One variation appeared for the first time in Tokyo four years ago but is n’t back this year .
The Olympics are almost here!
Kicking off July 26, the Summer Olympics will see athletes and audiences flocking for fierce competitions in the City of Lights.
There are some program changes this year, with three sports departing and one sport making its Olympics debut. So here’s the rundown of notable sporting changes to expect:
Leaving: Baseball
Baseball firstjoined in Barcelona 1992, where Cuba won gold. The sport was removed after Beijing 2008. It came back briefly for Tokyo 2020, but it will not be returning this year in Paris.
Leaving: Softball
Four years after Baseball debuted, Softball joined at Atlanta 1996, where the US won gold. The sport has followed the same path as Baseball: exiting the Olympics after Beijing before making a brief return four years ago at the Tokyo games.
Leaving: Karate
Karate debuted at the last Olympics. It consisted of two events — Kumite and Kata. The events were split by weight class and gender, resulting in eight gold medals up for grabs. However,Karate was not brought backfor the Paris games.
Joining: Breaking
Breakdancing is joining for the first time and will consist of one event for B-Boys and one for B-Girls. Itfirst made an appearancein the Olympic circuit at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
Additionally, new events have been added for longstanding sports, includingKayak Cross in CanoeingandKitesurfing in Sailing.
And, finally, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing are back for their second Olympic appearances after debuting in Tokyo.
One sport appeared for the first time in Tokyo four years ago but isn’t back this year.
