Lacrosse may only have been an official Olympic event on two occasions, but the sport has a fascinating colourful history, with Team GB often at the very centre.
The event made its debut at the 1904 Games in St Louis with only three teams participating – two from Canada and one from the US.
The Shamrock Lacrosse Team claimed victory for Canada, with the Mohawk Indians claiming bronze while boasting a team of wonderful indigenous names such as Almighty Voice, Rain in Face, and Man Afraid of the Soap.
Four years later, Great Britain made their one and only appearance in an official lacrosse event at the Olympics, competing in a straight shootout with Canada for the gold medal after South Africa withdrew.
The official event report declared the British team to be ‘by far the strongest ever put into a field’, despite the sport’s modest reputation in Europe at the time.
Indeed, the all-star Canada team defended the country’s gold medal at White City Stadium in West London, racing into a 5-1 lead in the first quarter before eventually clinching a 14-10 victory.
George Buckland’s five goals, Edward Jones’ four, and one for George Alexander were not enough for the British team but they still took home silver medals.
Unlike today's compact fortnight of action, the 1908 Games stretched across months with almost all events hosted at White City.
While the athletics medals were handed out in July, the lacrosse team did not take the field until October alongside rugby, football, and hockey.
Despite those being the last Olympic lacrosse medals for 120 years, lacrosse was a demonstration event at three more editions, in 1928, 1932, and 1948.
Yet again, the triumvirate of Great Britain, Canada, and the USA comprised the entire competition.
Team GB squeezed past the US 7-6 in their first match, but lost 9-5 to Canada, as every team ended the competition with one win and one loss.
Only Canada and the USA contested the sport’s next Olympic demonstration at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles, but Great Britain weren’t done with the sport yet.
When the Games returned to London in 1948, a single lacrosse match was played, between Team GB and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute team for the USA.
The British team was formed from the All-England team, most of whom hailed from Lancashire and Cheshire, much like the 1928 team before them.
A frantic first period saw the US take a 4-2 lead, despite goals from Roy Whittaker and Jack Little for the Brits.
Rick Wilson reduced the deficit in the second quarter, before Whittaker, Anthony Dennis and American Alan Myers scored in the final moments as the match ended in a dramatic 5-5 draw.
It remains the last time lacrosse has been played at the Olympics in any format but that will change 80 years on, when the sixes format is introduced for Los Angeles 2028.
The sport has grown enormously across the world since then and medals will be up for grabs in LA for the first time in 120 years.
Sportsbeat 2026