Think of the Olympic Games and most people imagine athletics, swimming or perhaps track cycling. But there is so much more to discover and for all you non-aficionados, we’ve listed a few great reasons why some of the lesser-known sports should not be missed.

BMX CYCLING

The newest and coolest cycling discipline in the Olympic Games (it was added to the programme at Beijing 2008), BMX is packed with thrills and spills. Batches of eight cyclists set off down an eight-metre ramp and speed around a 400m course, seemingly defying gravity as they fly over the jumps, hanging in the air like the kids in the E.T. movie. The frantic, up-close nature of racing means that crashes are plentiful, with spectacular wipe-outs only adding to the drama. Where: Olympic BMX Centre, Deodoro Olympic Park. When: 17-19 August 2016.

(Photo: Getty Images/Phil Walter)

DESSAGE

Horses dancing to music you say? Count me in. Yes, dressage riders may look super formal, in their top hats and white gloves, but how can a sport known as ‘horse ballet’ be anything but fun. In reality, the skill and elegance displayed by the horse and rider – and the harmony between them – is something that can only achieved by years of dedication. Equestrian is also the only sport in which women compete with men for the same medals. And in the horses, the sport features some of the most pampered VIP athletes at the Games. Where: Olympic Equestrian Centre, Deodoro Olympic Park. When: 10-12 and 15 August 2016.

(Photo: Getty Images/Alex Livesey)

FREESTYLE WRESTLING

Freestyle does not mean anything goes. This isn’t cage fighting. While wrestlers may use any part of their body to take down their opponent, the use of knees, elbows, strangling, eye gorging or hair pulling are strictly forbidden. Part of the Olympic Games since 1904, freestyle wrestling is a veritable test of strength, skill and character – the best competitors know how to keep cool under intense pressure and strike when their opponent shows a moment of weakness. And Rio 2016 could witness history being made: legendary Japanese duo Saori Yoshida and Kaori Icho (below) will be out to become the first women to win the same event at four consecutive Olympic Games. Where: Carioca Arena 2, Barra Olympic Park. When: 17-21 August 2016.

 (Photo: Getty Images/Lars Baron)

TRAMPOLINE

We all loved bouncing up and down on trampolines when we were kids, but these athletes went and made a profession out of such glorious fun. However, when you seem them in action, you’ll quickly understand this is no game – reaching heights of eight metres, these gymnasts perform acrobatic manoeuvres of such daring complexity that you will be gasping in astonishment. A sporting cousin of diving and freestyle skiing, athletes – such as reigning Olympic and world champion Rosie MacLennan (below) – are scored on difficulty, execution and flight time. Where: Rio Olympic Arena, Barra Olympic Park. When: 12-13 August 2016.

(Photo: Getty Images/Ronald Martinez)

MODERN PENTATHLON

Athletes competing in five wildly different sports in one day? Being introduced to the horses on which they will jump a frightening obstacle course just before the event? Everything resting on the final running/shooting event? Modern pentathlon is so eclectic, so much fun, it has to be seen to be believed. It also offers an snapshot of Olympic history: the pentathlon was contested at the first ancient Games, in 708 BC, and then reintroduced with the ‘modern’ pre-fix by the father of the modern Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, at Stockholm 1912. Just as the ancient pentathlon was based on the  skills needed to be a soldier of that era, modern pentathlon was devised to test the key abilities required by a cavalry soldier behind enemy lines, hence fencing, swimming, horse riding, running and shooting. Where: Deodoro Olympic Park. When: 18-20 August 2016.

(Photo: Getty Images/Alex Livesey)

HANDBALL

You see the court and you think 5-a-side football. See them in action and there’s an element of basketball, as players bounce the ball and pass it from hand to hand. But handball is a unique and thrilling spectacle, crammed with spinning jumps, fiercely contested disputes for possession, dynamic passing moves and cunning trick shots. Popular in Europe and some parts of Asia, the atmosphere in the stands – especially in matches between two geographical rivals – can be red hot. And with Brazil’s women now a force to be reckoned with, there could well be the added excitement of a home challenge. Where: Future Arena, Barra Olympic Park. When: 6-21 August 2016.

(Photo: Getty Images/Jeff Gross)

CANOE SLALOM

When you see the level of detail that has gone into designing the canoe slalom course for the Rio 2016 Games, you will have no doubts about size of the challenge facing these whitewater daredevils. In canoes and kayaks they will gush down the fast-flowing artificial river replete with waves, eddies and obstacles, having to pass through 18-25 gates, sometimes against the current. With roots in indigenous North American cultures, this thoroughly modern adventure sport is a thrilling and fascinating spectacle. Where: Whitewater Stadium, Deodoro Olympic Park. When: 7-11 August de 2016.

(Photo: Getty Images/ Harry How)

ROAD CYCLING TIME TRIAL

It may seem confusing at first – as the riders set off individually, at 90-second intervals – but this race against the clock is gripping stuff, with competitors burning around the course (54.4km for men, about 29.8km for women) at lung-busting speeds, with one eye on the clock and their rivals’ times. Rio will have an added special ingredient – cyclists will go for glory against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world, the course taking them past glorious coastline and up and down through forested climbs and descents. Where: Pontal, Barra zone. When: 10 August 2016.

(Photo: Getty Images/Alex Livesey)