Karate, sports climbing and baseball/softball have also been proposed by the International Olympic Committee’s executive board.
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It said further information would not be released until so-called “B samples” were tested that would confirm or contradict the re-tests.
What is not yet clear is whether the United States will be able to send their best players from the Major League Baseball, which has traditionally snubbed past Olympics.
Baseball and softball last featured at the Games in Beijing in 2008 before being taken off the program. How those sports will run in Tokyo, in terms of what disciplines remain medal events, will not be settled by the International Olympic Committee executive board until mid-next year.
Baseball and softball have been off the Olympic program since the 2008 Beijing Games.
The IAAF will rule on June 17 whether to uphold or lift its suspension of Russia’s entire track and field team from global competition, including the Olympics.
The independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) published on November 9 the results of its probe into the activities of the all-Russian Athletics Federation, the Moscow anti-doping laboratory, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and the Russian sports ministry.
The IOC says its programme comes on top of an extensive drive already being carried out by International Federations and National Anti-Doping Organisations. The current retesting program targeted athletes who could be eligible to compete in Rio.
An Olympic Stakeholder meeting in June will coordinate and harmonise the approach among IFs, which take the first decision of the eligibility of athletes with respect to qualification for and participation in the Olympic Games.
“Particular attention will be paid to the countries where the anti-doping programme is not compliant – Kenya, Russia and Mexico”.
The re-analysis programme for the Olympics in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 will be further extended.
The inclusion of the new sports would add 18 events and 474 athletes to the Olympic programme in Tokyo, without impacting existing sports.
Baseball is likely to be among the most profitable sports at Tokyo 2020 due to its huge popularity in Japan.
In four Olympic Games appearances, the USA Softball Women’s National Team claimed three gold medals and one silver while setting numerous global records and are one of only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals.
The decision over which sports will be added to the Olympics is only for one edition of the Games and they would need to bid again for inclusion at the next Olympics. “Tokyo 2020 have done a lot of work in the past two years”.
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“We are immensely proud of our achievements and the core values that our sport represents”.
