The Paris Olympics, which will officially open tomorrow, will feature a new sport in breaking, plus three young sports returning from the Tokyo Games – climbing, skateboarding and surfing.
These are the changes to the sports programme...
Breakdancing to make debut
A competitive form of breakdancing that blends artistry and dance with acrobatic moves, breaking will debut at the Paris Olympics. The urban dance style, which originated in the Bronx borough of New York in the 1970s, was announced as part of the Paris 2024 programme in late 2020.
Two-time World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) championship winner Victor Montalvo and Canadian Phil Wizard (Philip Kim) will be the favourites in the B-Boy category.
Montalvo, 30, held off Wizard in the final to take the WDSF World Breaking Championship title last year and became the first American to qualify for breaking at the Olympics.
Wizard, 27, won the WDSF championship in 2022.
In the B-Girl category, the 2023 world champion, 17-year-old Nicka (Dominika Banevic) of Lithuania, and Japanese Ami (Ami Yuasa) will be the ones to watch out for.
New canoe slalom event, kayak cross
Having made its Olympic debut at Munich 1972, canoe slalom will see a new event added to its roster, with kayak cross making its debut at Paris 2024.
Kayak cross is an extreme canoe slalom, which sees competitors in kayaks race on white water, jostling each other with their paddles for pole position.
The Olympic event will begin with timed solo runs before introducing a frenetic element of head-to-head competition as four racers face off against each other, vying for position on the course, with placings changing rapidly and contact almost inevitable.
Britain’s world champion Joe Clarke and Australia’s Jessica Fox are among the favourites to win inaugural gold medals in the event, but the chaotic nature of the four-person races makes them almost impossible to predict.
There will be six medals up for grabs, and an equal number of men and women competing.
Kiteboarding to make debut
Kiteboarding, also known as kitesurfing, is a high-octane sport that will be among the 10 sailing events at Paris 2024 for the first time in Olympic history.
Kiteboarding will be held in Formula Kite format, with 20 men and 20 women using approved kites in a wind range between five to 40 knots.
American Daniela Moroz and Maximilian Maeder of Singapore will be the ones to watch. Moroz is No 1 in the Formula Kite women’s rankings, while Maeder is ranked No 1 in the men’s category.
There will be three new mixed events in sailing, including mixed kiteboarding and mixed 470.
Some other changes
Modern pentathlon was previously completed over the course of one day, but the Paris 2024 semi-final and final will be condensed into 90 minutes. The order of the disciplines will also be new, with short rest intervals.
A repechage round will be introduced to all individual track events in athletics from 200m to 1 500m in distance. Replacing the individual 50km, the mixed team walking race will also make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024.
In artistic swimming, men will be eligible to compete for the first time in Olympic history. An acrobatic team routine has also been added to the programme.
A new women’s weight class, bantamweight, will be introduced in boxing, while the men’s light-heavyweight division will be removed.
The skeet mixed team event in shooting will replace the trap mixed team event.
In volleyball, teams will be split into three pools of four each, playing three matches in the pool phase.
Two extreme canoe slalom events have been added, while two canoe sprint events have been cut.
New sports returning from Tokyo Olympics
The Paris organisers have included sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing – all of which also featured as additional events at Tokyo 2020.
Climbing: There will be two events for male and female competitors in Paris – speed climbing and a combined bouldering and lead competition.
Skateboarding: Skateboarding will have two disciplines, street and park.
Surfing: Almost 16 000km from the main Games venues, 48 surfers – including South African star Jordy Smith – will compete in the shortboard events in Teahupo’o in Tahiti.
Which sports have been dropped?
Having made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, karate was not included in the 2024 Games. Baseball and softball have also been dropped for Paris, but will return at Los Angeles 2028. | Reuters