The Olympic period

With the revival of the Olympic Games by Baron de Coubertin, tug of war became an Olympic sport. From 1900 to 1920, tug of war was included in the program of the Olympic Games.

During this period, medals were won by:

1900, Paris
1. Sweden 2. USA 3. France

1904, St. Louis
1. USA 2. USA 3. USA

1908, London
1. Great Britain 2. Great Britain 3. Great Britain

1912, Stockholm
1. Sweden 2. Great Britain

1920, Antwerp
1. Great Britain 2. Netherlands 3. Belgium

After 1920, tug of war was dropped from the Olympic program by a majority vote because the number of participants in the Games was being reduced. This decision temporarily slowed the further development of the sport at the international level.

Fortunately, the exclusion of tug of war from the Olympic Games did not lead to its disappearance as a sport in its own right. In many countries, tug of war remained a separate sport within the national athletic associations. However, since the national athletic associations paid little attention to tug of war as a discipline in its own right, the need arose to create separate independent organizations.

The oldest independent tug of war association is the Swedish union, founded in 1933. Following the Swedes' example, other European countries also created their own independent organizations. A tug of war federation was established in Great Britain in 1958, and in the Netherlands in 1959.