New Sports at the 2028 Olympics

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The closing ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris occurred on August 11. Preparations for the 2028 Games, featuring new sports, have already started.

The 2024 Games featured 329 events across 32 sports, including several new sports. Surfing, skateboarding, and sport climbing all returned from the Tokyo Olympics, while the art of breaking, or breakdancing, made its Olympic debut in Paris. In 2017, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a bid that resulted in Paris assuming host duties for the 2024 Olympics while Los Angeles began preparations for the 2028 Summer Games. Several new and old sports will return at the Los Angeles Olympics and multiple sports that Olympic athletes have never contested.

Early in 2022, governing bodies confirmed surfing for the Los Angeles Games and all future Summer Olympics. As part of the core Olympic program, surfing enjoys added privileges and security as future host cities cannot easily drop it. Skateboarding and sport climbing will also return to the program in 2028 while breaking will not return as a medal event in Los Angeles.

As part of preparations for the 2028 Games, the LA Organizing Committee submitted a shortlist of nine sports proposed for inclusion, which included breaking. Although the Tokyo Olympics featured karate, the committee rejected it, along with kickboxing and motorsport. However, the committee accepted a few notable sports.

Baseball and softball will return to the Olympic program for the second time since 2008 as part of the Los Angeles Games. The sports were absent in 2012, 2016, and 2024. Softball debuted in the Olympic program during the 1996 Atlanta Games, and host cities have held baseball events on and off since the 1900 Paris Olympics. Baseball has traditionally served as a demonstration or exhibition sport and became a medal event in 1968 and 1992. Cuba holds a record three gold medals, while the United States, Japan, and South Korea have each won an Olympic baseball tournament. The US women’s softball team has won three gold medals to Japan’s two.

Another bat-and-ball team sport, cricket, will return to the Olympics in 2028. Cricket was contested as a medal event in 1900 but has had no Olympic presence in over 124 years. Men’s and women’s teams will compete under the truncated T20 rules, allowing matches to run three hours. Test cricket matches, by comparison, can take between four and five days. It is unclear where cricket will occur at the LA Olympics or what nations will participate, though the International Cricket Council only recognizes 12 full member nations.

Gridiron football, the most popular sport in America, will have a presence in Los Angeles. Flag football will debut at the 2028 Olympics, marking the sport’s most significant international stage. Speaking on behalf of USA Football, Scott Hallenbeck said: “The decision to add flag football…is an acknowledgment of the sport’s tremendous international growth and appeal.”

Lacrosse, the fastest-growing sport in the US, will be contested for a third time as an Olympic sport and for the first time since 1908, though it was a demonstration event in 1948. Squash will debut in 2028, and the World Squash Federation has already motioned for the sport’s inclusion at the 2032 Games.

In addition to these new sports, several under scrutiny from the International Olympic Committee received reaffirmation for the 2028 program and future Summer Olympics. These sports included the modern pentathlon and weightlifting, though boxing’s position as a core sport remains uncertain.

Gautam Reddy San Ramon; san ramon,CA; Data processing secretary

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