The origins of some ancient sports still being played today

Let’s take a look at some of the world’s oldest sports.

October 18, 2018

Roedolf Walker 2 minutes read

Have you ever wondered where human kind’s fascination with sports comes from? Sports are a part of our daily lives with many making careers out of the play of these highly contested games. Many sports played today have ancient origins and though they might have changed somewhat, the basis of the sports has stayed the same. Let’s take a look at some of the world’s oldest sports.

Wrestling

Wrestling is largely seen as the world’s oldest sport. The earliest accounts of wrestling have been traced back to cave paintings in France which are more than 15 000 years old. Wrestling has held a fascination for humankind through the generations with many classical works featuring wrestling between protagonists and antagonists. Wrestling was also an event featured in the ancient Olympics. Though the rules have been codified in modern Olympic wrestling, the premise remains the same: show your dominance as a competitor through grapples, throws and locks.

Running

Alongside wrestling, running is another sport that originated in antiquity. The accessibility of the sport due to almost everyone being able to run means it was only natural that people would take to competing with their running skills. On Olympic level running has the honour of being the oldest recorded Olympic event. The first Olympic Games held in Athens in 776 BC only had a single event, running. Since then people have refined the sport, becoming specialists in various distances.

Hockey

While the modern form of hockey was only given rules in the 19th century by a cricket club in England, a sport very similar to hockey is seen on vase paintings from Ancient Greece. The paintings, as well as reliefs, depict sportsmen playing with some form of curved stick or horn and a ball. Before the official rules for hockey were codified a similar game called Shinty was spread through British colonies.

Polo

Polo played with a long wooden mallet on horseback has its origins in the east. Polo was first played by the royalty of the Persian empire. Since those days polo has been seen as a noble sport and its execution majestic. Since 1936 polo is no longer considered an Olympic sport but it is still professionally played in 16 countries.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics originated in Ancient Greece. The sport, which was popular among everyday citizens, was seen as a great method of training and becoming fit. The Roman army saw the significance of the sport after invading Greece and used it for training purposes in their army. Gymnastics has been included in the modern Olympic Games since 1896.