Tug of war at the Summer Olympics

Tug of war was contested as a team event in the Summer Olympics at every Olympiad from 1900 to 1920. Originally the competition was entered by groups called clubs. A country could enter more than one club in the competition, making it possible for one country to earn multiple medals. This happened in 1904, when the United States won all three medals, and in 1908 when the podium was occupied by three British teams.[1] Sweden was also among the top countries with two medals, one as a member of the mixed team.

Tug of war at the Summer Olympics
Governing body	TWIF
Events	1 (men)
Games
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Medalists

Tug of war competition in 1904 Summer Olympics

The 1908 City of London Police team that won the gold medal in the tug of war in 1908. (Back row - left to right): Frederick Merriman, John James Shepherd, Edwin Mills, Albert Ireton, Frederick Goodfellow, Frederick Humphreys
(Front row - left to right): Edward Barrett, H. Duke (Captain), William Hirons

During its time as an Olympic sport, it was considered to be part of the Olympic athletics programme, although the sports of tug of war and athletics are now considered distinct.[2]