Polo is considered the oldest mounted team sport, with a history reaching back centuries, when it was played in the plains of Asia, ancient Persia, China and India.

Polo was on the Olympic program at Paris 1900, London 1908, Antwerp 1920, Paris 1924 and Berlin 1936.

The team from Great Britain were Olympic champions in 1900, 1908 and 1920, and Argentina won the gold in 1924 and 1936.

Polo is now an active sport in 77 countries, and although its tenure as an Olympic sport was limited, in 1998 the IOC recognised it as a sport with a bona fide international governing body, the Federation of International Polo. Australia was never represented at an Olympic Games in polo.