Though Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, and French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati may have made the 2024 Paris Olympics a particularly fascinating spectacle, the games have always been a sight to behold. 

Since the first modern Olympiad in 1896, athletes from around the world have trained hard — and competed even harder — to prove they're the best of the best, duking it out to earn superlatives in events like swimming, gymnastics, and archery, ones that looked a whole lot different in their Olympic debut than they do today. 

From the early days of Judo to dress-clad athletes competing for an archery medal, here are 24 vintage pics of Olympic sports dating back to some of their earliest appearances.