What new sports are in the 2024 Olympics? A comprehensive list

The 2024 Olympics, or the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, are expected to commence on July 26, 2024. Over the years, the summer games have featured numerous sports, events, and disciplines, with an additional four set to debut in the Paris 2024 Games. Have a look at this comprehensive guide to what new sports are in the 2024 Olympics.

How many sports will be in the Olympics in 2024? 32 sporting disciplines will be contested in the Paris 2024 Games. Sports Brief has compiled this list of the new sports coming to the Olympics in 2024 using data from credible sources, such as the official Olympics website.

What new sports are in the 2024 Olympics?

Over ten thousand athletes will compete in 32 matches across 35 venues across France for nineteen days. These include water sports such as swimming, marathon swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, canoe sprint and slalom, various cycling disciplines, equestrian games, gymnastics disciplines, volleyball, basketball, football, and handball.

Other events include archery, athletics, boxing, fencing, golf, hockey, judo, rugby, sailing, shooting, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, weightlifting, and wrestling.

Breaking, skateboarding, surfing, and climbing are additions to the 2024 Olympics, while kayak cross and 3x3 basketball will make their first appearances. The 2026 Milano Winter Olympics will have eight games and 15 disciplines. These include biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, skating, mountaineering, and skiing.

What new sports will be in the Olympics in 2024?

Billions of television viewers worldwide and millions of spectators are expected to watch the competition featuring 329 events. In line with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) proposals, Paris 2024 organisers suggested four additional competitive contests that would feature in the Paris Games.

In 2019, the IOC approved the four games with twelve events for the Paris Games. Here is a summary of new games in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

1. Breaking

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What is the new sport breaking in the 2024 Olympics? Breaking or break dancing originated in the Bronx borough of New York in the 1970s. The unique dance style is characterised by hip-hop music, acrobatic body movements, and stylised footwork.

Breaking debuted during the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Games. Although its big break comes in Paris, it will miss the 2028 Los Angeles Games. It will feature round-robin or all-play-all tournaments, quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal battles before judges.

Players' solo battles will feature moves such as windmills, the 6-step, and freezes. The nine-judge panel will score the competitors based on creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality.

2. Skateboarding

Skateboarding began in the United States as a youth pastime. After debuting at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, skateboarding will make its second appearance on the competition's stage. Athletes will compete in two disciplines, park and street, in men's and women's events at the Place de La Concorde.

3. Surfing

What is the new surfing game added to the Olympics in 2024? Surfing's journey to the games began as early as 1920, thanks partly to campaigns by three-time swimming champion and native Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku.

Surfing will be featured in the Olympics for the second time after appearing in Tokyo in 2020. The event will be held in the French Capital, Teahupo’o, on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia. A five-judge panel will evaluate and rank surfers based on their manoeuvers and tricks, variety, type, speed, power, and difficulty.

4. Sport climbing

One of the new sports that are coming to the Olympics is competitive climbing. First contested in 1985 in Turin, Italy, and later at Vaulx-en-Velin, Lyon, France, the game quickly gained popularity among the youth.

During the 2020 Tokyo Games, athletes competed individually in the bouldering, lead, and speed disciplines, and their final scores reflected the results of the three competitions. Unlike in the Tokyo Games, the Paris event will have two events, combined boulder and lead and speed.

Frequently asked questions

Do you know what new sports are in the 2024 Olympics? Here are some interesting facts about the competition and the games you can expect to see.

1. What are the 5 new sports for the Olympics?

Climbing, surfing, skateboarding, and breaking will make their first appearances in the 2024 Paris Games. While no demonstration games are scheduled to appear in the Milano Cortina 2026, ski mountaineering will be one of the new winter sports in 2026.

2. What new sport will not be added to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games?

Surfing debuted in Tokyo in 2021 as one of the newest competitive matches. However, it will not return to the Paris Games. Karate was also voted out of the Olympics' list of sports, a decision linked to its low entertainment value and inability to draw a younger audience.

Despite receiving the International Olympic Committee's approval, flag football and squash fans will wait for the sport to debut in 2028.

3. What are the five sports that have been featured in every modern Summer Olympics?

According to various sources, five sporting disciplines have been featured in all summer competitions since 1896. These include gymnastics, athletics, cycling, fencing, and swimming. Other modern games featured in past Olympic games include boxing, surfing, modern pentathlon, karate, sport climbing, and skateboarding.

4. What sports are being removed from the 2024 Olympics?

A report released by NBC revealed that contests such as softball, which featured in the Games between 1996 and 2020, will not be appearing in 2024, as it did in 2012 and 2016. Baseball and karate have also received the chop and will not be contested in 2024.

Final word

Many people do not know what new sports will be in the 2024 Olympics and why they were included. The latest additions include breaking, skateboarding, surfing, climbing, kayak cross, and 3x3 basketball. Many athletes are expected to compete in the games and fight for glory.

Sports Brief has published a report on sport breaking, one of the newest Olympic sports. The competitive discipline combines elements of music, dance, and hip-hop culture and brings them onto the global stage as an international athletic event. Click the link above to discover what breaking entails, its history, participants, and judging criteria.