by Editor Miro Susta 
Edited and published by Yvette Depaepe, the 22nd of November 2024

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are behind us, they have already become part of sporting history, leaving behind only fond memories and many lasting records, whether in written or photographic form.

'Sprinters starting' by Dick Mandemaker

In July 2024, two articles were published on the subject of 'Summer Olympic sports in photography'. If you are still interested, you can find them here :
[111] Summer Olympic Sports and Photography - Part 1
[111] Summer Olympic Sports and Photography - Part 2

However, in addition to the Olympic sports, there are many sports around the world that have not had the good fortune or opportunity to take part in the prestigious Olympic Games.

'Hyundai WRC Rally Car' by Attila Szabo

Some of these non-Olympic Sports are briefly described in this article, accompanied by a selection of sports action photos provided by talented 1x photographers.

POLO
Polo is a team equestrian sport in which two teams of four horse riders compete against each other on an outdoor field. The aim is to get the ball into the opponent's goal using a long bat.

Ready to Hit' by Vicki Lai

It was originally invented by the Iranians. Its name comes from the Baltic word for 'ball', polo. It is related to the Tibetan word pulu, which also means 'ball'.

EQUESTRIAN HARNESS RACING
Equestrian Harness Racing is a well-known sport that is regularly practised on a large scale in several parts of the world.

'Dynamic trotting race' by Erhard Batzdorf

It is carried out by horses pulling a light vehicle with one axle and two wheels. Unlike horse racing, the jockey does not sit on the horse but on the carriage. Horse racing, which is similar to today's harness racing, was an important artistic sport in ancient Rome.

'in akcion' by Milan Malovrh

Under Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) there were up to twelve races a day, and later under Flavius (69-96 AD) the number rose to one hundred, held from dawn to dusk.

EQUESTRIAN STEEPLECHASE
The Equestrian Steeplechase (Cross Country) course is a grass, sand or ploughed track. Horses and riders often change direction and have to overcome obstacles in height and water, the jump and landing of which are often not at the same level, requiring a reduction in speed when climbing and an acceleration when descending.

'Betoota Flying Through The Dust' by Sharon Lee Chapman

One of the most famous steeplechase races in the world is the Great Pardubice in the Czech Republic, where the horses have to overcome a total of 31 obstacles over a distance of about 7,000 metres, the most famous of which is the Taxis Ditch - a hedge 150 cm high and 180 cm long at the jump, followed by a metre-deep ditch. It is four metres long and its bottom rises towards the landing area, making it 'one of the toughest jumps in the world'.

EQUESTRIAN FLAT RACING
Equestrian flat racing is a type of horse racing that involves covering a distance as quickly as possible. The horses start from individual stalls with the front doors opening simultaneously. Equestrian Flat Races are held internationally over distances ranging from 800m to 4200m.

'Horse Racing' by little7

No other Equestrian Flat Race has had such an impact on horse racing worldwide as the Derby at Epsom Downs, Surrey in England, which is held over distance of 2,423 metres. It is usually held on the first Saturday in June. Not only it is the race with the highest chance of winning in Britain, it is also regarded as the most important flat race in the world.

'Race' by John Fan

MOTORCYCLE SPEEDWAY RACING
Motorcycle Speedway Racing is a specialised motorcycle sport in which four, sometimes up to six, riders compete against each other on an oval circuit in an anticlockwise direction.

'Speedway' by Lou Urlings

Speedway bikes are special machines with only one gear and no brakes. Races take place over several laps on a flat track, usually made of earth, loose shale, sand or gravel.

'Speedway in the dirt' by Daniel Åström

MOTORCYCLE MOTOCROSS
Motorcycle Motocross is a motor sport where races are run on closed off-road tracks. Motorcycles are specially designed for off-road riding and are divided into performance categories according to cubic capacity (cc) in cubic centimetres.

'Knocked up' by Nir Amos

Today, there is mostly a distinction between the MX1, MX2 and MX3 (125-650 cc) categories.

untitled by Paul Gomez

GRAND PRIX MOTORCYCLE RACING
Grand Prix Motorcycle Races are always held on closed purpose-built fast speed circuits.

'Grand Prix Rider' by Abdelkader Allam

Grand Prix motorcycle racing is divided into several categories according to cubic capacity: Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP. The latter is considered the pinnacle of motorcycle racing.

'Going Down !' by Alfred Forns

The maximum speed during a race reaches approximately 230 km/h (Moto3) - 365 km/h (Moto GP).

FORMULA CAR RACING
Formula car racing is one of several forms of single-seater open-wheel motorsport. The most popular are Formula One, Formula E, Formula Two, Formula Three and Formula Four.

