What’s new in the Summer Olympic games

This summer, make sure you look out for the four new additions to the Summer Olympic Games.

Finn Kemp, Staff Writer

March 27, 2024

After four long years, it is time to get back into the Olympic spirit. This July and August in Paris, we will see who has taken the time, effort, and dedication to train to come out on top at the 2024 Olympic Games.

This year, the games will be hosted in Paris. Athletes from all over the world, all on the same stage, in the same country, competing to see who is the best in the world at their respective sports.

This year, four new sports will be introduced to the games, including surfing, skating, breakdancing, and sport climbing. In this list, we’ll focus on these four sports, and the story behind why they have been included in the Olympic Games.

Four things that will be new in this year’s Summer Olympic games in Paris.

Olympic Surfing (Olympic Youtube Channel)

Surfing

Back in 1920, three-time Olympic champion in swimming, Duke Kahanamoku, started a campaign to get the sport of surfing its start in the Olympic Games. After much work, the sport made its first appearance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and will be part of the events in 2024 again with Teahupo’o in Tahiti. The sport is scored by five judges who look for maneuvers and tricks that get more points based on their difficulty of execution.

Olympic Breakdancing (Olympic Youtube Channel)

Breakdancing

Originating in the United States during the 1970s, breakdancing is marked by acrobatic difficulty, impressive foot maneuvers, and a central emphasis on the relationships between DJs and performers at block parties in the Bronx. Competitions on an international scale exploded onto the scene in the 1990s, and the craze for hip-hop dance moved through urban communities to the masses by promoting this electrifying sport to the mainstream and general public. During the games this summer, the dancers are scored on a combination of creativity, performance, variety, musicality, and personality. During the Paris 2024 Games, Place de la Concorde will stage the urban sport at the heart of the city of love.

Olympic Sports climbing (Olympic Youtube Channel)

Sports climbing

In the last two decades, sport climbing has seen a huge surge in popularity. This youthful, mixed-age sport, attracts climbers of all ages and skill levels. Climbers hone their skills both outdoors and in urban, indoor environments. There are already over 25 million climbers in approximately 150 countries worldwide. At the Olympic Games, sport climbing is a competition that includes bouldering, speed climbing, and lead climbing. In bouldering, competitors ascend as many fixed routes as possible within a specified time, typically without a safety rope, which is the norm in other competition formats. They are allowed to observe—and scout—each route for a few minutes before firing themselves at the wall. Speed climbing is a race to the top on a specific route, while lead climbing involves longer routes, higher walls, and timed ascents.

Olympic Skateboarding (Olympic Youtube Channel)

Skateboarding

Skateboarding emerged in the US during the 1950s as part of the youthsports culture, just as surfing was starting to get its start. It then flourished in the 1980s underground as part of the counterculture, representing values such as freedom, rebellion, and the zeal for danger. The world’s best skateboarders will go to the Olympic Games this summer, battling it out in the most desirable and eye-catching discipline of the sport: park and street. The athletes will perform their most spectacular and hardest tricks, and the winner will be crowned based on three criteria: degree of difficulty, speed, and variety of tricks.This summer, the future Olympic skateboarding arena will be "La Concorde Urban Park.”

With new, exciting sports being introduced to the International Olympic Committee, they have been relatively well received by the public. As an athlete, I personally believe that new sports are a great way to attract viewership this summer from different spectator niches. They are sure to help bring the world together for these two weeks, which ultimately embodies the foundation of the Olympic spirit.

About the Contributor

Finn Kemp, Staff Writer

Finn Kemp is a new addition to Saint Stephens and the Gauntlet, with great communication skills and a great understanding of human interactions. He is a high-level athlete, which also helps him understand situations and people better and relate with people who show effort, determination, and respect. He is currently a writer for the Gauntlet and his favorite show is either Breaking Bad or Demon Slayer. Kemp moved from Luxembourg and has 3 pets, two cats and one dog. His favorite color is light blue because of the ocean and water.

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