All eyes on... the new five

ALL EYESON... THE NEW FIVE

In 2016 five sports celebrated wildly when they were added to the Tokyo 2020 programme – but the COVID-19 pandemic and the exclusion of two of them for Paris 2024 has threatened to kill the mood. Michael Houston reports as the new quintet prepare to take the stage.

Arecord 33 sports will be part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - five more than there were at the Rio 2016 Games.

As part of a bid to stay relevant, the International Olympic Committee has reformed its programme, making the Olympics “event-based” rather than “sports-based”. Tokyo 2020 was allowed to suggest its own sports, and duly added five to the schedule.

Baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing were approved at the 129th IOC Session in August 2016, before the start of the Games in Rio.

This gave the sports four years to prepare for their introduction or, in the case of baseball/softball, reintroduction, to the grandest of all stages.

COVID-19 has of course meant it has not been that straightforward. Last year should have been the climax to a long journey, but everything was put on hold as the pandemic’s waves caused governing bodies to abandon ship and cancel or postpone events.

When the IOC postponed Tokyo 2020 to 2021, it felt like a lifeboat for the five new sports which would have an extra year to fine-tune their preparations. However, COVID-19 has continued to ensure that it will not be that simple.

MICHAEL HOUSTON JUNIOR REPORTER, INSIDETHEGAMES

The pandemic has lasted a lot longer than any sports organisation thought it would and now could even threaten the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in February.

The idea of the Olympics taking place in front of bumper crowds this year looked realistic in March 2020, but today is nothing more than a pipe dream.

Despite the ongoing issues, the five new sports have continued their preparations for Tokyo 2020.

Baseball/softball is no stranger to the Olympics and last featured at Beijing 2008 before being dropped prior to London 2012.

For baseball, this ended a streak of five consecutive Games after its debut at Barcelona 1992. In 2005, the sports were the first to be voted out of the programme since polo was removed from the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

With an estimated 65 million players, the return of baseball/softball in Tokyo presented the opportunity for the sports to grow.

But there was a huge blow in 2019 when Paris 2024 organisers confirmed they would be dropping the sports from its programme.

Tokyo 2020 will therefore be an isolated Olympic appearance, and the lack of overseas fans in Japan means the occasion will not be the celebration envisioned after the announcement in 2016.

Despite this, the World Baseball Softball Confederation will still hope to put on a show and has a great chance of returning to the programme on American soil at Los Angeles 2028.

WBSC President Ricardo Fraccari said baseball/softball would play a pivotal role at Tokyo 2020 due to the popularity of the sports in Japan.

“Baseball and softball at the LA 2028 Games would mark a historic return for our sport,” he said.

“A gold medal match at Dodger Stadium would surely be one of the most memorable and iconic moments.”

Baseball5 is a positive the WBSC can take from this Olympic cycle. It was first proposed in 2018 and only requires a rubber ball to play. Instead of a pitcher, the batter hits the ball with their hand, while the opposing team fields similarly to traditional baseball.

This version of the sport is set to feature at the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar in Senegal.

If the situation in Japan improves before Tokyo 2020, expect baseball/softball to be one of the best-attended events by home spectators.

With some matches taking place in Fukushima to highlight’s the country’s recovery after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the addition of fans could be crucial for the WBSC when it needs to make a lasting impression under more challenging than expected circumstances, in order to regain its Olympic place.

Karate will also be saying “sayonara” to the Summer Olympics after Tokyo 2020, although it will also feature in Dakar. The Japanese martial art has surprisingly never appeared at the full Games, despite its universal coverage. Approximately 100 million people practice karate globally and, in theory, there is no better place for the sport to make its Olympic debut than its birth nation, at the famous Nippon Budokan.

At the time, World Karate Federation President Antonio Espinós described his sport’s selection for Tokyo as a “moment of great joy”.

But that joy has faded after the sport was overlooked by Paris 2024, and there is no future Games in a nation mad about the sport - like the situation the WBSC has with LA - to target as an obvious point of return.

Karate’s first Olympic outing could be its only appearance for some time, and there won’t be a packed house to help leave a lasting impression on the IOC.

“As we are heading to possibly the most important moment in the history of karate, we at the WKF endeavour to maximise all our opportunities to make the most of the Olympic debut of our sport,” said Espinós, who has hired a communications firm to try and “shape the narrative” at the Games. "The WKF intends to cause a sensation in Tokyo while maintaining our core values, and to do so we have put our heart and soul into reaching the Games at the height of our progress.”

Karate was heavily affected by the pandemic, like all indoor sports. When Istanbul hosted the opening leg of the 2021 Karate 1-Premier League season on March 12, it was the first time an event had been held on the circuit since March 2020.

After a 10-month hiatus, the WKF returned to international competition for the first time with a test event in Lisbon in December. COVID-19 prevention measures were put in place and, in the final days of what will be universally agreed was an awful year, guidelines for the return of the sport were published.

