Baseball/Softball, Cricket (T20), Flag Football, Lacrosse (Six-a-side), and Squash have been officially added as additional sports for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games (LA28). The decision was taken at the 141st General Assembly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The five sports were proposed by the LA28 Organizing Committee as part of its Games-only package and reviewed and supported by the IOC’s Olympic Program Committee (OPC) and Executive Board (EB).
Baseball, softball, cricket and lacrosse will return to the Olympic Games, while flag football and squash will make their Olympic debut in Los Angeles.
- Baseball and softball have been part of the program at several Olympic Games, most recently at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
- Cricket was included in the program of the 1900 Paris Olympics.
- Lacrosse was included in the programs at the 1904 St. Louis Games and the 1908 London Games.
- Flag football and squash will make their Olympic debut at LA28.
“The selection of these five new sports aligns with American sports culture and will introduce iconic American sports to the world while bringing international sports to America. It will make the LA28 Olympic Games unique,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Their inclusion will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new communities of athletes and fans in the United States and around the world.”
“I have long believed that Los Angeles has a tremendous opportunity to create the most attractive Games, not just for us but for the world. Our entire Olympic sports program reflects this belief.” said LA28 President Casey Wasserman. “We are excited to embark on an innovative collaboration with a major professional league that will amplify the Olympic and Paralympic story and create significant opportunities to engage new audiences.”
The selection of this sport is the result of a thorough process and analysis based on pre-defined evaluation criteria, including gender equality. We sought to engage the broader sports community in the United States and around the world and leverage existing facilities that incorporate some of the most popular sports in the United States and around the world.
Modern pentathlon and weightlifting
The IOC General Assembly also endorsed the recommendations made by the IOC EB regarding the current state of modern pentathlon and weightlifting, which were not included in LA28’s original sports program.
- modern pentathlon: The IOC General Assembly approved the IOC EB’s recommendation to include modern pentathlon in the LA28 sports program, replacing equestrian with steeplechase and the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM) to reduce costs and complexity. acknowledges the optimization work performed by. As IOC EB notes, it is imperative that the UIPM continues to implement the necessary changes in its governance and modernize as an organization. This sport would not have been included in the program if horseback riding had not been replaced with obstacle racing.
- weightlifting: The IOC General Assembly accepted the IOC EB’s recommendation to include weightlifting in the LA28 sports program, following the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) decision to delegate anti-doping control to the International Testing Agency (ITA) and court sanctions. . The effectiveness of the anti-doping program for the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification and Olympic Games, as well as the governance and implementation of the Olympic Games, will continue to be closely monitored by the IOC. Cultural changes adopted by IWF.
Following the IOC General Assembly’s decision to withdraw recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA), the IOC has not recognized another governing body for Olympic boxing. The IOC EB therefore decided to suspend any decision regarding the inclusion of boxing in the LA28 sports program and this was not discussed at the IOC General Assembly.
The other 28 sports that are part of the LA28 Olympic program were approved by the IOC General Assembly in February 2022.
The discipline program will be approved by the IOC EB on October 13, 2023, and the program of disciplines and athlete quotas will be finalized after the Paris 2024 Games. The OPC currently believes that the final number of athlete spots for the Olympic Games LA28 is reasonable and is lower than the overall number of spots for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
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