The sports of skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing that first featured at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been included in the initial sports programme for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the International Olympic Committee(IOC) said on Thursday.
But weightlifting, boxing and modern pentathlon did not make the cut of the initial 28 sports and must meet certain criteria in 2023 to be included, IOC president Thomas Bach told an online news conference at the end of an executive board meeting.
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An IOC session in February will approve the initial programme. The three sports that are left out will be up for re-inclusion at the IOC session in 2023.
Skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing made their Olympic debuts in Tokyo this year, with the Games delayed by a year due to COVID-19, and were a major success among young viewers. They are already a part of the programme for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"The proposed inclusion of these youth based sports is based on the success of Tokyo 2020, a commitment to innovation and also recognises the deep roots each of these three sports have in Los Angeles and in California," Bach said.
For weightlifting and boxing their exclusion is a major blow as the international federations struggle with governance, finance and corruption issues and have been repeatedly warned by the IOC to reform or risk their Olympic spots. Both will need to show improvement in terms of financial transparency and governance to get back into the Olympics.
Bach said boxing federation AIBA must change its judging and refereeing system, increase financial transparency and diversify its revenues.
Weightlifting, which has been rocked by revelations of doping cover-ups and decades of corruption that have led to charges against top federation officials, must address a change in culture and major doping issues.
"The IWF and its future leadership must demonstrate its transition towards compliance and effective change in culture," Bach said.
"It must address the historical incidents of doping.. and ensure integrity and robustness of anti-doping."
- NO HORSES -
Modern pentathlon, part of the Games for more than a century, must provide plans for an event to replace horse riding following a scandal during the Tokyo Games in which a horse was hit by a trainer.
The sport was created by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics.
"The UIPM (modern pentathlon federation) must finalise its proposal for a replacement of horse riding and overall competition format ... they must demonstrate significant reduction in cost ... and appeal to youth and the general public," Bach said.
The UIPM, which will use horses at the Paris Olympics, will not have riding as a fifth discipline in Los Angeles in order to replace it with one that costs less and increases the sports accessibility.
The decision to drop riding came after Germany's modern pentathlon coach Kim Raisner hit a horse at the Tokyo Games when it refused to jump a fence, leading to widespread criticism of the sport.
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