2028 Olympics adds 5 sports including lacrosse, cricket, flag football
After receiving the executive board’s approval, a total of a few sports have been added to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Baseball/softball, cricket, and lacrosse are three of the sports that have previously been featured at Olympic competitions; however, flag football and squash will be making their Olympic debuts in Los Angeles.
The five sports are “in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States,” said IOC President Thomas Bach in a statement. Since the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002, the international sporting event hasn’t taken place in the United States.
Baseball and softball were not scheduled for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but they were played at the 2020 Olympics, which were relocated to Tokyo in 2021 due to the pandemic.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic recently established an attendance record with more than 1 million fans, according to the IOC, and sports are classic American pastimes.
Lacrosse originated in North America because it was created by native peoples before spreading to other countries in the 19th century. The sport, sometimes known as Sixes, debuted at the Olympic Games in St. Louis in 1904 and London in 1908.
One of the most popular sports in the United States is football. Up until now, flag football, a safer form of the game frequently played by kids, has never been a part of the Olympic Games. At the highest level, flag football is played by almost 20 million people.
Squash is played in various multi-sport contests, although it has never been an Olympic sport. According to the IOC, sports participation in the United States surged dramatically (87%) between 2015 and 2019.
Weight lifting, modern pentathlon, boxing, and competitions in swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross-country running were all taken into consideration but were not chosen for the 2028 Olympics.
The upcoming Paris Games now include the following four sports: skateboarding, sport climbing, breaking, and surfing.
