The IOC General Assembly voted on Monday on the decisions of the Executive Committee last Friday, so that the pentathlon and weightlifting will also be included in the program of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, just as the five sports proposed. By US regulators, soccer, cricket, lacrosse, wall ball, and baseball/softball are also recognized.
Of the three sports that were excluded from the preliminary program, the fate of boxing remains in doubt because it has not yet received the support of the World Cup and the General Assembly. The main reason for this is that boxing currently does not have an international federation that the IOC would accept as a partner.
The former International Boxing Association, now IBA, was suspended by the International Olympic Committee in 2019, thus disqualifying it from organizing the boxing tournament for the Tokyo Games, and later decided that it could not organize the boxing competition and qualify for the Paris Olympics as well. This year, the situation between the two organizations became so bitter that the International Olympic Committee, in June, classified – in an unprecedented way – the International Boxing Federation, led by Umar Kremlyov, from allegedly recognized status to non-recognized status. In the spring, countries opposed to the AIBA established a new federation in the sport, led by the United States, but World Boxing (WB) has not yet been recognized by the IOC.
Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, said last Friday: “I will never tire of saying that we want boxing to be part of the Olympic program,” indicating that he does not rule out boxing’s participation in Los Angeles.
In the case of the pentathlon, the IOC has now announced that it has accepted the replacement of riding with a steeplechase, and appreciates and recognizes the measures of the International Sports Union (UIPM), which have reduced the costs of the sport and simplified the procedures. Competitions. He added to all of this that the International Intellectual Property Union must continue with the inevitable changes in its leadership and modernization of the organization in the future. In its announcement, the IOC specifically stressed that the pentathlon would not have been included in the Los Angeles program if horse riding had not been replaced by steeplechase.
The modern pentathlon, devised by the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, has appeared at the Games since its introduction in 1912.
Regarding weightlifting, the Committee highlighted that the International Federation (IWF) has entrusted the management of anti-doping activities in this sport to the International Testing Agency (ITA), leaving the adjudication of doping cases to the International Court of Arbitration. for Sport (CAS) until the end of 2028. The IOC will continue to strictly monitor the effectiveness of the anti-doping program in weightlifting at the Paris Olympics, in addition to implementing the changes introduced in the federation’s management.
For the first time, local organizers have had the opportunity to nominate sports for the program ahead of the Tokyo Games, after the International Olympic Committee provided the opportunity to do so. Sports included in the program in this way do not become permanent sports at the Olympic Games, but can only be featured in the Games in question. So, for example, karate competitions were held in Tokyo, but next year they will not be held in Paris.
IOC session agrees @LA28Suggested 5⃣ additional sports:
⚾Baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash have been officially included as additional sports in the program for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. #LA28 pic.twitter.com/y7CLk2UEYx
– Olympic Games (@Olympics) October 16, 2023
Of the five sports now included in the program, cricket, which is very popular in the territories of the former British Empire – the shortened version, called the Twenty20 version, which can be broadcast – has entered the Olympics only once so far, in 1900, while team lacrosse has entered. At the Olympic Games twice, in 1904 and 1908. According to experts, the inclusion of cricket in the program will increase the value of Indian broadcast rights by more than $100 million, which is additional income for the International Olympic Committee. At the same time, flag football, considered a collision-free version of American football, is preparing to make its debut, just like wall ball. Baseball and its women’s version, softball, were included in the program several times before 2012, and were brought back at the request of Tokyo Games organizers. The inclusion of the five sports also means that breakdancing, which will make its debut in Paris next year, will not be on the program in Los Angeles.
With the expansion of the program, the number of sports at the 2028 Games could reach 35 or even 36, a historic record.
