Five additional sports in LA28 program

Article posted by Coliseum, October 25^th, 2023

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Baseball/softball, cricket (T20), flag football, lacrosse (sixes), and squash have been officially included as additional sports on the program for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28). The decision has been taken at the 141^st Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) held at Mumbai in India from October 15^th-17^th, 2023.

‘International Olympic Committee’ stated that the five sports were proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee as a package for their edition of the Games only, and were reviewed and supported by the IOC’s Olympic Programme Commission (OPC) and the Executive Board (EB).

The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28, is an upcoming international multisport event scheduled to take place from July 14^th-30^th, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, California, United States.

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a non-Governmental sports organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss Civil Code.

The IOC is a not-for-profit, civil, non-Governmental, international organization made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 percent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 4.2 million goes to help athletes and sports organizations at all levels around the world.

The Olympic Programme Commission has the responsibility for analyzing Summer, Winter and Youth Olympic Games programs and forms proposals for consideration by the IOC Executive Board.

‘International Olympic Committee’ further stated that for baseball and softball, cricket and lacrosse it will be a return to the Olympic Games, while flag football and squash will be making their Olympic debut in Los Angeles.

Baseball and softball have been part of the program at several editions of the Olympic Games, most recently at Tokyo 2020.

Cricket was on the program for the Olympic Games Paris 1900.

Lacrosse was included on the program at St Louis 1904 and London 1908.

Flag football and squash will make their Olympic debut at LA28.

Informed Thomas Bach, IOC President, “The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States. These sports will make the Olympic Games LA28 unique. Their inclusion will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new athlete and fan communities in the United States and globally.”

Commented Casey Wasserman, LA28 Chairperson, “I have long believed that we have an incredible opportunity in Los Angeles to create the most compelling Games, not just for us, but for the world. Our Olympic sport program, in its entirety, reflects this belief. We are excited to embark on game changing collaborations with the major professional leagues that will unlock massive opportunities to amplify the Olympic and Paralympic story and captivate new audiences.”

This selection of sports is the result of a thorough process and analysis based on evaluation criteria set out before the process began, including gender equality. It considered the utilization of existing facilities, involving a wide range of sports communities both in the United States and globally, and incorporating some of the most popular sports in the United States and across the globe.

Modern Pentathlon and Weightlifting

The IOC Session also supported the recommendations made by the IOC Executive Board concerning the status of modern pentathlon and weightlifting, which were not part of the initial sports program for LA28.

Modern Pentathlon: The IOC Session endorsed the recommendation from the IOC Executive Board to include modern pentathlon on the LA28 sports program, acknowledging the replacement of horse riding with obstacle racing and the optimization work conducted by the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) to reduce costs and complexity. As noted by the IOC Executive Board, it is essential for the UIPM to continue to implement the necessary changes in governance and modernize as an organization. Without the replacement of horse riding with obstacle racing, the sport would not have been included in the program.
Weightlifting: The IOC Session accepted the IOC Executive Board’s recommendation to include weightlifting on the LA28 sports program following the decision of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to delegate its anti-doping management to the International Testing Agency (ITA), and its sanctioning to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) at least until the end of 2028. The effectiveness of the anti-doping programs for the Paris 2024 Olympic qualification and Olympic competition will continue to be closely monitored by the IOC, as will the implementation of the governance and cultural changes adopted by the IWF.

The International Modern Pentathlon Union, commonly known by the acronym UIPM, has been the international governing body of modern pentathlon since its formation in London in 1948. Its headquarters are in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, and it has 115 national federation members.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, is the international governing body for the sport of weightlifting. It has 193 affiliated national federations and its President since June 2022 is Mohammed Hasan Jalood of Iraq.

The International Testing Agency (ITA), often referred to by the acronym ITA, is an independent organization constituted as a nonprofit foundation which implements anti-doping programs for international sports federations, major event organizers or any other anti-doping organization requiring support.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City (US), Sydney (Australia) and Lausanne. Temporary courts are established in current Olympic Host Cities.

Following the IOC Session decision to withdraw recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA), the IOC has not recognized another governing body for Olympic boxing. Therefore, the IOC Executive Board decided that any decision regarding the inclusion of boxing on the LA28 sports program is put on hold, so there was no discussion of this by the IOC Session.

The other 28 sports that are part of the LA28 Olympic program were approved by the IOC Session in February 2022.

The discipline program was approved by the IOC Executive Board on October 13^th, 2023, while the program of events and athlete quotas will be finalized after Paris 2024. The Olympic Programme Commission will now work on ensuring that the final athlete quota numbers for the Olympic Games LA28 remain reasonable and below the overall quota for Tokyo 2020.

The 2024 Summer Olympics, and commonly known as Paris 2024, is a forthcoming international multisport event scheduled to take place from July 26^th-August 11^th, 2024 in France, with Paris as the main Host City and 16 other Cities spread across metropolitan France, plus one subsite in Tahiti – an island within the French overseas country and overseas collectivity of French Polynesia.

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