There's a movement afoot to get jousting into the 2020 Summer Olympics. Yes, jousting. Men in armor on horseback, knocking each out of their saddles with 12-foot lances.
Sewell said jousting, which requires “a huge amount of skill and involves a daily training regime”, ticked lots of Olympic boxes. “You have to be strong, not just physically but mentally, so you can sit fearlessly in your saddle, face your rival and offer yourself as a target.”
Just like dressage, it also requires an enormous amount of equestrian training. Horses must be persuaded to accept a rider dressed in 20kg of steel armour and to gallop at an opponent at speeds of up to 30mph.
Of course, if we're bringing back medieval sports, how about making Armored Combat League an Olympic sport too? There's already international competition among national teams so it's even more popular than jousting.
If they make those Olympic sports, I'll be sure to start watching again.
