While baseball and softball – both highly popular in Japan – will be returning after a 16-year absence, the other sports will all be making their Olympic debuts.
Advertisement
Baseball, softball, karate and sport climbing are among the sports which will be seen when the next edition of the Olympics takes place, according to a WCPO report on Wednesday.
The IOC session voted unanimously in favour of the sports which were proposed by the 2020 organisers and will make a one-off appearance in the Games.
Baseball was included in the Olympic program from 1992 while softball was included from 1996 but both were dropped after the Beijing 2008 Games.
The IOC said last month that discussions are still underway with Major League Baseball to determine whether players from that North American professional league will be allowed to play in the tournament which would cause disruptions with the regularly scheduled season play.
Cuba has the most Olympic gold medals in baseball with three (’92, ’96, ’04), while the USA (’00) and South Korea (’08) won the other two.
Apart from baseball and softball which have six teams of 24 and 15 players per squad respectively, all the other sports will involve equal numbers of male and female competitors.
The new sports will add 18 events and 474 athletes to the Olympic programme.
Baseball and softball have been off the program since the 2008 Games.
Baseball for men and softball for women count as one sport.
But Steve Georgakis says the inclusion of new sports destroys the traditions of the Olympic movement.
The approval of these sports was done with intention of “bringing the games to young people” as well as an urbanization of the Olympics, which will be held in one of the most densely populated urban centers on the planet.
In the past, the International Olympic Committee introduced BMX riding to the Beijing Games and snowboarding to the Nagano Olympics to try and attract young athletes and viewers, according to USA Today. “Now, that’s back. In 2020, it’s our job as ambassadors of the sport to put on a great show in Tokyo”.
The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will include some of the sports most associated with Southern California.
World Baseball and Softball Confederation President Riccardo Fraccari said following the vote, “today’s historic decision by the International Olympic Committee is a “home run” for the Olympics, our sport and the Tokyo 2020 Games. This is really exciting for us, and something we’ve been waiting for since the day they took the sport out of the Olympics”.
National team player James De Los Santos said that he would immediately begin preparing for the Games.
Advertisement
“We spend a lot of time traveling the globe and competing against the very best surfers from around the world on the World Surf League’s Championship Tour”, said Carissa Moore, the a three-time world surfing champion, “so I don’t think it will change the competition format too much”.
