Paris is the home of the Summer Olympics in 2024, and the world’s best athletes continue to prepare for what they hope is a gold-filled trip to France.
While sports like basketball, swimming, track and field, and soccer are among the most popular, there are a few new events coming to the Olympics this year.
There are also some that were introduced in the Tokyo Olympics that will be returning as well.
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The south facade of the Palais Bourbon with the flags of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in Paris on June 4, 2024. (RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
Let’s take a look at what new events fans will be able to watch when the Olympics start on July 26.
SPORTS RETURNING
Skateboarding
The park and street disciplines for skateboarding were popular when they were introduced in Toyko, as some of the best skaters in the world showed off their creativity on their boards.
Each event will consist of two rounds, prelims and finals, in skate parks designed to give the competitors all the necessary assets to impress the judges with their tricks.
Skaters will be judged by not only the height and speed of their tracks during jumps, but also their ability to use the entire surface area of the skate park.
Paris’ famous Place de la Concorde will be the site for this year’s skate competition.
TEAM USA: TBD
Nyjah Huston of Team USA reacts at the Skateboarding Men’s Street Prelims on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 25, 2021 in Tokyo. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Surfing
The sport that inspired skateboarding is also returning to the Olympics, as Tahiti will play host to the best surfers on the planet to compete in their waves.
Surfing is one of the first events that kicks off the Olympics, as they will compete over four days in a 10-day window from July 27 to Aug. 5.
Five judges will determine scores based off tricks on the waves, as well as speed and power and flow, which is how surfers connect their moves while riding a wave.
TEAM USA: Griffin Colapinto, John John Florence, Caroline Marks, Carissa Moore
Sport Climbing
It might not be a sport you are aware of, but it is gaining popularity each year globally to the point where the 2020 Olympics brought it into the fold.
Sport climbing breaks into three different areas of expertise: speed, bouldering and lead. For speed, it is intense one-on-one rounds that show athletes trying to climb the 15-meter wall faster than their opponent.
Bouldering is even more suspenseful, with the athletes climbing a 4.5-meter wall without any ropes. Lead sees climbers trying to scale a 15-meter wall in under six minutes without having seen it beforehand, which requires both mental and physical strength.
TEAM USA: Sam Watson, Colin Duffy, Jesse Grupper, Emma Hunt, Piper Kelly, Natalia Grossman
NEW SPORTS
Breakdancer Sunny Choi poses during the Team USA Paris 2024 Olympic Portrait Shoot at NBC Universal Studios Stage 16 on Nov. 18, 2023 in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Breaking
The form of dance that originated in the 1970s and got more and more complex over time is heading to the Olympics.
Breaking competitions have been held all over the world for years, with some incredible men and women showcasing their incredible skills to all of our amazement.
There will be two events, broken up into men and women, with 16 contestants for each. They will be going head-to-head in solo battles.
SIMONE BILES’ DOMINANCE CONTINUES AHEAD OF 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS WITH RECORD WIN
For the USA, the 2023 Pan Am Games women’s champion Sunny Choi (B-Girl Sunny), and 2023 WDSF World Breaking Championship winner Victor Montalvo (B-Boy Victor) will be representing the Stars and Stripes.
Men’s Artistic Swimming
Artistic swimming has typically been associated with women, but it has grown tremendously among male swimmers.
Artistic swimming involves water acrobatics to the beat of music, and for the Olympics, it is broken up into a free routine and a technical routine. There is also a duet and a team competition that involves both routines throughout their performances.
It is quite challenging considering the pool is three meters deep, while the athletes must propel themselves out of the water to perform their routines. Judges will be keen on the speed, synchronization and degree of difficulty throughout.
Brazil’s Viviane Santana crosses the finish line in third place during the marathon race walk mixed relay final of the Pan American Games Santiago 2023 at the Campo de Marte Esplanade in Santiago on Nov. 4, 2023. (RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images)
Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay
This is a revised format compared to never being in the Olympics.
The race walk will have a mixed team relay for the first time, as it replaces the 50 kilometer individual race. There will be 25 teams competing, each with one male and one female on the team, and every 10 kilometers, they will alternate.
Jon Ridgeon, CEO of World Athletics, noted the format of the race, which begins at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, is “designed to be innovative, dynamic and unpredictable.” He also believes fans will get to understand it quickly, leading to quick excitement for the competition.
Kayak Cross
Kayaking has long been an Olympic sport, as there have been men’s and women’s kayak and canoe singles competitions.
However, the kayak cross is a whole different animal, as four athletes will be racing each at the same time instead of just going alone with only the clock to race. There are four downstream gates and two upstream gates – miss one, and you are automatically disqualified.
There is also this; each athlete will have to perform a “kayak roll,” which means doing a 360-degree rotation in their kayak, putting their heads under the water in the process.
Despite the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics due to the coronavirus, Team USA Kayak athlete Joshua Joseph trains in the Potomac River on March 26, 2020 in Brookmont, Maryland. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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The format begins with timed trials to determine heats and a bracket. After that is put together, the true competition begins.
TEAM USA: Nevin Harrison, Evy Leibfarth, Casey Eichfeld, Jonas Ecker, Aaron Small
