This list covers 28 sports, ranging from “Madison” to “Muay Thai.” These activities span traditional games, combat disciplines, endurance events, and motorized competitions, each with its own rules, equipment, and skill set. People take part in them for fitness, competition, cultural tradition, and entertainment, whether at local clubs, national leagues, or the Olympic Games.
Sports are organized physical activities governed by a set of rules, usually involving competition between individuals or teams. Some, like Modern Pentathlon, combine several disciplines into a single event, while others, like Mölkky, grew out of simple pastimes once played for fun in Finnish backyards.
Below you’ll find the table with Sport and Description.
Sport: the name of each activity, so you can quickly find the one you’re looking for or discover a new one to try.
Description: a short explanation of how each sport is played, what equipment it uses, and what makes it unique.
Sports
| Sport |
|---|
| Madison |
| Mallakhamb |
| Marathon |
| Marathon Swimming |
| Marbles |
| Martial Arts |
| Match Racing |
| Miniature Golf |
| Mixed Doubles Curling |
| Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) |
| Modern Pentathlon |
| Mogul Skiing |
| Mölkky |
| Monobob |
| Monoskiing |
| Motoball |
| Motocross |
| Motor Racing |
| Motorboat Racing |
| Motorcycle Speedway |
| Motorcycle Trials |
| Mountain Biking |
| Mountain Unicycling |
| Mountaineering |
| Mountainboarding |
| Mounted Archery |
| Mounted Games |
| Muay Thai |
Descriptions
Madison
A track cycling event where two-rider teams take turns racing, exchanging places with a hand-sling while resting teammates wait, aiming for the fastest combined result.
Mallakhamb
A traditional Indian sport blending gymnastics and wrestling-style holds performed on a vertical wooden pole, hanging rope, or cane, testing strength, flexibility, and balance.
Marathon
A long-distance running race covering 26.2 miles (42.195 km), traditionally run on roads and serving as the closing event of major athletics championships.
Marathon Swimming
An open-water endurance swimming event, typically 10 kilometers or longer, raced in lakes, rivers, or the sea rather than a pool.
Marbles
A traditional game where players flick small glass or stone spheres to knock opponents’ marbles out of a ring, played competitively in organized tournaments.
Martial Arts
A broad family of combat disciplines, including karate, judo, and taekwondo, practiced worldwide for self-defense, fitness, and competitive sport.
Match Racing
A head-to-head sailing format pitting two identical boats against each other on a short course, emphasizing tactics and close boat-handling over raw speed.
Miniature Golf
A simplified putting sport played on short, obstacle-filled courses, where players try to sink a ball in as few strokes as possible.
Mixed Doubles Curling
An Olympic curling discipline played by two-person, one-man-one-woman teams sliding stones toward a target on ice, using simplified rules and shorter ends.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
A full-contact combat sport blending striking and grappling techniques from boxing, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu, contested in a caged or roped ring.
Modern Pentathlon
An Olympic multi-event sport combining fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, and a combined pistol-shooting and running event.
Mogul Skiing
A freestyle skiing discipline raced down a bump-covered slope, judged on speed, turn technique, and tricks performed off two jumps.
Mölkky
A Finnish outdoor throwing game where players toss a wooden pin to knock over numbered skittles, aiming to score exactly 50 points.
Monobob
A single-athlete bobsled event, introduced for women at the Winter Olympics, where one racer pilots and brakes a one-person sled down an icy track.
Monoskiing
An alpine skiing discipline, popular in adaptive sport, where the rider sits in a molded seat mounted on a single wide ski.
Motoball
A team sport resembling soccer played on motorcycles, where riders use their front wheel to push a large ball into the opposing goal.
Motocross
An off-road motorcycle racing sport held on rough, hilly dirt tracks featuring jumps, tight turns, and packs of competing riders.
Motor Racing
A broad category of competitive auto racing, spanning circuit series like Formula 1, rally events, and endurance races held on tracks worldwide.
Motorboat Racing
A watersport in which powered boats compete for speed around a marked course on lakes, rivers, or open water.
Motorcycle Speedway
A form of oval-track motorcycle racing on dirt or shale, using brakeless bikes that slide sideways through the corners.
Motorcycle Trials
A discipline where riders navigate technical, obstacle-filled sections at very low speed without putting a foot down, judged on control rather than speed.
Mountain Biking
A cycling sport ridden on rugged, off-road terrain, encompassing cross-country, downhill, and enduro racing disciplines.
Mountain Unicycling
An extreme sport combining mountain biking’s off-road trails with the balance challenge of riding a single-wheeled unicycle.
Mountaineering
The sport of climbing mountains, involving technical rock, ice, and high-altitude skills to reach summits safely.
Mountainboarding
An off-road board sport where riders stand on a four-wheeled board and descend hills, dirt tracks, or dry-slope courses.
Mounted Archery
An equestrian sport where competitors shoot a bow at targets while riding a galloping horse, rooted in ancient hunting and warfare traditions.
Mounted Games
A team equestrian sport where riders complete relay-style tasks, such as vaulting or exchanging flags, while racing on horseback.
Muay Thai
A Thai striking martial art and combat sport known as “the art of eight limbs,” using fists, elbows, knees, and shins.