'Masters of Formula 3' by Dennis de Wolde

In common parlance, the term ‘Formula Racing’ also includes other single seater racing series, including the US IndyCar Series and the Super Formula Championship.

'Trust' by Mark Bolton Photography

Formula Car Races are held on purpose-built high-speed circuits and in some cases on closed city streets circuits.
The fastest circuit on the Formula One (F1) racing calendar is the Italian Autodromo Nazionale di Monza with an average speed of 265km/hour and a top speed of 365 km/hour.

'Afternoon sun' by Kohei Kawashima

Often referred to as 'The Temple of Speed', the circuit was the scene of numerous fatal accidents, particularly in the early years of the Formula One World Championship, which claimed the lives of fifty-two drivers and thirty-five spectators.

ENDURANCE CAR RACING
Endurance car races are contested with several drivers per team, who regularly take turns at the wheel. Driver changes usually take place at the pit stops, allowing the resting drivers to take a break during the race.

'Dynamic Alfas....' by Peter Elling-Jordt

The most famous endurance car races are the 24-hour races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Daytona.

CAR RALLY
A car rally is a competition in which the participants drive on normal roads and tracks through fields or forests The roads and paths are specially cordoned off for this purpose.

'Red Bull gives you wings' by Simo Järvinen

A Car Rally consists of several daily stages, which also include so-called special stages and connecting stages that lead from one special stage to the next.

'Maximum Attack' by Croitoriu Flavius

Only the closed-off special stages are driven at race pace. The winner is the team with the fastest time at the end.

AIR RACING
Air Racing is a type of racing in which small aircraft fly around a set course, with the winner either achieving the fastest time, scoring the most points or coming closest to a pre-set time.

'Pure fun' by Piotr Wrobel

<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: proxima-nova; mso-bidi-font-family: ""; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The most prestigious Air Race is the Red Bull Air Race World Championships, an international challenge where air racers compete to complete a challenging course in the fastest time.

WATER-SKIING
Competitive Water-Skiing is divided into three disciplines: Slalom, Tricks and Jumping, with a winner in each discipline and an overall winner in the three disciplines. The boat pulling the skier on the rope is driven through the centre of a row of floating buoys at a speed of 58 km/h for men and 55 km/h for women.

'Water Skiing' by Anna Wan

The Waterski Pro Tour is an annual series of professional water skiing competitions that brings together the best water skiers from around the world to compete for the title of World Champion.

CRICKET
Cricket is a ball game played by two teams of eleven players. Cricket was invented in England and is similar to American baseball, but cricket is much older. Cricket is played on an oval grass pitch.

'Stranded' by Gerard Sexton

The last time cricket was an Olympic sport was in 1900, but it is making a long-awaited comeback at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. After football, cricket is the second most watched sport in the world.

'Out!!!' by David Bennion

BASEBALL
In baseball, two teams of nine players face each other, alternating between fielding (defence) and batting (attack). The batting team tries to score runs, while the defence tries to prevent runs from being scored. The baseball field is in the shape of a pie, with foul lines around the perimeter.

'BaseballHit' by Marcel Egger

American baseball originated from European hitting variations of the 18th century. European emigrants brought the game to the United States, where the current rules were developed from the mid-19th century.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL
In American football, each team consists of fifty-three players, with eleven on the field at all times. Each team tries to get the football into the opponent's end zone, which is at each end of the field, to score a touchdown. The aim is to score more points than your opponent and win the game. The game lasts one hour, divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each.

'Catch me if you can' by Rob Li

The first American Football game was played on November 6, 1869, between two US college teams, Rutgers, and Princeton, using rules based on the rules of soccer at that time.

BULL RIDING
In the United States, bull riding, or rodeo on wild bulls, is considered to be the most exciting, the most sought after, the toughest and one of the most dangerous sports in the world.

'Hard Landing' by Ben.C.L

According to American tradition, the rider must remain on the back of a raging bull for at least eight seconds. The rider is tied to the bull with one hand with a long braided cord called a rope. He must not touch the bull with his other hand while riding.

'Bullish …' by Chenzhu Bai

But this is not a uniquely American sport: Bull riding has its roots in Mexico and is also popular in Brazil, Australia and Canada.
Bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports" because of the enormous risk involved.

'Bullrider' by Peter Majkut

With the dangerous sport of bull riding, we have reached the end of this article, but not the end of the series of six articles on sports photography.

Two more articles, non-Olympic winter and indoor sports will follow in 2025 and the last article in this series, which deals with Olympic winter sports disciplines, shall be published at the beginning of 2026 just before start of Winter Milano-Cortina Olympics early 2026.

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