Under-the-Radar Events That Shouldn't Be Missed at the 2016 Summer Olympics
The modern pentathlon is the most complete display of all-around athleticism in the 2016 Summer Olympics, but it's also one of the most under-the-radar events taking place in Rio de Janeiro this August.
The United States soaks up Olympics coverage like a sponge. According to the Nielsen data from four years ago, 70 percent of all Americans watched at least some portion of the 2012 Summer Olympics. And most of us did much more than just tune in for one or two events.
Yet there are plenty of sports that stay out of the spotlight in favor of things like soccer, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, beach volleyball and a plethora of high-profile track and field events.
We're here to help shine some light on the sports that don't get as much love, even though they require just as much training and dedication.
The following events are listed in chronological order of when their first medals will be awarded.
Archery
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What Is It?
Perfected in books and movies by Robin Hood and Legolas, archery is the art of hitting a target with a bow and arrow with points awarded based on proximity to the bull's-eye.
Until the finals, each archer has 40 seconds to shoot six arrows at a target 70 meters away. In the finals, it's three arrows in 20 seconds. Similar to gymnastics, there are medals awarded for teams as well as individuals.
When Is It?
Archery runs throughout the first week of the Games in Rio with medals for men's and women's teams awarded on August 6 and 7, respectively, while the individual medals won't be handed out until August 11 and 12. Women's quarterfinals begin at 4 p.m. ET on August 11 with the finals taking place about two hours later. Men will follow the same schedule on August 12.
Why Should I Watch?
Every Olympic event requires immense focus and years of training, but archery is so precise it's like watching open-heart surgery without the squeamish aspects.
It's impressive when a quarterback can throw a football 40 yards into a trash can, but a bull's-eye is less than 2.5 inches across. Hitting something that small from roughly 76 yards away seems almost impossible down a hallway with no wind, but these archers do it repeatedly while reading the wind cones to determine what adjustments need to be made.
It's not the most exciting sport in the Olympics, but it might be the most awe-inducing.
Rugby Sevens
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What Is It?
Unlike traditional rugby, which consists of 15 players per team, Rugby Sevens is the more action-packed, fast-paced version with just seven players per team attempting to score tries and win penalties.
Rugby in any form hasn't been in the Olympics since 1924, and Rugby Sevens is making its Olympics debut this year.
When Is It?
The women's event runs from August 6-8 with the gold-medal match beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET on August 8. Men's Rugby Sevens will be played from August 9-11 with the final match starting at 6:30 p.m. ET on August 11.
Why Should I Watch?
Rugby combines the best elements of world football (constant action, teamwork, frequent passing and kicking a ball) with the best elements of American football (hard hits and throwing a ball).
Even if you don't fully understand the rules or how points are scored, you'll enjoy the spectacle.
In a nutshell, the team with the ball is trying to get the ball to the other side of the field (much like American football), but it can only pass the ball backward, and it will occasionally drop-kick the ball.
One of the most exciting and ridiculous plays in American football is when the team with the ball is lateraling it repeatedly in an attempt to score before time runs out. Add in the ability to drop-kick the ball and make that one game-ending play last for 14 minutes spread over two halves and you've got Rugby Sevens.
What's not to love?
Canoe Slalom
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What Is It?
Combining whitewater rafting with an obstacle course, canoe slalom requires athletes to navigate through a bumpy 250-meter ride while passing each set of gates. As if that isn't complex enough, the red gates must be passed through from the opposite side, meaning the athletes will drift past the gate before turning around and paddling upstream to pass that obstacle.
Both men and women compete in a one-person kayak, but there are also medal events for men in one-person and two-person canoes.
When Is It?
Men's single canoe semifinals and finals begin on August 9 at 2 p.m. ET. Men's kayak semifinals and finals begin at the same time the following day. And on August 11, men's double canoe and women's kayak both begin at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Why Should I Watch?
This might be the most intense event of the entire Summer Olympics. The upper-body and core strength required to navigate the rapids and occasionally fight them head-on to get through a red gate is remarkable.
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Trampoline Gymnastics
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What Is It?
It's exactly what it sounds like: gymnastics performed on a trampoline.
Similar to the floor exercises portion of standard gymnastics, the athletes will have a routine filled with somersaults, spins and twists. But instead of jumping off a slightly springy surface to heights of maybe five feet, trampoline gymnasts rocket roughly 25 feet into the air for their acrobatics.
It's also similar to the 10m dive, but instead of executing one set of maneuvers before hitting the water and taking a break, they repeatedly hit the trampoline for a total of 10 routines.
When Is It?
Women's trampoline gymnastics run from 3-5:30 p.m. ET on August 12 with the men putting on their aerial show at the same time the following day.
Why Should I Watch?
Who doesn't love trampolines? It's a staple of any Cirque du Soleil show, basketball halftime shows involving trampolines are unarguably the best kind, and it's the one toy that every boy and girl wanted in their backyard while growing up.
