Olympics: why not all new sports will return at Paris 2024 – but breakdancing will make its debut

By Mikhail Batuev, Lecturer in Sport Management, Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Northumbria University, Newcastle

Never in the history of modern Olympics has so many new sports made their debut than in Tokyo 2020. Skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing and karate have now got their maiden Olympic champions, while softball and baseball returned to the Games since they were last seen in 2008.

Five years ago, the decision to include these sports was made by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to appeal to the youth. For the host nation, Japan,…

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