There were 16 motor racing events included as ‘demonstration sports’ at the Paris 1900 Olympics , and I would have enjoyed watching that! There were categories for 2-Seater Car, 4-Seater Car and even Electric Taxis. Gold medals were awarded for the 1,347 km Paris-Toulouse-Paris race for Voitures (large cars) and Voiturettes (small cars) which took three days to complete!
The Paris 1900 Olympics actually ran during the 1900 Paris World’s Fair (Exposition Universelle de 1900) So, rather than Olympic events, some of these demonstration sports were referred to in the media as ‘International Championship’ and ‘World Championship’ events. Regardless, it was the only time that motor racing was included in the Olympics.
Will motor racing ever return to Olympic competition? The FIA will make another bid to place electric karting on the Olympic program after missing out on a spot as a demonstration sport for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. On the positive, kart racing was one of only nine sports shortlisted for a place at the games in California.
- http://www.olympedia.org/results/925081
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_racing_at_the_1900_Summer_Olympics
- http://www.gbrathletics.com/olympic/other.htm
- https://www.topendsports.com/events/demonstration/motor-racing.htm
voitures and voiturettes! wonderful. i had no idea racing was ever part of the olympics.
Yeah, I guess voitures / voiturettes! were like weight classes in boxing.
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That Paris 1900 Olympics was a madhouse. There were many MANY one off demonstration sports that might seem crazy to us today. But consider that at the Paris 2024 Olympics this year, the following ‘demonstration’ sports are being added.
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– break dancing
– skateboarding
– surfing
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Suddenly the notion of motor racing doesn’t seem so crazy, does it?!
i saw those new additions and rolled my eyes. but maybe that’s just me having a bad attitude? just seems like breakdancing in particular is a bit of a stretch to be an olympic sport.
No kidding! Break dancing? This isn’t 1983, you know…
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Just because something is athletic in nature and takes skill DOES NOT mean it deserves to be included in the revered Olympic games.
I guess everybody under the sun is trying to get more eyeballs on their content. Break dancing will probably bring some viewers to the Olympics who may not have otherwise tuned in.