By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – A decision on which new sports will be added to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics is to be revealed next week, a source told Reuters on Thursday.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced this week that it will hold an Executive Board meeting on Sept. 8 when, according to the source, it will take a decision on the LA28 programme.
The IOC Session would need to ratify that decision when it meets Oct. 15-17 in Mumbai.
The Executive Board consists of IOC President Thomas Bach, four vice-presidents and 10 other members whereas the Session is a general meeting of IOC members.
When reached for comment, the IOC said the opportunity to propose additional sports is at the full discretion of the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games.
It is then discussed by the Olympic Programme Commission and forwarded to the Executive Board, which would put the proposal to a vote at the IOC Session in Mumbai.
The LA28 organising committee did not immediately respond to Reuters when asked to comment.
The nine sports seeking inclusion for LA28 consists of flag football, karate, kickboxing, baseball-softball, lacrosse, breakdancing, squash, motorsport and cricket.
Of those nine sports, karate and baseball-softball are the only ones that were included in the Tokyo 2020 Games.
While their inclusion would only be assured for one edition of the Games, these sports are banking on the boost provided by their inclusion to spur growth and remain an attractive Olympic product going into the next four-year cycle.
In February 2022, the IOC confirmed 28 “youth-focused” sports for inclusion at LA28 a list that includes skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing.
Next year’s Paris 2024 Olympics organisers have included four additional sports for their Games – breakdancing, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing – the last three of which also featured as additional events at the Tokyo Games.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
