MADRID, 16 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has accepted this Monday the proposal of the Los Angeles 2028 organization for the addition to its Olympic program of baseball/softball, cricket (in its ‘Twenty20’ version), flag-football (a modality derived of American football and non-contact), lacrosse (in its ‘Sixes’ modality) and squash, as announced in its last Session, held in Mumbai between October 15 and 17.
These five sports were reviewed by the Olympic Program Commission before being presented to the organization’s Executive Committee for final approval.
Thus, baseball and softball will once again be an Olympic sport after being in Tokyo 2020, and cricket will also return to the Olympic program, 128 years later, since Paris 1900; and lacrosse, which will be for the third time after being in Saint Louis 1904 and London 1908. For their part, flag-football and squash will debut at the Games in the French capital.
“The choice of these five new sports is in line with American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States. These sports will make the 2028 Olympic Games unique,” said the IOC President Thomas Bach in a statement.
The IOC recalled that this selection of sports is “the result of an exhaustive process and analysis based on evaluation criteria established before the start of the process, including gender equality”, and in which it also considered “the use of the facilities existing, engaging a wide range of sports communities both in the United States and globally, and incorporating some of the most popular sports in the United States and around the world.
Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) president Casey Wasserman said he has long believed they have “an incredible opportunity in Los Angeles” to make “the Games more attractive to the world.” “We are excited to embark on innovative collaborations with major professional leagues that will unlock enormous opportunities to amplify Olympic and Paralympic history and captivate new audiences,” he said.
Furthermore, the IOC Session endorsed the Executive Board’s recommendation to include modern pentathlon in the LA28 sports programme, including the replacement of horse riding with obstacle course races. The organization recognized the optimization work carried out by the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM) to reduce costs and complexity.
As noted by the IOC Executive Board, it is essential that the UIPM continues to implement the necessary changes in governance and modernize as an organization, and confirmed that without the replacement of horse riding with obstacle racing, this sport would not have been included in the program.
The IOC also accepted weightlifting in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic program, following the decision of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to delegate its anti-doping management to the International Testing Agency (ITA), and its sanction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (TAS) at least until the end of 2028.
It must be remembered that the IOC withdrew its recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA) so “any decision regarding” its presence in 2028 “remains on hold”, since it still does not recognize another governing body of Olympic boxing.
Finally, regarding the program of the different modalities for Los Angeles 2028, only one change has been made compared to Paris 2024, with the entry of the beach sprint discipline for men, women and mixed double sculls.