Olympic Sports Involving Sitting

Who says you have to be on your feet to be an Olympic champion? While many athletes sprint, jump, and tumble their way to glory, there's a whole category of Olympic sports where sitting down is the name of the game. Yes, you read that right—seated sports. Whether it's rowing your way to victory or gracefully guiding a horse through an obstacle course, these events prove that you can win gold without breaking a sweat standing up.

Sitting on a Horse

There are many more Olympic sports that involve sitting down than you think. Some of these may be a bit of a stretch to say they are sitting sports, but at least there is some sitting involved.

The obvious Summer Olympic Games Sitting Sports

• Cycling — track, road and BMX
• Equestrian — dressage, jumps and eventing
• Canoe and kayak — sprint and slalom
• Rowing
• Sailing

And a less obvious one:

• Modern pentathlon — horse riding is one of the five events (for now).

Winter Olympics Sitting Sports

• Bobsled

Paralympic Sitting Sports

• Sitting Volleyball
• Wheelchair Sports — Basketball, Fencing, Rugby, Tennis plus some other sports have wheelchair classes.
• Boccia
• Track and Road Cycling
• Equestrian

Discontinued Sitting Sports

• Motorboating — was an official sport in 1908 (and a demonstration sport in 1900). The sport involved racing motorboats around a course on the water.

Demonstration Sitting Sports

• Fishing — a fishing event (angling) was an unofficial event at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris.
• Gliding / Aeronautics — The sport of Aeronautics, more accurately described as gliding, was on the Olympic program only once, as a demonstration sport at the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games.

Possible New Sitting Sport

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