Whether or not you learned how to do a flip on a trampoline as a kid, you'll be amazed by the number of somersaults these gymnasts are able to string together. It's dizzying just to watch.
Table Tennis Doubles
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What Is It?
Table tennis doubles is a more niche and intense version of standard table tennis. There are two players on each side of the table, volleying the ball back and forth in alternating order. First to 11 (win by two) wins the game. First to win three games wins the series.
Doubles isn't actually its own event. It's just one portion of the larger team competition in which teams of two square off for four singles matches and one doubles match. (For example, if it's A and B facing X and Y, the series would consist of A vs. X, A vs. Y, B vs. X, B vs. Y and A and B vs. X and Y.)
When Is It?
The first rounds of the team event start on August 12 with the women's gold-medal match beginning on August 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET and the men's gold-medal showdown beginning at the same time the following night.
Why Should I Watch?
As if one-on-one table tennis at its highest level isn't insane enough, doubles is basically a choreographed ballet. Because the teammates need to alternate turns hitting the ball, they weave back and forth, somehow avoiding each other while trying to anticipate where the next shot will land and how much it will spin in which direction.
Because of all the moving parts and the speed at which the game is played, individual points don't typically last long. But every once in a while they'll get a good volley going, and the audience's collective jaw will drop to the floor in amazement.
Modern Pentathlon
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What Is It?
Fencing, swimming (200m freestyle), horse riding, running (3200m) and shooting a laser pistol all combine in one event as the world's greatest athletes crown the ultimate jack-of-all-trades.
When Is It?
The women's medal event begins at 1 p.m. ET on August 19 and runs for approximately 6.5 hours. The men's modern pentathlon follows the same schedule on the following day.
Why Should I Watch?
The decathlon has long been regarded as the best measure of all-around athleticism. By recording the highest combined score in javelin, discus, shot put, 100m, 400m, 1500m, 110m hurdles, long jump, high jump and pole vault, an athlete proves he or she can do anything.
Is that really true, though?
It's all running, jumping and throwing. With all due respect to the people who would obliterate most of us in all 10 events, saying someone is the world's best athlete for winning the decathlon is like saying the person who can beat 10 Super Mario games in the fastest combined time is the world's best video game player.
Where's the variety, decathlon? To win the modern pentathlon, one has to combine accuracy, agility, balance, endurance, speed and strength. It's like being great at Super Mario, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and that horse riding arcade game that is way more exhausting than you thought it would be.
But perhaps the most unique element of all is that the start times for the final leg of the event (running and shooting) are determined by the scores posted in the first three legs. Similar to the show American Gladiator, the athlete who did the best in the first few rounds gets a handicap start over the competition.
Cycling BMX
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What Is It?
Eight cyclists race to the finish line on a dirt course 300-400 meters long, filled with bumps, jumps and tight turns. Until the medals are awarded for the final race, the top four finishers in each round advance to the following one.
While the Winter Olympics are filled with X Games events, this is the closest that the Summer Olympics comes to a crossover with its extreme counterpart.
When Is It?
Mid-afternoons from August 17-19 with the medal races taking place around 4 p.m. ET on August 19.
Why Should I Watch?
If you like cycling but have already gotten your fill of the "normal" stuff from the Tour De France, here's your change of pace.
Despite riding bikes with only one gear, these cyclists get serious air and speed. They also frequently crash into each other on a course barely wide enough for three bikers to ride comfortably. Take it to the bank that at least one person will make it to the finals by going at 90-95 percent of their top speed for the first two days and simply avoiding wrecks along the way.
Team Handball
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What Is It?
Similar to indoor lacrosse or ice hockey—but with more acrobatics and no sticks—team handball is an uptempo, high-scoring sport in which seven-person teams attempt to get the ball past the opposing goalkeeper as often as possible and by any means necessary.
Like basketball, there are violations for improperly moving the ball up the court. One cannot hold the ball for more than three seconds and cannot take more than three steps with the ball without dribbling it. Meeting those conditions, they run, pass and shoot back and forth for a pair of 30-minute halves, during which it's hardly uncommon to accumulate at least 20 goals.
When Is It?
The preliminary rounds begin on August 6 and run all the way through August 19 with men's and women's play alternating days. Women's bronze-medal (12:30 p.m. ET) and gold-medal (4:30 p.m. ET) matches take place on August 20. Men's bronze-medal (11:30 a.m. ET) and gold-medal (3 p.m. ET) matches are played the following day.
Why Should I Watch?
Handball is to the Summer Olympics what curling is to the Winter Olympics.
Whereas most of the events involve a speed, strength or reckless abandon for life and limb that most of us never possessed, handball and curling are the games that we either played in gym class or could still play recreationally to this day. Because of that and because it's played on seemingly every night of the Olympics, it's the one under-the-radar event that we connect with and obsess over every four years.
And, come on, you can watch basketball or hockey anytime. If you want a break from those mainstream sports while still enjoying some of their elements, you're going to love team handball.
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