Your Guide to Four New Sports to the 2021 Olympics
The Tokyo Olympics will feature many of our favorite sports such as gymnastics, athletics and swimming, but there will also be six new (or nearly new) sports. Here’s what you need to know to watch newcomers at the “Olympic Games 2020”, as they are called. (Yes, we know this is 2021.)
Baseball and softball
Baseball and softball are in the top six, but they are not entirely new to the Games. Baseball (a competition for men only) was first at the Olympics in 1992, and softball (for women) was added in 1996. Both sports were dropped in 2008 and are returning this year, although only six teams compete in each. In terms of baseball, these are the United States, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Israel and the Dominican Republic. When it comes to softball, these are the United States, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia and Italy.
Skateboarding
Skateboarding will become a full-fledged Olympic sport for the first time, although it did appear at the 2014 Youth Olympics. There will be two events: Park and Street.
The Street course is designed to simulate a city street. Ladders, ramps, railings, curbs and benches are available and the competitor must create a sequence of movements using the available functions.
Skateboarding in the park is done in a bowl with steep sides that allow for spins and other tricks in the air. Both competitions have men’s and women’s competitions.
How is it assessed? Judges will evaluate the competitors’ movements in terms of speed, height, originality and execution.
Who to watch: Street favorites include Naya Houston from the US, Yuto Horigome from Japan, and Leticia Bufoni from Brazil. Sky Brown from Great Britain, Hayman Reynolds from the USA and Finnish-American skateboarder Lizzie Armanto (playing for Finland) compete in the park.
Surfing
Shortboard surfing (using boards less than seven feet long) will be introduced for the first time at this year’s Olympics. Men and women will compete separately. Rides for four people will compete together, but only one surfer can ride the wave at a time.
How is it assessed? The judges will evaluate the surfers’ movements for factors such as the complexity of the wave and their chosen move, variety of movements, originality, the ability to combine movements and the “speed, power and flow” of the movements.
Who to look at: The USA, Australia and Brazil are the strongest countries. John John Florence and Karissa Moore are favorites from the USA; also beware of Stephanie Gilmore from Australia and Gabriel Medina from Brazil.
Sport climbing
Three climbing disciplines will compete at the Tokyo Olympics: speed, bouldering and leadership. Men and women will compete in all three categories, with their places in each of them counted together to determine who will receive the medal.
How is it assessed? High-speed climbing takes place in full-time races, in each of which the winner wins. The time for each race is expected to be around six seconds for men and eight seconds for women.
In bouldering, which is done without ropes, as it does not go too far off the ground, competitors can make several attempts to climb to the top of the challenge. Climbers have four minutes to overcome as many challenges as possible; for each of them, the goal is to get the final hold with both hands in the least number of attempts. Getting to the designated area near the summit isn’t as good as getting over a boulder, but it will still defeat someone who hasn’t even made it that far.
When climbing with an emphasis on each participant, only one attempt is allowed, and climbers climb the 15-meter wall one at a time. The further up the wall you can walk within the six-minute limit, the better your result. In case of a tie, the fastest climb wins.
Whom to watch: Among the best climbers are Adam Ondra from the Czech Republic, Janja Garnbret from Slovenia and Miho Nonaka from Japan. The Americans to look out for are Nathaniel Coleman, Colin Duffy, Kira Condi, and Brooke Rabutu.
Karate
Judo has been an Olympic sport for decades, but karate is at the Games for the first time. There are two events: kata and kumite. The competition is for both men and women, with three weight categories each.
Kata is a demonstration of karate moves against an imaginary opponent, and participants can choose to perform one of 102 agreed sequences. Kumite is a sparring game in which participants compete in pairs.
How is it assessed? The judges will judge the kata based on factors such as strength, speed and technique. Kumite is scored with separate kicks and kicks that the competitor inflicts on the opponent’s body, with one to three points being earned for each kick. The winner of the match is the one who is first eight points ahead of the opponent.
Who to watch: In kata, Sandra Sanchez and Damian Quintero from Spain, as well as Kiyu Shimizu and Rio Kiyuna from Japan, are among the top performers. Among the favorites of kumite are Ugur Aktas from Turkey, Angelica Terlyuga from Ukraine and Irina Zaretskaya from Azerbaijan.