The Olympics showcases sports that most of us would never see otherwise. Once every four years, we follow speed skating, luge, curling, and slalom and suddenly become experts in our minds. And occasionally we got a glimpse into what goes on behind those sports. Just the other day we found out that how the fit of a ski suit is very important in the sport of ski jumping. There are plenty of other obscure rules for Olympic sports. Did you know that colored nail polish is not allowed in women's gymnastics? Maybe we can assume it's not allowed in men's gymnastics, either. And the authorities of water polo are rightfully concerned about whether athletes have clipped their toenails. Mental Floss goes over these restrictions in a list of ten obscure Olympics rules.
One rule, however, needs an update. Backflips were banned from figure skating after the 1976 games. We were all astounded when Surya Bonaly of France did a backflip on ice in 1998. She was penalized, but is remembered to this day. In 2024, the International Skating Union decided to reverse the rule and make backflips okay. US figure skating star Ilia Malinin is currently taking advantage of the rule change by stealing the show at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games in Italy.
Commenting on Neatorama will earn you NeatoPoints!