Most people are familiar with certain Olympic sports such as swimming, gymnastics, and figure skating. These sports are iconic, and everybody wants to try them, but the Olympics do have some lesser-known and more odd events. These 3 Olympic sports seem like they shouldn’t even be in the Olympics, but they still are.

     Sailing: Sailboats have been riding the waters for hundreds of years, but what you may not know is that they are in the Olympics. Sailing is, of course, about using the wind to move a boat with a big sail on top. However, sailing is way more challenging than the average spectator would think. With constantly changing elements, the athletes have to adapt on the fly, which takes years of skill and practice to get just right.

     Table Tennis: Table Tennis, along with being a popular activity in recreational centers, is also in the Olympics. Table tennis may be a smaller alternative to regular tennis, but the athletes have to be quick, since recent innovations in racket technology allows the balls to be slammed at a lightning fast 93 miles per hour. That’s about as fast as a Category 1 Hurricane’s winds.

     Trampoline: Yes, trampolines, the common backyard item, has its own Olympic sport. Trampoline is pretty much the same flips and tricks of gymnastics, but it is all being done on a trampoline, adding to the challenge and excitement of it all. Trampolines were actually invented to train the skills commonly used in gymnastics, and now they do those stunts with a bit of an added bounce.

      Students here at iUP gave their input about which of these sports are the most odd and unconventional, and they said it is trampoline. Most backyard items don’t have an Olympic sport dedicated to them, but the trampoline is lucky enough to have this distinct honor. Honestly, that itself is indeed worthy of a gold medal.