Sports to watch out for in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games

It’s hard to believe that in less than a year the Olympics will be upon us again, this time broadcast live from Tokyo. When Britain hosted the games back in 2012, it seemed to rekindle the nation’s passion for sport, and the GB team hit new highs in their home ground, topping the tables in cycling, rowing and dressage. But despite the games being far away, this year needn’t be any less exciting, for there are a whole host of new and returning events that are sure to keep us entertained even if we don’t bring back as many medals.

Karate

There seems no better year than 2020 to introduce Karate as an Olympic sport, given that the martial art originated on the Japanese island of Okinawa. It will join judo, taekwondo and wrestling, featuring two events – Kata, in which athletes will demonstrate their offensive and defensive movements against a virtual opponent, and Kumite, in which they will be weight-matched with another opponent in an eight-minute fight.

Skateboarding

Next year skateboarding is transcending its roots on the streets of Southern Californian roots as it makes its Olympic debut. However, fans of the sport need not worry as one of the two events, “street”, will stay true to the sport’s origins, providing stairs, ramps and rails that riders can use to perform tricks. The park event has a bowl-shaped course to allow athletes to gain momentum and perform tricks mid-flight.

Surfing

Surfing might not be geographically suited to all countries, but next year Japan’s Shidashita Beach will be home to the first surf event in Olympic history. Four athletes will compete at a time, with only one surfer allowed per wave. They will be judged not for the number of waves they catch but the difficulty of the tricks they perform and the quality of their execution. The size of the waves will also be taken into account, and qualifications will be based on the highest two scores from each surfer. This is sure to be a highlight.

Sport Climbing

In Tokyo climbers will be able to compete in three disciplines: bouldering, speed climbing and lead climbing. Bouldering involves ascending a 4-metre wall without safety ropes, whilst speed climbing and lead climbing are performed on a 15-metre wall on ropes, the former a race against an opponent and the latter a timed challenge. Every athlete will compete in all three events and be judged on their combined score.

Baseball and softball

Though men’s baseball and women’s softball have not been present at the Olympics since 2008, they will be making a return in 2020. Baseball, though popular in certain countries, is not played globally, and as such only six countries will be competing – but it’s sure to be a great watch nonetheless.

New events

As well as new sports, there are new events such as 3×3 basketball – with three players on each team and only one hoop – freestyle BMX – in which cyclists will be able to perform all manner of tricks and jumps on a variety of obstacles within a 30mx50m park – and Madison cycling – judged on the number of laps that each team completes.

The editorial unit