Summer Olympics events: What sports are in the summer Olympics?
The Summer Olympics events have started again! It may be a little weird since the events happen every four years, and the last one was in 2016. Well, you can blame it solely on the Covid-19 pandemic that plagued the world throughout 2020. Thanks to the vaccination efforts by different countries, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are happening in 2021.
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The summer Olympics events in Tokyo promises to be an interesting one. Over 200 countries are present in Tokyo, Japan, with over 11,000 athletes competing in various sporting events. There are at least 1,017 medals to be won in the current Olympics events.
How many sports are in the Olympics?
Athletes will be competing in 33 sports at the Tokyo Olympics. This is an increase of five compared to the 28 sports available in the last edition of the international event, which Brazil hosted in 2016. Below is a detailed Olympic sports list, including the new additions:
1. Aquatics
Aquatics is one of the oldest events in the history of the Olympics. It is one of five sports that has consistently featured since the beginning of the Olympics in 1896. The games under this category include artistic swimming, diving, swimming, Water polo and marathon swimming.
2. Gymnastics
This is in various categories and disciplines, and it remains one of the five sports that have always been featured since 1896. The games under this include trampoline gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and artistic gymnastics.
3. Table tennis
This sport was introduced to the international event in 1988 and is in various categories for men and women. However, the sport is dominated mainly by Chinese athletes.
4. Tennis
Tennis is a long time feature in the history of Olympic events. It is keenly competed by male and female athletes.
5. Taekwondo
This became an official Olympic sport in 2000. It is an Asian martial art infused into the events.
6. Triathlon
This sport was introduced during the 2000 Sydney Olympic games.
7. Wrestling
This sport’s inclusion in the Olympics is as old as Olympic history. It features freestyle and Greco-Roman.
8. Weightlifting
Male and female athletes participate in this sport at the international event. Interestingly, it has always been part of the Olympics since its inception.
9. Volleyball
Volleyball and Beach Volleyball were introduced in 1964 and 1992.
10. Fencing
This sport has always been part of the Olympics since its inception.
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11. Equestrian
Since the early part of the 20th century, they have been introduced, and they include dressage, jumping and eventing.
12. Football
It was introduced in 1900 and was the first team sport to be part of the Olympic games.
13. Golf
This sport has been part of the Olympics history since 1904.
14. Hockey
This sport has competed in the Olympics since 1908. Although it stopped in 1924, it was reinstated in 1928.
15. Handball
It was introduced in 1936 and made a long absence until 1952.
16. Judo
Its first introduction was in 1964, and it has always been part of the international event except in 1968.
17. Modern Pentathlon
The Frenchman French baron Pierre de Coubertin invented the sport and was introduced in the Olympics in 1912.
18. Shooting
The shooting game was a men-only competition at the Olympics until 1984.
19. Sailing
This sport was called yachting until 2000.
20. Rowing
It was not part of the event in 1896 only because of bad weather. Instead, it made its debut in 1900.
21. Rugby
This sport was introduced in 2016 after a long absence since 1924.
22. Cycling
This sport has been part of the international event since 1896, and it includes Cycling BMX Racing, Cycling BMX Freestyle, Cycling Mountain Bike, Cycling Track and Cycling Road.
23. Track and field
Commonly known as athletics, it was introduced at the beginning of the Olympics in Athens, Greek.
24. Badminton
This became an official Olympic sport in 1992.
25. Basketball (3x3 Basketball)
Basketball’s first appearance at the international event was in 1936.
26. Boxing
It has been part of the Olympics events since 1904 except in 1912.
27. Canoeing
Its debut Olympic Games appearance was in 1924, and it includes Canoe Slalom and Canoe Spring.
28. Archery
This sport honours precision. It was first introduced in the sporting event of 1900.
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New events in the Olympics
But then, when are the Olympics 2021 events taking place? The Tokyo 2020 was delayed until 2021 because of the Covid-19. The event will occur between the 23rd of July, 2021, to the 8th of August, 2021. With that understanding, below are the new Olympic sports listings:
29. Baseball/softball
Both sports will be part of the 2020 Olympics events.
30. Karate
This is one of the new Olympics sports added to the event, and it includes Kata and Kumi.
31. Skateboarding
This sport is making its debut in the 2020 event.
32. Surfing
It is making a debut appearance in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
33. Sports climbing
The game is finally making a much-anticipated appearance in the 2020 Olympics. Speed climbing, bouldering, and lead climbing are among the sports included in this sport.
How many Summer Olympic events are there?
There are over 300 events that take place in the Summer Olympics. Interestingly, the Summer Olympics events list is long, beginning with the opening ceremony and ending with the closing ceremony. In between, athletes compete in various sporting events and various categories. There is also the medals awarding event, among others.
How many events are in the summer and winter Olympics?
The Summer Olympics has over 300 events, while the winter event has a little over 100 events. Besides the total events in each, the Summer Olympics is scheduled for the summer, providing a more conducive atmospheric condition for sporting events.
Furthermore, the availability of more sports means that it attracts more nations, athletes, and ultimately more fans. The Winter Olympics, on the other hand, takes place under icy and snowy conditions. Some of the sporting events in the winter version include figure skating, bobsleighs, ski jumping, and snowboarding.
The Summer event is more significant when compared to the winter version because it attracts over 205 countries while the latter has about 88 participating nations. The Summer Olympic sports began in 1896 in Athens, Greece, while the winter event did not start until 1924. Then, the two Olympics have been taking place two years apart since 1992.
What happened at the Summer Olympics in 1980?
There was a massive boycott of the 1980 Olympics scheduled to be hosted by Moscow. The move was initiated by the United States President, Jimmy Carter, in protest of the Soviet Union’s failure to stop oppressing Afghanistan military force.
The Soviet Union was believed to be advancing enforcement of communist ideology in the Islamic State of Afghanistan, which Jimmy Carter thought was a breach of human rights. Finally, however, he resorted to boycotting the international event when his warnings fell on deaf ears.
Jimmy Carter threatened a serious sanction against any United States athletes that would go for the said international event. More than 60 countries, including Japan, Canada and West Germany, joined in the protest, while others decided to remain neutral and sent their athletes to Moscow.
To show their grievances, the Soviet Union did not participate in the 1984 event, which took place in Los Angeles, United States of America.
The Summer Olympics events enforce a global sense of unity, especially among participating nations. It also allows fans and athletes of participating countries to have a glimpse and firsthand experience of different cultures. It is a massive event that speaks the language of global comradeship.
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