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In this post, we will check out the top 10 most popular Olympic sports.

The Olympic Games have been a symbol of global unity and athletic excellence for over a century.

Hosting some of the world’s greatest athletes, the games showcase a wide range of sports, with each discipline requiring a unique set of skills and abilities.

From fast-paced sprints to intense gymnastics routines, the Olympic Games bring together the best of the best in a display of human strength, endurance, and grace.

There are a ton of sports that are really popular in the Olympics and today we will talk about them. Olympic Games are a portion of people’s lives, and influential ones at that.

It is important to say that these competitions are highly competitive and difficult to play.  It is crucial to understand how much action is used in these games and sports. The Olympic Games is surely one of the most admiringly awaited sporting events in the world.

It’s true not every game in the Olympics gains a massive viewership or popularity. So let’s go ahead and check out the top 10 most popular Olympic sports around the world.

Top 10 Most Popular Olympic Sports

1. Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport that has been part of the Olympics since the very first Games in 1896. It is a popular sport to watch, as it requires a great deal of skill and athleticism.

Gymnastics is typically divided into three disciplines: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline, which consists of, for women (WAG), the events floor, vault, uneven bars, and beam; and for men (MAG), the events floor, vault, rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bar.

It’s an excellent sport to watch and can be physically difficult, it’s one of the most skillful sports of all. Gymnastics is number 1 on our list of the top 10 most popular Olympic sports.

2 Swimming

Swimming has been part of the Olympic Games and is one of the most popular sports to watch, as it is both exciting and suspenseful.

Swimming events are divided into four main categories: freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke. Freestyle is the most commonly known type of swimming; it is what you typically see in races such as the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyles.

Breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke are all different styles of stroke that are used in various events. Swimming is a great sport for spectators.

The game has the second most events after track and field, the sport has kept its rage due to some legends of the game which include Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, and Mark Spitz. Swimming is number 2 in our list of the top 10 most popular Olympic sports.

3 Athletics (Track & Field)

An athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running jumping throwing and walking. The most standard types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and racewalking.

Athletics is typically divided into four main categories: sprints, middle-distance, long-distance, and field. Sprinting events include the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash.

Middle-distance events include the 400-meter run and the 800-meter run. Long-distance events include the marathon and the 3000-meter steeplechase. Field events include things like shot put, javelin throw, and pole vault.

4 Weightlifting

Weightlifting is a sport in which athletes contest lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead.

With each athlete vying to successfully lift the heaviest weights. Athletes compete in two distinct ways of lifting the barbell overhead: these are the snatch and the clean and jerk.

The snatch is a wide-grip lift, in which the weighted barbell is lifted overhead in one motion. The clean and jerk is a combination lift, in which the weight is first taken from the ground to the front of the shoulders (the clean), and then from the shoulders to overhead (the jerk).

Weightlifting is an Olympic sport and has been completed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1920. Weightlifting is number 4 on our list of the top 10 most popular Olympic sports.

5 Basketball

Basketball prior to its inclusion as a medal sport, basketball was held as a demonstration event in 1904.

Women’s basketball made its debut in the Summer Olympics in 1976. FIBA organizes both the men’s and women’s FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. It is a very popular sport to watch, as it is both exciting and fast-paced.

Basketball is typically played with five players on each team. The object of the game is to score points by shooting the ball through a hoop called a basket.

Points are also awarded for foul shots, which are shots taken from the free-throw line after an opposing player commits a foul.

The United States is by far the most thriving country in Olympic basketball, with the United States, men’s teams have won 16 of 19 tournaments in which they participated, including seven consecutive titles from 1936 through 1968.

6 Soccer

Soccer at the Summer Olympics referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men’s competition sport, except in 1896 and 1932. 

Women’s football was added to the official program at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Soccer is typically played with eleven players on each team.

The object of the game is to score goals by kicking the ball into the opposing team’s net. Points are also awarded for fouls, which are committed by players who break the rules of the game.

7 Volleyball

Volleyball has been an aspect of the Summer Olympics program for both men and women consistently since 1964.

Brazil, the United States, and the former Soviet Union are the only teams to win multiple gold medals in the men’s tournament since its introduction.

The remaining six editions of the Men’s Olympic Volleyball Tournament were won each by a different country including Japan, Poland, Netherlands, Russia, France, and defunct Yugoslavia.

Volleyball is typically played with six players on each team. The object of the game is to score points by hitting the ball over a net into the opposing team’s court.

Points are also awarded for fouls, which are committed by players who break the rules of the game. Volleyball is number 7 in our list of the top 10 most popular Olympic sports.

8 Judo

Judo was first incorporated into the Summer Olympic Games at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, Japan. After not being included in 1968, judo has been an Olympic sport in each Olympiad since then.

Only male judoka participated until the 1988 Summer Olympics when women partook in a demonstration sport. Women judoka were first granted medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Judo is a Japanese martial art that focuses on throws and takedowns. The object of the sport is to either throw or takedown your opponent or to pin them to the ground for twenty seconds. Points are also awarded for strikes and arm locks.

9 Tennis

Tennis became a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics open for all players regardless of their age and status and has been played at every Summer Games since then.

It is a popular sport to watch, as it requires both skill and athleticism. Tennis has become a much more prominent value at the Olympics in recent years.

It’s just because the players like Serena Williams, Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal, all draw huge audiences everywhere they go and the summer Olympics are no different.

Tennis is typically played with two players on each team. The object of the game is to score points by hitting the ball over a net into the opposing player’s court.

Points are also awarded for fouls, which are committed by players who break the rules of the game. Tennis is number 9 on our list of the top 10 most popular Olympic sports.

10 Rugby

Rugby has been a men’s medal sport at the modern Summer Olympic Games, being played at four of the first seven competitions.

The sport debuted at the 1900 Paris games where the gold medal was won by the host nation. It was thereafter featured at the London games in 1908, the Antwerp games in 1920, and the Paris games in 1924.

It is a popular sport to watch, as it requires both strength and athleticism. Rugby is typically played with fifteen players on each team.

The object of the game is to score points by carrying the ball over the opposing team’s goal line, or by kicking the ball through their posts. Points are also awarded for fouls, which are committed by players who break the rules of the game.