As for the other three debutants, Tokyo 2020 will not be the end of the line as they are all set to return in Paris. However, first impressions are always important.

When it comes to the IOC’s bid to stay relevant with youth, surfing and skateboarding’s inclusion are the clearest examples, along with breaking which will debut in 2024.

There are approximately 85 million skateboarders around the world and up to 35 million surfers. Best of all, we might get to see IOC President Thomas Bach attempt to be cool by trying to do an ollie and talking about how he rides goofy.

The IOC’s addition of skateboarding has been both welcomed and opposed by its community. After all, it is the counterculture sport. It first came to prominence in the late 1940s and 1950s in California when surfers added roller skate wheels to boards, initially known as “sidewalk surfing”. Misfits who have long raged against the machine are now hanging with some of the most affluent sports on the Olympic programme.

The top skaters in the world are set to compete in two disciplines at Tokyo 2020 - park and street. The former is set in the traditional bowl shape skate park that you would find in any town or city, while the latter pays homage to the sport’s origins, incorporating an urban environment with fast-paced tricks and grinding. Like other sports, World Skate has been quiet during the pandemic.

Baseball and softball will return to the Olympic programme for the

first time since Beijing 2008. Photo: Getty Images

MICHAEL HOUSTON JUNIOR REPORTER, INSIDETHEGAMES

Its last major event before COVID was held in February 2020 in Melbourne - the Oceania Street Skateboarding Continental Championship. In June 2020, World Skate provided COVID-19 protocols to allow skaters to return to action safely and, in March, it gave an update on qualification for the Olympics. However, it is all a bit last minute.

Just 13 days before the start of competition, World Skate announced Rome as the host of the World Street Skateboarding Championships, which took place in June. At the time of writing no host has been selected for the World Park Skateboarding Championships.

Along with the Dew Tour in Des Moines, which took place in May, these three competitions act as qualification tournaments for the Games.

“From Tokyo straight to the heart of Paris, skateboarding is proud to be a part of this new urban movement within the Olympics, and we’re excited to see the hard work pay off,” said World Skate President Sabatino Aracu.

“Especially during these difficult times, we want to thank the athletes and our whole World Skate family for their heart and dedication, as we continue to show the beauty of skateboarding to the world.”

The father of skateboarding - surfing - is also set to remain on the Olympic programme for the foreseeable future. If we forget about Tahiti hosting the sport in 2024, nearly 10,000 miles away from Paris, there have been some other important developments.

The International Surfing Association filled its spots for Tokyo at June’s World Surfing Games in El Salvador, with men’s and women’s shortboard due to be contested.

Even if the ISA has been relatively quiet over the past year - aside from the dispute with the International Canoe Federation over stand-up paddling - surfing has been making waves on the professional circuit.

ISA events have been on pause, but the World Surf League restarted in April after a hiatus in 2020.

“Our planning and preparations for Tokyo are fully on track, and despite the understandable and necessary restrictions, we are preparing for a great Olympic celebration that shows the strength of human resilience in the face of adversity,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre.

“Tokyo 2020 will welcome the first ever Olympic surfers and they - along with everyone at the ISA - will join the global Olympian community to show the power of sport and humanity to overcome challenges.

“I am so proud of the ISA’s dedication to making surfing an Olympic sport, and I can’t wait to see this dream being realised.”

Sport climbing has been sitting back relaxing with a drink while other Olympic sports have been clamouring to fill their qualification spots.

When the African and Oceania Championships finished in December, qualification for Tokyo was complete. The only blip came when the Asian Championships were called off, meaning places had to be reallocated.

Although the IFSC should be rightfully applauded for its organisation, it is facing controversy in the build-up to its Games debut over the decision to keep Moscow as host for this year’s World Championships. Russia’s two-year package of doping sanctions mean the event should be moved, but the IFSC has so far insisted it has no other option.

At Tokyo 2020 combined competitions will take place - crowning champions based on their performance across the lead, speed and bouldering disciplines.

“Sport climbing’s Olympic debut may have been postponed by one year, but this means that we, and our athletes, are more ready than ever before,” said IFSC President Marco Scolaris.

“The Olympic Games have been a dream since before the IFSC was founded in 2007 and this year, we finally turn those dreams into reality in Tokyo.

“We hope that our athletes relish the opportunity of stepping onto the Olympic stage for the very first time, and are optimistic that as the world watches from home, it finds joy in our sport during these dark and difficult times.”

It is important to remember all five of these sports can be dropped from the Olympics at any time as they are not part of the core programme.

That means it is crucial for all five to make an impact in Tokyo - to highlight their case for further inclusion.

Sport climbing brings a new vertical dimension to the Olympic Games. Photo: Getty Images

Skateboarding's inclusion split members of the sport's community.

Photo: Getty Images