Olympics 2020 becomes hip: these are the new disciplines!
In 2020, the XXXII Summer Olympics start on 24 July. And they will be hip. Every few years new attractions are added to Olympia, while some older ones are restructured. This article takes a detailed look at the five new sporting highlights of 2020 in Tokyo and the potential candidates who are still in the starting blocks.
Olympia: the summer highlight in July 2020
As every year, we can look forward to a spectacularly opening ceremony of Olympia with the well-known and yet always inspiring highlight: the ignition of the Olympic fire. The world’s largest sporting event starts in Tokyo on July 24th and ends on August 9th and every participating country hopes to leave with plenty of gold, silver and bronze medals. We will introduce you to the new 5 disciplines so that you are well informed for the upcoming summer highlight. In short, baseball / softball, sports climbing, skateboarding, karate and surfing. The changes are in line with Agenda 2020, initiated by IOC President Thomas Bach.
Baseball
Baseball or softball has become a trend sport in the last 20 years. Men play baseball, women play softball. Due to the differences in strength, a gender separation was carried out in Tokyo: Softball for female athletes, baseball for male athletes. Men hit harder and smaller balls, but otherwise the rules are similar. Therefore, the two previous umbrella organisations joined together to form the World Federation WBSC.
Skateboarding
The next new sport is skateboarding. A total of 80 skateboarders, male and female protagonists alike, will compete for the Olympic Games 2020. The two disciplines Park and Street are on the agenda. Titus Dittmann, the father of the German skateboard scene, says: “Skateboarding doesn’t need Olympia, but Olympia needs skateboarding. The Olympic Games have grown old and skateboarding is considered a contemporary, lifestyle sport.
Surfing
Windsurfing is already available at Olympia. But what about surfing? Tokyo as host named the water sport in August 2016 as the newcomer for 2020! At first there were considerations to create an artificial wave, but these were rejected because Tokyo is going to the coast south of the city with the event premiere. Classic surfing with shortboards, that’s what the decision-makers decided. A total of 40 athletes took part in the competition: 20 men and 20 women.
Sport climbing
With sport climbing, the Olympic Games also want to become hipper and appeal more to the younger public. Sport climbing has recently become a popular sport. As a result, more funding from the Federal Ministry of the Interior finally flowed in and the sports clubs can now afford to take part in the competitions. However, the Olympic showdown will not take place outside on the mountain, but in the hall. It will be held as a three-way fight: speed climbing, bouldering and difficulty climbing. We could do very well in this discipline, because Germany has more climbing halls than any other country. Is that enough for gold?
Karate
Taekwondo and karate, the two Asian martial arts, have been trying for a long time to get into the Olympic program. Taekwondo has reached its goal since 2000. With the campaign “The K is on the way”, the WKF has now successfully promoted its inclusion in the Olympic program. It took a long 20 years until the world’s best karateka were finally allowed to follow. Eight gold medals will be awarded at the premiere in Tokyo. We are excited!
Statement
Whether spectators or participants – the summer highlight next July promises pure action and excitement! Even though speed skating and sumo wrestling are still on the waiting list, five new sports made it to the Olympics in 2020! Of course we keep our fingers crossed for Germany and wish all participants every success!
Source: Unsplash / Eduardo Balderas
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