IOC approves five new sports for Tokyo 2020

All that’s left to do is a formal signature during the next major committee session which precedes the opening ceremony of this month’s summer games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

New Olympic organizing committee rules introduced through Olympic Agenda 2020 in 2014 allow host cities to propose locally enjoyed sports that meet IOC criteria to be included at their Games.

“I think this is really a milestone in the innovation of the Olympic program, which we then can experience in four years from now in Tokyo 2020”, said IOC President Thomas Bach. “The Olympics have been our dream for quite some time, and now the hard work has finally paid off”.

“We are already seeing increased popularity of the sport across the world and the Olympic Games will provide an incredible platform to further showcase surfing”.

The five sports are seen by the International Olympic Committee has having their key focus on youth, an element central to the vision of the Tokyo 2020 Games. The sports, along with 18 new events, will be ready to go for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Wednesday’s rubber-stamping ends a more than a year-long process which whittled down 26 applications and dropped squash, bowling and wushu – a Chinese martial art – from an eight-sport shortlist in September.

The inclusion of six different sports in the 2020 Olympics speaks to the number of unique and diverse athletes all over the world.

Shared Values Sport Climbing embodies core values of the Olympics Movement. Women and youth are well represented, and persons with disabilities participate as well. That would have benefited baseball’s inclusion with the sport popular in Japan. At the heart of Sport Climbing is the spirit of the Olympics.

“Be sure we will present the best athletes in Tokyo because our goal is not to appear one time but to be a permanent player”, Fraccari told journalists on Wednesday. The IFSC will immediately begin working on the technical aspects of the Olympic Sport Climbing competitions. Tokyo 2020 will rely heavily on existing and temporary venues to stage the competitions. It expects to hold numerous new events at venues installed in urban settings, in an effort to bring the games closer to younger generations. “The recommendation to give Organising Committees the flexibility to propose new sports for their edition of the Games was meant to put even more focus on innovation, flexibility and youth in the development Olympic programme”, said the IOC in a statement.

“We have reached the final hold of our unbelievable climb, but another climb awaits us”.

The Canadian national team that recently wrapped up its 2016 season with a bronze-medal at world championships boasts a handful of Lower Mainland athletes, including South Surrey pitcher Sara Groenewegen, who, at just 21 years old, would be in the prime of her playing career when the 2020 Games approach.

Kiwi sport climbers were celebrating their new status.