Paris 2024 Olympics add kiteboarding and breaking, remove karate and baseball

Montalvo, 30, held off Wizard in the final to take the WDSF World Breaking Championship title last year and became the first American to qualify for breaking at the Olympics.

Wizard, 27, won the WDSF championship in 2022.

Ami Yuasa of Japan competes in the women’s breaking finals during the Paris Olympic qualifier series in Budapest on June 23, 2024. Yuasa’s success has made Japan a powerhouse in breaking and breakdancing. Photo: Kyodo
In the B-Girl category, the 2023 world champion, 17-year-old Nicka (Dominika Banevic) of Lithuania, and Japanese Ami (Ami Yuasa) will be the ones to watch out for.

New canoe slalom event, kayak cross

Having made its Olympic debut at Munich 1972, canoe slalom will see a new event added to its roster with kayak cross making its debut at Paris 2024.

Kayak cross is an extreme canoe slalom, which sees competitors in kayaks race on white water, jostling each other with their paddles for pole position.

The Olympic event will begin with timed solo runs before introducing a frenetic element of head-to-head competition as four racers face off against each other, vying for position on the course with placings changing rapidly and contact almost inevitable.

Britain’s world champion Joe Clarke and Australia’s Jessica Fox are among the favourites to win inaugural gold medals in the event, but the chaotic nature of the four-person races makes them almost impossible to predict.

There will be six medals up for grabs, and an equal number of men and women competing.

Kiteboarding to make Olympic debut

Kiteboarding, also known as kitesurfing, is a high-octane sport that will be among the 10 sailing events at Paris 2024 for the first time in Olympic history.

Kiteboarding will be held in Formula Kite format with 20 men and 20 women using approved kites in a wind range between five to 40 knots.

American Daniela Moroz and Maximilian Maeder of Singapore will be the ones to watch. Moroz is number one in the Formula Kite women’s rankings, while Maeder is ranked number one in the men’s category.
Maximilian Maeder of Singapore has been a favourite in kiteboarding since winning the gold medal at the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championship in Oman. Photo: Lloyd Images

There will be three new mixed events in sailing, including mixed kiteboarding and mixed 470.

Other changes

Modern pentathlon was previously completed over the course of one day, but the Paris 2024 semi-final and final will be condensed into 90 minutes. The order of the disciplines will also be new, with short rest intervals.

A repechage round will be introduced to all individual track events in athletics from 200m to 1500m in distance. Replacing the individual 50km, the mixed team walking race will also make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024.

In artistic swimming, men will be eligible to compete for the first time in Olympic history. Acrobatic team routine has also been added to the programme.

A new women’s weight class, bantamweight, will be introduced in boxing while the men’s light heavyweight division will be removed.

Skeet mixed team event in shooting will replace the trap mixed team event.

In volleyball, teams will be split into three pools of four each, playing three matches in the pool phase.

Two extreme canoe slalom events have been added, while two canoe sprint events have been cut.

Which new sports are returning from Tokyo?

The Paris organisers have included sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing – all of which also featured as additional events at Tokyo 2020.

Japanese skateboarder Yuto Horigome trains in Paris on Tuesday. Horigome was the inaugural gold medallist in skateboarding at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Photo: Reuters

Climbing will have two events for male and female competitors in Paris – speed climbing and a combined bouldering and lead competition.

Skateboarding will have two disciplines, street and park.

Almost 16,000km from the main Games venues, 48 surfers will compete in the shortboard events in Teahupo’o, Tahiti.

Which sports have been dropped?

Having made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, karate was not included in the 2024 Games. Baseball-softball has also been dropped for Paris but will return at Los Angeles 2028.

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