The Tokyo Olympics will feature many of our favorite sports like gymnastics, track and field, and swimming – but there will also be six new (or almost new) sports in the mix. Here’s what you need to know to see the newcomers to the “2020 Olympics,” as they are called. (Yeah, we know it’s 2021.)
Baseball and softball
Baseball and softball are among the six, but they’re not entirely new to the games. Baseball (an all-male event) first appeared in the Olympics in 1992, and softball (for women) was added in 1996. Both were dropped in 2008 and are returning this year, though only six teams participate in each. For baseball, these are the United States, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Israel, and the Dominican Republic. For softball, these are the United States, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and Italy.
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is going to be a fully Olympic sport for the first time, though it made an appearance at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. There will be two events: Park and Street.
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The course for Street is designed to mimic an urban street. There are stairs, ramps, railings, curbs, and benches available, and it is up to the competitor to put together a series of moves that take advantage of the features available.
Park skateboarding is done in a bowl, with steep sides that allow for spins and other tricks in the air. Both events have men’s and women’s competitions.
How is it rated? The jury evaluates the movements of the participants according to speed, height, originality and execution.
Who can be seen: Street favorites include Nyjah Huston from the US, Yuto Horigome from Japan and Leticia Bufoni from Brazil. Sky Brown from Great Britain, Heimana Reynolds from the USA and the American-Finnish skateboarder Lizzie Armanto (skating for Finland) can be seen in the park.
surfing
Shortboard surfing (with boards less than eight feet) will be in the Olympics for the first time this year. Men and women compete separately. Four people will run together, but only one surfer can ride a wave at a time.
How is it rated? The jury evaluates the surfers’ movements based on factors such as the difficulty of the wave and the movement they choose, the variety of movements, the originality, the ability to combine movements and the “speed, power and flow” of the movements.
Who can be seen: The USA, Australia and Brazil are the strongest countries here. John John Florence and Carissa Moore are favorites from the US; Also look out for Stephanie Gilmore from Australia and Gabriel Medina from Brazil.
Sport climbing
Three climbing disciplines will be held at the Olympic Games in Tokyo: speed, bouldering and lead. Men and women compete against each other in all three, their placements in each being considered together to determine who will receive a medal.
How is it rated? Speed climbing takes place in head-to-head runs, with the winner of each advance advancing. Times are expected about six seconds per run for men and eight for women.
Bouldering, which is done without a rope because it doesn’t stray too far from the ground, allows participants to make multiple attempts to climb to the top of a specific problem. Climbers have four minutes to climb as many problems as possible; The goal of everyone is to get both hands on the last grip with as few attempts as possible. Getting to a designated zone near the summit isn’t as good as climbing the boulder, but it will still hit someone who didn’t even make it that far.
Lead climbing allows only one attempt per participant, and climbers climb a 15-meter wall one after the other. The further up the wall you can climb within the six-minute limit, the better your score. If there is a tie, the fastest promotion wins.
Who can be seen: The top climbers include Adam Ondra from the Czech Republic, Janja Garnbret from Slovenia and Miho Nonaka from Japan. The Americans to watch out for are Nathaniel Coleman, Colin Duffy, Kyra Condie, and Brooke Raboutou.
karate
Judo has been an Olympic sport for decades, but karate is new to the games. There are two events: kata and kumite. The events are suitable for both men and women, each with three weight classes.
Kata is a demonstration of karate moves against an imaginary opponent, and participants can choose one of 102 pre-arranged sequences to perform. Kumite is a sparring event in which participants compete against each other in pairs.
How is it rated? Judges rate kata based on factors such as strength, speed and technique of movements. Kumite is scored through the individual blows and kicks the competitor takes on the body of his opponent, with each blow earning one to three points. The first person to have an eight point lead over their opponent is the winner of the game.
Who can be seen: In Kata, Sandra Sánchez and Damián Quintero from Spain as well as Kiyou Shimizu and Ryo Kiyuna from Japan are among the front runners. Kumite favorites include Ugur Aktas from Turkey, Anzhelika Terliuga from Ukraine and Irina Zaretska from Azerbaijan.
