Here are some interesting and lesser-known facts about sports:

General Sports Facts

1. Oldest Sport: Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world, dating back to 3000 BCE in ancient Egypt.

2. Longest Tennis Match: The longest tennis match in history lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes during Wimbledon 2010 between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut.

3. Fastest Ball Sport: Jai Alai is considered the fastest ball sport, with the ball reaching speeds of up to 302 km/h (188 mph).

Football (Soccer)

4. The first-ever FIFA World Cup in 1930 was won by Uruguay.

5. A referee once showed a player three yellow cards in the 2006 FIFA World Cup (Graham Poll mistakenly forgot to send the player off).

6. The fastest goal in football history was scored in just 2.4 seconds by Nawaf Al-Abed in 2009.

Basketball

7. Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith as a way to keep students active indoors during winter.

8. The NBA's shortest player ever, Muggsy Bogues (5’3”), once blocked a shot by the league's tallest player, Manute Bol (7’7”).

9. Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for scoring 100 points in a single NBA game (1962).

Cricket

10. The longest cricket match lasted 12 days between England and South Africa in 1939, ending in a draw because England had to catch a ship home.

11. Chris Gayle is the only player to hit a six off the first ball of a Test match.

12. India’s Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to score 100 international centuries.

Olympics

13. The Olympic Games were once held twice in the same year (1924 Winter and Summer Olympics).

14. In 1900, live pigeon shooting was an Olympic event; it was replaced by clay pigeon shooting in 1904.

15. Norway has won the most Winter Olympic medals in history.

Marathon and Running

16. The origin of the marathon comes from the ancient Greek soldier Pheidippides, who ran from Marathon to Athens (about 25 miles) to deliver news of victory.

17. The world’s slowest marathon finisher took 54 years to complete the race—Shizo Kanakuri dropped out in 1912 but finished in 1966.

Baseball

18. Baseball umpires were originally allowed to sit in rocking chairs behind home plate in the 19th century.

19. The first baseball game ever televised was in 1939 between Princeton University and Columbia University.

20. Babe Ruth was the first baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a single season (1927).

Unusual Sports

21. Chess Boxing: A hybrid sport combines rounds of chess and boxing to test both brains and brawn.

22. Bog Snorkeling: A quirky sport involves swimming through a muddy trench in a swamp using snorkels.

23. Wife Carrying: A Finnish sport where men race while carrying their wives on their backs.

Miscellaneous Facts

24. Michael Phelps has won more Olympic medals (28) than 161 countries have since the modern Games began.

25. Roger Federer holds the record for the most Wimbledon men’s singles titles, with eight wins.

26. The term "hat trick" originated in cricket when a bowler took three wickets in three consecutive deliveries, and fans gifted him a hat.

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