PARIS, France — The Paris Olympics are set to officially ring in with the Opening Ceremony on Friday afternoon. While some sports have already been going on since Wednesday, we have yet to see the newest Olympic sport in action.
Break dancing -- which is staged under the official Olympic name of "breaking" -- is the only sport making its debut in Paris.
There are, however, small changes to some of the other sports worth noting.
Here's a rundown of everything that's new for the 2024 Paris Olympics:
2024 Paris Olympics new sports & events | List
New sport:
- Breaking (medals for "B-Boys" and "B-Girls")
New medal events:
- Speed climbing (men's and women's)
The speed climbing events fall under sport climbing and are now distinct from the "combined" medal event from when sport climbing was introduced in Tokyo. That means there are now four climbing medals, instead of two, available in Paris.
Other changes:
- Canoeing: This now features 6 slalom events and 10 sprint events -- in Tokyo it was 12 sprint/4 slalom. No overall change in medals available for canoeing.
- Weightlifting: This sport has lost 4 medal events -- the men's 67kg weight class is gone, the men's 81kg and 96kg weight classes have been consolidated into 89kg; women's 55kg weight class is gone, and women's 64kg and 76kg were consolidated into 71kg. Additionally, the highest weight class has come down for both men and women -- it was 109kg for men in Tokyo, 102kg in Paris; and 87kg for women in Tokyo, 81kg in Paris.
Gone (but probably coming back):
- Baseball & softball: These were both Olympic sports until they were dropped after the 2008 Games, but Japan as the (baseball-loving) host nation made them a special addition three years ago. They're gone again in Paris, but when Los Angeles is the host city four years from now, they're expected to make their return (then, probably, they'll go away again).