5 summer Olympic events we wish they'd bring back

With the introduction of new summer events for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, including the return of rugby, we decided to look at past events that no longer occur.

Here are the five sporting events we would most like to see return to the summer Olympics.

Australian rules football

Aussie rules football was not an official Olympic sport, but rather a “demonstration” sport at the 1956 summer games in Melbourne, Australia.

However, it is the most exciting event on this list. It combines elements of American football, basketball, and soccer in high-scoring, hard-hitting competition.

If you are not familiar with the sport, Aussie rules football is played on a very large field, features a lot of physicality, and tends to see scores that seem like they're from the NBA.

While Aussies invented the sport, the Australian Football League has official affiliation agreements with 15 other national governing bodies, including the United States Australian Football League in the United States. The game also has recognized competitive teams in dozens of countries, which means it would not be difficult to find nations to participate.

Cricket

Cricket took place during just one Olympic Games, back in 1900.

Cricket is a high-scoring game that is played around the world. There are numerous major international competitions annually, including the International Cricket Council World Test Championship, as well as the Twenty20 World Cup, which is held every four years. While the majority of official cricket nations reside in Asia, Europe, and Africa, the United States has had an ICC-affiliated organization since 2017, USA Cricket.

Cricket is a cousin of baseball and even includes what we would consider “home runs" — balls that hit or pass the boundary lead to either four or six runs. However, cricket makes baseball seem like a short event, with matches that can take three to five days, with six hours played each day. That would make it tricky to reintroduce.

Lacrosse

Played in 1904 and 1908, lacrosse has been a demonstration sport thrice since, the last time in 1948. Only three nations have a medal in the sport — the United States, Canada, and Great Britain — and Canada took home both gold medals.

The World Lacrosse Championship takes place every four years, and the 2018 version featured 46 nations, the most in the event's history.

Of the sports on our list, lacrosse is the most likely to return in the near future. The sport took a huge step toward a return at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, as the International Olympic Committee announced last week that it will grant full recognition to lacrosse.

Tug of war

Most folks think “tug of war” and remember the game they played in middle school, not an event contested by world-class athletes. While brute strength is helpful, the sport requires coordination, teamwork, and great footwork.

However, tug of war was an Olympic event  from 1900 to 1920, and 53 nations are currently involved with the Tug of War International Federation. The World Championships are set to take place in Spain in September.

Water motorsports

The 1908 Olympic Games featured multiple events for motor boats, as competitors raced multiple laps around an eight nautical mile course. Unfortunately, each of the races saw just one boat finish, because of a storm, and the event was never repeated. However, with more than a century of technological advancements, it would be an easy event to bring back.

Water motorsports would allow for a variety of events, not just boat racing. Water skiing, wakeboarding, and jet skiing could all be introduced as competitive sports in the Olympic Games and would feature trick-based scoring, much like skateboarding or snowboarding.