If you are a sports fan, then you probably know world records, player rankings and famous statistics. Nevertheless, do you know any fun facts about sports?
- During the Olympic Games in China, Usain Bolt ate only chicken nuggets. Ultimately, he won three gold medals with this diet.
- The boxing ring is called a “ring” because it used to be round. Instead of its present form, the spectators used to stand in a circle around the fighters when the sport first became popular.
- Professional US swimmer Michael Phelps has won more gold medals than 80 percent of all countries in the history of the Olympic Games.
- For car races, Nissan only uses the number 23 on their vehicles, since in Japanese number two is pronounced as “ni” and three as “san”. Together this gives “ni-san”.
- During the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, the American Frederick Lorz was the first to reach the finish line of the marathon race. It turned out, however, that he had covered about half the distance by car.
- The game “Quidditch” from the Harry Potter novels is now a recognized sport in our world.
- Finland has hosted the official “Wife Carrying World Championship” since 1992. In this competition, men carry their wives as fast as possible over a long obstacle course. In the end, the winner receives his wife’s weight in beer.
- Golf balls were once made of leather and feathers.
- Athletic shoes make up 20% of all shoe sales in the U.S.
- Adidas spent 2 ½ years designing the soccer ball for the 2014 World Cup. For soccer fans, the 2014 World Cup was a big moment during the summer. But for Adidas, the excitement started over two years before.
- The strings on tennis rackets used to be made with sheep intestines. When tennis rackets were first developed, sheep or goat intestines were used for the strings. Although it may sound a little gross, these materials were actually ideal for stringing rackets because of their soft, yet resilient nature. In fact, sheep and goat intestines have much better tension than most comparative materials. This means that the strings could be strung tightly in order to improve ball control and return power, without increasing shock impact. Of course, tennis rackets are now strung with a synthetic fibre, usually nylon.
Do you know any other curiosity? Let us know
