Croquet was an Olympic sport.
As the sport of breaking taught many viewers in 2024, some events only make it to the Olympics once. Among the more surprising athletic endeavors to receive that honor is croquet, which made its Olympic debut — and, it turned out, only appearance — at the 1900 Summer Games in Paris. A lot of unusual and short-lived events were held that year, including ballooning, water motorsports, and live pigeon shooting. Though usually associated with wealth and leisure today, croquet is believed to have originated with French peasants in the 13th century; the current form of the game traces back to England and Ireland in the 1830s.
As for why croquet appeared at the Olympics just once, well, only one spectator bought a ticket, and an official report from the 1900 Olympics claimed that the game had “hardly any pretensions to athleticism.” All 10 of the sport’s Olympians hailed from France, making it the only country to have medaled in croquet. Gaston Aumoitte won in both the singles (one ball) and doubles categories, with Georges Johin as his partner in the latter, and Chrétien Waydelich took home the gold in the singles (two balls) category.
