Every four years, the world unites to watch the Olympics, with late-night viewing and popcorn becoming a ritual. The excitement of cheering for your country's athletes is unmatched. The 2024 Olympics will be held in Paris, with a focus on gender equality and youth. Paris previously hosted the Olympics in 1924, and the anticipation for these games is high. The Tokyo Olympics, delayed to 2021 due to COVID-19, showcased the resilience and adaptability of the Olympic spirit. With 32 sports and 329 events, have you ever wondered how many sports are in the Olympics?


How many games are played in the Olympics?

This might seem like an easy question, but the number of sports in the Olympics can change with each Games, and it often depends on how we define sports. The 2024 Summer Olympics plan to award medals across 329 events, representing 32 different sports. New additions this year include breaking (breakdancing), skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing.

Here is the full list of sports, and the number of events within each sport:

  • Swimming: 35 events
  • Diving: 8 events
  • Water Polo: 2 events
  • Artistic Swimming: 2 events
  • Open Water Swimming: 2 events
  • Archery: 5 events
  • Athletics: 48 events
  • Badminton: 5 events
  • Basketball: 2 events
  • 3x3 Basketball: 2 events
  • Boxing: 13 events
  • Breaking: 2 events
  • Slalom: 4 events
  • Sprint: 12 events
  • BMX Freestyle: 2 events
  • BMX Racing: 2 event
  • Mountain Biking: 2 events
  • Road: 4 events
  • Track: 12 events
  • Dressage: 2 events
  • Eventing: 2 events
  • Jumping: 2 events
  • Fencing: 12 events
  • Football (Soccer): 2 events
  • Golf: 2 events
  • Artistic: 14 events
  • Rhythmic: 2 events
  • Trampoline: 2 events
  • Handball: 2 events
  • Hockey: 2 events
  • Judo: 15 events
  • Modern Pentathlon: 2 events
  • Rowing: 14 events
  • Rugby Sevens: 2 events
  • Sailing: 10 events
  • Shooting: 15 events
  • Skateboarding: 4 events
  • Sport Climbing: 4 events
  • Surfing: 2 events
  • Table Tennis: 5 events
  • Taekwondo: 8 events
  • Tennis: 5 events
  • Triathlon: 3 events
  • Volleyball: 2 events
  • Beach Volleyball: 2 events
  • Weightlifting: 10 events
  • Wrestling: 18 events

When counting sports, some people refer only to those defined by the IOC, which is why some say there were 28 sports in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. Others count each discipline separately, leading the official 2016 Olympics website to list 42 sports. Both methods are valid and depend on your preference.

In February 2013, wrestling was removed from the core sports list but later rejoined the 2020 Olympic program, along with new contenders like baseball/softball, climbing, karate, roller sports, squash, wakeboarding, and wushu. Wakeboarding involves riding a shortboard towed by a motorboat, performing aerial maneuvers. Wushu, a practice that enhances body, mind, and spirit, is expected to be dominated by Chinese athletes if included in the Olympics. Despite this, it remains a valuable sport.

For the 2024 Olympics, these decisions and additions continue to shape the ever-evolving list of Olympic sports.


How many events will be played in this year's Olympic Games?

The Paris 2024 Olympic Sports Programme is focused on gender equality and youth, as part of the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms. Unlike the Tokyo Olympics, which had 48.8% female participation, Paris 2024 will achieve complete gender equality for the first time in Olympic history. The number of mixed-gender events will increase from 18 in Tokyo to 22 in Paris.

Paris 2024 has also proposed the inclusion of four new youth-oriented sports: breaking (breakdancing), skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing. These additions aim to reward creativity and athletic performance. Despite these additions, the overall number of events will be reduced, with a final program of 329 events.

IOC President Thomas Bach stated, “With this programme, we are making the Olympic Games Paris 2024 fit for the post-corona world. We are reducing the cost and complexity of hosting the Games. We will see, for the first time in Olympic history, the participation of the exact same number of female athletes as male athletes, with a strong focus on youth.”

In the post-COVID-19 world, limiting the number of events is crucial for curbing the growth of the Olympic programme and reducing additional costs. The urban sport concept has been expanded, featuring youth-focused events that are inclusive, engaging, and can be practised outside conventional settings.

What's the difference between an event, a discipline, and a sport?

Understanding the categorization of Olympic sports, disciplines, and events can be helpful. An Olympic sport is governed by an International Federation (IF) and must be widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries on four continents, and by women in at least 40 countries on three continents.

A discipline is a branch of an Olympic sport that includes one or more events. For example, Aquatics is an Olympic sport with four disciplines: swimming, diving, water polo, and synchronized swimming.

An event is a specific competition within a discipline that awards medals. For instance, in swimming, the 100m breaststroke is an event.

To summarize:

Sport: Governed by an IF (e.g., Water Sports).
Discipline: A branch within a sport (e.g., canoeing, kayaking).
Event: A specific competition awarding medals (e.g., 100m breaststroke).


Conclusion

Over the next five years, the inclusivity of Olympic events will inspire millions of children to take up sports. The Olympics, one of the world's biggest events, are celebrated with enthusiasm every four years. Do you watch the Olympics with your family? Are you excited about the upcoming games?

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