AND just like that, the 2024 Paris Olympics are done and dusted, and collective attention now turns to Los Angeles who are set to host the 2028 edition of the Olympics.
The Summer Olympics will return to the southern California city for the third time, and it won’t be the only thing returning.
As is customary, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has green-lighted several new (and old) sports to make their debut or infamous return in the City of Angels.
Here is every sport which is set debut or return to the Summer Olympics in 2028 and the few that featured in Paris which may not be revived.
Flag football, squash debut
Flag football is one of two sports set to make their debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The non-contact variant of American football will feature men’s and women’s medal events, with team playing five-vs-five on a 50-yard pitch, the IOC stated.
Meanwhile, the World Squash Federation had tried for years to introduce the sport into the Games before being given the go-ahead for LA.
The racket-and-ball sport which has rapidly gained popularity in recent years will finally make its much anticipated debut in LA, with the inclusion of men’s and women’s singles medal events in 2028.
Cricket, baseball, softball, lacrosse return
Cricket is set to make its return to the Games after a 128-year absence. However, this will only be the second time the sport will be played at the Olympics.
Its sole appearance prior to this was in 1900 in Paris. The bat-and-ball game will make its slow integration back into the event via a six-team tournament.
Great Britain is the only previous cricket gold medallist, having won in the 1900 Paris Games. Great Britain and France were the only sides to compete.
Baseball was added as a permanent sport in the 1992 Barcelona Games but was dropped after 2008 before making a one-time return in Tokyo in 2020.
Cuba won three of the first four gold medals, the US interrupting the streak in 2000 in Sydney. South Korea and Japan have won the previous two golds. IOC officials expect it to remain in Brisbane.
Softball has been on the Olympic card five times, most recently in 2020, when host country Japan won its second consecutive gold medal.
The fourth and final sport set to make its return in LA in 2028 is lacrosse. The contact sport will feature as a sixes tournament, the more fast-paced shorter version of field lacrosse.
LA will mark the first time in 120 years that medals will be awarded in the sport. Only three nations have previously contested for the gold medal, with Canada claiming the only two gold medals up for grabs in 1904 and 1908.
They beat the United States in their first outing in 1904 before claiming back-to-back Olympic titles by beating Great Britain four years later.
What’s out
Boxing has not been cleared for Los Angeles. The IOC has stripped recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA) for what it said was a failure to address finance and governance reforms, and the IBA has not been involved in the last two Olympic Games.
The IOC has delayed until 2025 a decision on whether to include the sport, pending the formation of a new governing body. Boxing was introduced in 1904 and has been part of the medal program since 1920.
The purported sport of break-dancing – “breaking” – threatens to be a one-hit wonder after being introduced in Paris.
The sport which went viral thanks to Australia’s Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun’s awkward routine where she scored a remarkable zero points will not be part of the programme in LA in 2028. – Aug 14, 2024
Main image: Hashtag Sports
