### 252578670 Inca puberty rites were competitive > The Inca themselves did have a few things that could be mistaken for sports, although all of them did have some other kind of purpose as well. > > The first thing that comes to my mind is long-distance footraces, especially during the puberty rites. Every Inca boy ran something like a marathon in front of most of Cuzco before he got to tie on a breech cloth, have his ears pierced by the Emperor himself, and take on a new adult name. The top ten runners got to wear special clothing to celebrate their victory, and it was a normal thing for their accomplishment to be a major part of their reputation as an adult for the rest of their lives. The last ten runners across the finish line wore special clothing to shame them, and their failure was definitely viewed as a bad omen for their future. - [View Highlight](https://reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/nqkyhy/what_sports_if_any_did_the_incas_play?__readwiseLocation=0%2F1%2F0%2F4%2F2%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F5%2F1%2F0%2F2%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F3%3A198%2C0%2F2%2F0%2F4%2F2%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F5%2F1%2F0%2F2%2F1%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F3%2F1%2F0%2F3%3A650#:~:text=The%20Inca%20themselves%20did%20have%2Cbad%20omen%20for%20their%20future.) - [[Inca games or the lack thereof#252578670 Inca puberty rites were competitive|View in Vault]]