Beijing, Feb 3: The International Olympic Committee has approved the initial sports programme for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles with 28 sports on the schedule including skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing.
The initial sports programme, which has a strong focus on youth, was approved on Thursday by the 139th Session of the IOC in Beijing.
While inclusion in the ‘core’ sports is a big boost for these news sports, doubts persist over the inclusion of embattled sports boxing and weightlifting are in trouble because of governance issues highlighted by the IOC.
The 28 sports included in the initial sports programme are athletics, rowing, badminton, basketball, canoe and kayaking, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, wrestling, swimming, rugby, taekwondo. tennis. table tennis, shooting, archery, triathlon, sailing, volleyball, surfing, skating and sport climbing, the IOC informed in a release on Thursday.
Skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing, all youth-focused sports, made their Olympic debut successfully at Tokyo 2020 and all of them have deep roots in California, the release said.
Meanwhile, the IOC Session also acknowledged additional proposals from the IOC Executive Board (EB), recommended by the Olympic Programme Commission (OPC), which considered sport-specific issues, as well as the impact on the overall cost and complexity of the Games.
The IOC Session acknowledged the proposal on pathways for boxing, weightlifting, and modern pentathlon to be potential in the LA28 initial sports programme at the IOC session in 2023.
These three sports may be included in the initial sports programme for Los Angeles by the IOC Session in 2023 if by then the respective IFs have demonstrate’ to the IOC’s satisfaction that they have addressed the areas specified by the EB on December 9, 2021, the release said. (IANS)
