FIVE NEW SPORTS ADDED TO SUMMER OLYMPICS
Flag football, baseball/softball, cricket, lacrosse and squash have been added to the Olympic line up for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
The news was announced at the International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai on Monday.
Both squash and flag football have been added to the program for the first time ever.
Softball and baseball have featured at several Games with the most recent being in 2021 for the Tokyo 2020 Games. Lacrosse was included at the St. Louis Games in 1904, while cricket featured in the Paris Olympics in 1900.
In a statement, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said the choice of sports is directly related to the host country’s sports culture.
“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.”
Bach went on to say the process to decide when or whether new additions should be added is based on a range of different criteria. This included looking at how popular the sport is in both the United States and the rest of the world.
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