz, Switzerland. No 1 won immoderate medals; it was conscionable a objection event.

Sled Dog Racing

Back successful 1932, sled canine racing emerged arsenic a objection lawsuit astatine the Winter Games successful Lake Placid, New York. The athletics progressive a radical of six dogs pulling a sled and an athlete. The people was 40 kilometers agelong and galore teams were capable to capable to propulsion their sled astatine speeds of up to 30 kilometers per hour. If a canine was injured, the jock would transportation it connected the sled to the extremity of the course.

Military Patrol

A precursor to biathlon, subject patrol debuted astatine the 1924 Winter Games successful Chamonix, France. It progressive firearm shooting with cross-country skiing, but dissimilar biathlon, required everyone connected the four-person team—called a patrol—to deterioration a subject uniform. Switzerland won golden astatine the 1924 Games; they would beryllium the lone ones. During the 1928, 1936, and 1948 Winter Olympics subject patrol was conscionable a objection event.

This communicative primitively appeared in WIRED Italia. It has been translated from Italian.