In which year was tug of war first contested as an Olympic sport? Tug of war first appeared at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
The contest took place on 16 July 1900 at Catalan Cross in Paris, during the second modern Olympic Games. It was treated as part of the athletics programme, even though tug of war is now regarded as a separate sport. The event used teams of six pullers.
The gold medal went to a mixed Scandinavian team of three Danish and three Swedish athletes. They defeated Racing Club de France, whose six-person team included five French competitors and one Colombian athlete. A United States team had entered but withdrew because the competition conflicted with the hammer throw.
Tug of war remained on the Olympic programme through 1920, appearing at five consecutive Summer Games. It was removed afterward as the Olympic movement streamlined its event list. A common mistake is to identify 1896, the year of the first modern Olympics, as its debut; tug of war was not contested there.