The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will include 32 sports and 17,000 athletes (Image: Getty)
The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will include 32 sports, some of which are not often seen outside of the global competitions held every four years.
Over 17,000 athletes took part in the 16 days of action-packed events in the French capital and hundreds of medals have already been awarded.
However, not every athlete follows the rules, and the strict regulations in some competitions often result in disqualifications and penalties.
Express Sport takes a look at 11 of the strangest and most bizarre rules at the Olympics, from cosmetic hygiene to total silence during competition.
basketball
At the Olympics, you don’t see any basketball players hanging on the basket after a slam dunk, at least not legally.
The rules prohibit players from holding the basket after shooting, as doing so could cause injury or damage equipment, but dunking is allowed – as we saw from Joel Embiid in the USA’s win over France on Friday.
beach volleyball
Coin tosses are used in various sports, such as football, to make objective decisions. The process is also used in beach volleyball, but only to determine which team has to change its uniform if they play in the same color.
Beach volleyball teams often wear the same color (Image: Getty)
BMX
Don’t forget to tuck your shirt into your pants when you get on the bike. BMX riders apparently have to tuck their clothes into their pants, even if they match their pants, so that loose clothing doesn’t get caught in the mechanics of the bike.
However, it is safe to say that there are more dangerous ways to get injured when participating in a BMX event than getting your clothes tangled.
Boxing
Competitors in boxing competition must be clean-shaven or have very little facial hair. The rule was introduced to ensure that cuts and injuries are easily visible to determine if a fight should be stopped or if medical attention is required.
While a beard is not permitted, a pencil moustache is acceptable.
Olympic boxers are not allowed to wear beards (Image: Getty)
Ride a bike
Another fashion-related rule states that cyclists can only wear their socks mid-calf and that they will be measured by Olympic officials.
Longer socks can provide an aerodynamic advantage by reducing air resistance, and regulating sock length ensures that all cyclists compete under equal conditions.
Equestrian sports
As one Swedish athlete discovered at the 1932 Olympics, equestrianism is all about training and staying calm. He clicked his tongue, which was seen as a way of directing the horse. And although he protested and claimed it was the saddle, he was penalized.
At Olympic equestrian events, riders are prohibited from making noise (Image: Getty)
gymnastics
While gymnasts are allowed to wear colorful makeup to match their glittery outfits, nail polish is not permitted.
But there is a good reason for this, because the judges must be able to determine whether the gymnast is in good health and has healthy blood circulation in order to participate.
Nail color is one of several indicators for passing the test, so if female athletes want to wear nail polish, it must be a neutral color.
Gymnasts are not allowed to wear painted fingernails (Image: Getty)
Bathe
Did you know that swimmers must submit their world record times manually for them to be recognized by the sport’s governing body? That’s right. World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA, receives the times manually and only accepts submissions via fax.
However, this should not be a big problem in Paris. So far, only one new world record has been set in swimming. The slower swimming times were attributed to the shallow pool at the Arena La Défense, which is 0.85 m shorter than the pools in Tokyo and Rio.
Let us hope that someone told China’s Pan Zhanle, who set the new world record in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 46.40, to get out his fax machine.
Pan Zhanle set the only new world record in Olympic swimming (Image: Getty)
Water polo
Get out the nail scissors. According to the rules of this lesser-known water polo event, players are not allowed to have long nails, as they can cause painful injuries underwater.
Last year, Australian player Tilly Kearns posted her battle scars from a match in which an opponent’s nails went unnoticed, leaving her with a sore chest and several scratches.
And if it’s not obvious enough, players are strictly prohibited from grabbing other players’ groins. But we don’t really need to tell you that…
Olympic wrestling can be extremely physical. (Image: Getty)
Wrestling
Olympic wrestlers must carry a handkerchief, a so-called “blood cloth,” somewhere in their uniform while wrestling.
This is used to remove any blood left over during a fight. While this is quite unusual as it is not the same as boxing, due to the physical nature of wrestling, bloodshed can occur.
In the event of bleeding, the wrestler pulls the towel from his wrestling suit and attempts to stop the bleeding or wipe up any bodily fluids that may have spilled onto the mat.
