Five events you didn't know that were once part of the Summer Olympics

2. Croquet

Croquet at the 1908 Olympics

Perhaps croquet’s most popular appearance was in Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice in Wonderland, but it also featured in the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris as the home country picked up all the medals on offer. The sport involves hitting balls through hoops embedded in the ground with a large hammer called a mallet.

Currently, there are a large number of variations of the sport played across the world at club level as well as world championship level. In 1900, there were three events under the sport – singles (one ball), singles (two balls) and doubles. There were a total of 10 participants, all French, with Gaston Aumoitte and Chrétien Waydelich winning the gold medal in the one ball and two balls events respectively.

In the doubles category, the pair of Gaston Aumoitte and Georges Johin won the gold medal by virtue of a walkover, as they were the only participants in the event.