Everything you need to know about the four new sports debuting this year.
More fun and games are on tap for the Tokyo Olympics. Four sports — karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing — will make their debut in Tokyo, while baseball and softball, which had been voted out of the Olympics, will temporarily return.
How many sports will compete at the Tokyo Olympics?
In all, 33 sports will be on display — the most ever at an Olympics. Here’s everything you need to know about the new sports before the Opening Ceremony.
New Sports at the Tokyo Olympics
1. Karate
After years of lobbying, karate has finally earned its place as an Olympic sport. The International Olympic Committee had rejected the martial art’s bid for inclusion three times. But under new guidelines that allow the host nation to propose new events (and heavy lobbying from Japan’s prime minister and black belt Yoshihide Suga) karate was added.
Competitions for men and women athletes will be held in two disciplines. In kumite, athletes spar within different weight classes, and in kata judges grade the technique and form of participants.
When to Watch Karate at the 2021 Olympics
All events will be held Aug. 4-7
2. Skateboarding
There will be two skateboarding competitions for men and women. In the park skating event, athletes will maneuver through a course that resembles an empty swimming pool, performing tricks throughout their 45 second-runs. They’ll be judged by a panel of five.
In street skateboarding, participants will have 45 seconds to skate through a course designed to look like a city street — with stairs, handrails, and ramps. A five-panel judge will grade them on the tricks they stick.
When to Watch Skateboarding at the 2021 Olympics:
Men’s Street: July 24 beginning at 8 p.m. EST
Women’s Street: July 25 beginning at 8 p.m.
Women’s Park: Aug. 3 beginning at 8 p.m.
Men’s Park: Aug. 4 beginning at 8 p.m.
Skateboarders to Watch
Nyjah Huston, a 26-year-old from Davis, Calif., tops the world street rankings and is a clear favorite in the event, along with Japan’s Yuto Horigome, who won this year’s men’s street world championship.
You also won’t want to miss 13-year-old phenom Sky Brown, skating park for Great Britain.
3. Surfing
Surfing’s another sport that’s had a long road to the Summer Games — going back all the way to the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. That’s when Duke Kahanamoku, a five-time medalist in swimming who’s also known as the godfather of modern surfing, first advocated for the sport’s inclusion in the Games.
More than a century later, its moment has come. The top surfers in the world have now gathered at Tsurigasaki Beach, on Japan’s east coast. Twenty men and 20 women will compete in heats lasting 30 minutes. The surfers will be judged on their top two waves, over multiple heats.
When to Watch Surfing at the 2021 Olympics
Competition is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. EST on July 24 and should last over four days. But the dates may change depending on the conditions. So far, surfers have been unimpressed with the waves, though bigger swells are predicted early next week.
Surfers to Watch
Team USA is packed with talent. Carissa Moore is a four-time World Champion and John John Florence won world titles in 2016 and 2017 — both are from Hawaii — while Californians Kolohe Andino and rising star Caroline Marks round out the squad.
4. Sport Climbing
The men and women will compete in three disciplines: speed, bouldering, and lead. In the speed competition, two athletes will race to the top of a 15-meter wall. In lead, they’ll climb as high as they can over six minutes, and in bouldering, the athletes will scale up a wall along a number of routes — without safety ropes.
The climbers’ three results will be tallied up to determine the medal winners.
When to Watch Sport Climbing at the 2021 Olympics
The men’s finals will take place on Aug. 5, with the women’s finals to follow on Aug. 6.
Sport Climbers to Watch
The Czech Republic’s Adam Ondra is one of the world’s best climbers, excelling at both the bouldering and lead disciplines. Janja Garnbret, of Slovenia, is another highly decorated climber, who’s considered a favorite in Tokyo.
For Team USA, Colin Duffy, who qualified for the Games at just 16 while he was a high school sophomore, is looking to make his mark.
