A quick ride and then off to breaking at the Olympics. Like karate, included in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but excluded for the following Olympics, the sport dance discipline originating from urban culture and hip-hop will in fact have no Olympic visibility beyond Paris 2024 and its “battles” scheduled on the Place de la Concorde site. This additional sport, in ten months in France, will not appear on the program for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, as the LA2028 organizing committee announced on Monday. This organizing committee detailed in a press release the five additional sports that it is proposing to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with a view to their potential inclusion in the Olympic program in five years.
These are baseball/softball, cricket, squash (failed during the last Olympics), flag football (non-contact American football) and lacrosse, a team sport derived from Native American cultures. The sports proposed by the organizers of Los Angeles 2028 must still be validated by the IOC during its next session, next week in Bombay, India. Appearing at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games in 2018, breaking (or breakdancing) is nevertheless regularly highlighted by the IOC as an example of its desire to develop urban sports, which appeal to young people and require little equipment. , three priorities of Thomas Bach’s presidency.
The game of lacrosse, kesako?
The Los Angeles 2028 organizing committee has chosen other sports, particularly linked to North American culture or history. “They are relevant, innovative and community-based, played in backyards and schoolyards, community centers, stadiums and parks across the United States and around the world,” the president said in a statement. from LA2028, Casey Wasserman.
“They will bring new athletes to the Games, engage new spectators and expand the presence of the Games in digital spaces, further amplifying the mission of Los Angeles 2028 to deliver an unprecedented experience,” he added. The game of lacrosse (or lacrosse) comes, for example, from Native American cultures, which gave it a sacred dimension before it was codified and regulated into a sporting discipline where two teams attempt to score goals by sending a rubber ball to the means of a handle fitted with a net.
“It is still today one of the rare examples of an element of indigenous culture that has been accepted and adopted by Canadian society,” underlines the Canadian Lacrosse Federation on its website.
Cricket is popular throughout the Commonwealth
Flag football is derived from American football, but in a version where tackles are prohibited, replaced by the tearing of strips of fabric (or flag) worn by the players on their belts.
Cricket, meanwhile, is particularly popular across the Commonwealth. “We are delighted that LA2028 has recommended cricket for inclusion in the Games,” commented Greg Barclay, president of the International Cricket Council, in a statement. “Although this is not the final decision, it is a very significant step towards the return of cricket to the Games for the first time in over a century,” he said. he adds. Cricket was indeed an Olympic sport in 1900 in Paris. Otherwise, will we really have to wait until 2032 to be entitled to quidditch and pillow fights at the Olympics?