LA28 has not yet defined its program: the sports that aspire to be there and Bach’s “blessing”

The definitive Los Angeles 2028 program will have to wait. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) already had to know the sports chosen by the organizer to incorporate into the Olympic Games, but the decision is delayed because deliberations continue.

This Friday, the IOC Executive Committee was going to analyze the alternatives raised by LA28 at its meeting in Lausanne and communicate its opinion so that, at the session to be held in October in Bombay, India, the changes to the program would be approved. None of that will happen.

“Due to the ongoing discussions between the IOC and the Organizing Committee, the Olympic Program Commission has not yet had the opportunity to hold its meeting to prepare its final recommendation for the Executive. Consequently, the sports program of the LA28 Olympic Games will be discussed at a later meeting, on a date to be decided,” the IOC said in a statement.

Nine sports are aspiring to have their place in Los Angeles 2028: cricket, karate, kickboxing, baseball/softball, lacrosse, breaking, squash, motor and American football in their form of ‘flag football’.

Karate was in Tokyo 2020 and will not be part of the Paris 2024 program, which chose breaking as one of its new sports; baseball was an exhibition sport in Saint Louis 1904 and was officially part of the program from Barcelona 1992 to Beijing 2008 to return to Tokyo 2020, as was softball, which was present between Atlanta 1996 and Beijing 2008.

Cricket, on the other hand, was in Paris 1900, although with only two countries: France and Great Britain. A few days ago, the sport received the “blessing” of Thomas Bach himself, president of the IOC, for its inclusion in Los Angeles 2028.

“I can’t hide it, I’m a big cricket fan, I even played once. It would make sense for this sport to be Olympic and now it’s up to the Los Angeles Organizing Committee to make a proposal. I think you can imagine from my answers what mine would be to such a request,” Bach said in an interview with CNBC-TV18 and announced that it would be played with the T20 mode (limit of 20 overs) because with the traditional format it wouldn’t be possible to be Olympic.

While waiting to know what will be included in the Olympic program, in June of last year, the other sports that they already know will be part of Los Angeles 2028 were approved.

LA28 will have athletics, badminton, basketball, boating, cycling, horse riding, fencing, soccer, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, wrestling, swimming, rowing, rugby, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, shooting, archery, triathlon, sailing, volleyball, surfing, skateboarding and climbing.

Meanwhile, it remains to define what will happen with boxing, which is not yet part of the official program, although everything indicates that it could be maintained and other sports that seek to continue in the Olympic movement are weightlifting and modern pentathlon, which for the time being will not be in Los Angeles.