MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2021) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will consider including skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics sports program and will make a decision in Beijing in February next year, IOS President Thomas Bach said Thursday.
"Building on the success of Tokyo 2020 as the most engaged Olympic Games ever, and with endorsement from the LA28 Organizing Committee, the IOC Executive board today decided to include skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing in the list of 28 sports to be submitted for approval at the upcoming IOC Session in February in Beijing," Bach said a press conference.
The provisional program for the LA Olympic Games includes 28 sports, in particular, aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, canoe, cycling, equestrian, fencing, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, rowing, rugby, sailing, shooting, skateboarding, soccer, sport climbing, surfing, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, triathlon, volleyball, and wrestling.
Bach also stated that the IOC will not change its position regarding the equestrian sport included in the LA Olympics list.
"As equestrian sport is a very well-established sport across the globe, and the IOC will not change its attitude towards equestrian sport," Bach told reporters.
The issue about the exclusion of this sport from the Olympic program arose after the incident at the 2020 Tokyo Games. The coach of the German team, Kim Raisner, punched rider Annika Schleu's horse several times for bad performance at the Equestrian Jumping competition, earning a disqualification.
