It might be hard to imagine these day , but tug - of - war was once anOlympicsport — in fact , it made the syllabus forevery Olympicsfrom Paris in 1900 to Antwerp in 1920 . tower of war appear in six biz total ( though the 1916 Olympics wascanceledbecause of World War I , jerk - of - warfare was included in theIntercalated Games held in 1906 ) as part of the cut and field sport program .
For the first two Games , five or six membersmade up a squad ; that telephone number interchange to eight with the 1908 Olympics . Olympic tug - of - war was encounter in middling much the same way you remember from gradation - school field days : harmonise toTime , " Official rule stipulated that an eight - homo team had to draw their opponents six ft to gain . If either side failed to do so , judges gave the struggle a further five minutes and then declare the team who had made the most march on the victors . " Each state could enter multiple squad ( though they did n’t always do this ) .
The variation was amagnet for Olympian controversies . The 1904 gold medal – winning American squad was seemingly representing the Milwaukee Athletic Club , but further research found that the team was actually composed of ringersrecruited from Chicago .
Scandal struck again at the 1908 Games when the American squadprotestedthat the police boot worn by the British tugger from the Liverpool Police team were equipped with illegal cleats for special traction . According toAlan Knott of England ’s Tug of War Association , “ At the close of the competition , the Liverpool Police squad provide to draw in their American opponents in bare feet , but that pass was decline . ” The Americans withdrew from the competition , and Great Britain , who enrol three tug - of - war teams that Olympics , terminate up take thegold , silver , and bronze medal .
In 1912 , a number of countrieswithdrewfrom the tower - of - war competition , which meant the only match that hap was between Great Britain and Sweden . Sweden eventually advance after the British squad sat down in the second pulling , leading to their disqualification .
Tug - of - warfare was finally dropped from the Olympics after 1920 . Great Britain was the reigning champ of the effect , with five laurel wreath total over the grade of the mutant ’s inclusion in the Games .
A interpretation of this story play in 2014 ; it has been update for 2021 .
