Sports Facts for Kids
Fun facts from the world of sports
The tallest player in NBA history was Gheorghe Muresan of Romania, who stood 2.31 metres (7 feet 7 inches) tall. He played in the league during the 1990s and was almost too tall for regulation doorways.
The butterfly stroke was developed in the 1930s as a faster variation of breaststroke. Swimmers realised that recovering their arms over the water rather than under it was much quicker, and butterfly became a separate event.
The oldest person to compete at the Olympic Games was Oscar Swahn of Sweden, who won a silver medal in shooting at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics at the age of 72.
A football referee is in complete control of a match and their decisions are final during play. In international matches, officials also include two assistant referees (linesmen) and a fourth official on the touchline.
The Jamaican bobsled team made their Winter Olympic debut at the 1988 Calgary Games, despite Jamaica being a tropical country with no snow. Their story inspired the 1993 film 'Cool Runnings'.
In Olympic relay races, if a team drops the baton, they are immediately disqualified. The exchange of the baton must also take place within a designated zone, or the team is likewise disqualified.
The distinctive oval shape of a rugby ball evolved from the pig's bladder that was originally inflated and used as a ball in early games. Different pigs produced different shaped bladders, giving balls slightly different shapes.
Hurling is an ancient Irish sport that is one of the fastest field sports in the world. Players can strike the sliotar (ball) through the air at speeds over 160 km/h using a wooden stick called a hurley.
The Paralympic movement began in 1948 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, where Dr Ludwig Guttmann organised sports competitions for World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries as part of their rehabilitation.
Darts is believed to have originated in medieval England when soldiers threw short arrows at the bottom of a wine barrel or a cross-section of a tree trunk for practice. It gradually became a popular pub game.