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Tokyo Olympics: from surfing and skateboarding, here are the new sports to watch out for

  • The Olympics is hoping to shake off its outdated image and please younger viewers by ushering in new medal events
  • These include sport climbing and karate, while baseball/softball make a return for the first time since 2012

Reading Time:5 minutes
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Japan’s Misugu Okamoto is one of the stars who will be competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: AFP

Our Tokyo Trail series looks at key issues surrounding the 2020 Olympics, which are scheduled for late July.

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In the Tokyo 2020 Games this summer, the Olympics is hoping to shake off its outdated image and please younger viewers by ushering in new sports – along with their associated fan bases.
The International Olympic Commitee (IOC) in 2016 approved the addition of baseball/softball, surfing, skateboarding, karate, and sport climbing to the official programme of this year’s Games.

These sports are widely popular in Japan, of course. Under new IOC rules, host cities are allowed to propose one-off appearances in their event, so Tokyo did just that and the IOC gave them the green light. 

“We want to take sport to the youth,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in 2016. “With the many options that young people have, we cannot expect any more that they will come automatically to us. We have to go to them.”

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Here’s the lowdown on the new sports making their grand debut at the Games this year. 

Australia’s Olympic softball team practices at a baseball stadium in the city of Ota, eastern Japan. Photo: Kyodo
Australia’s Olympic softball team practices at a baseball stadium in the city of Ota, eastern Japan. Photo: Kyodo
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