October 30, 2023 By: Karl Wimer

Cartoon: New Additions Ready For the 2028 Olympics

As the host for the 2028 Olympics, the United States’ organizing committee added five sports: lacrosse, squash, baseball/softball, cricket, and flag football. Each sport has male and female versions, so in effect 10 new medals.

Baseball and softball have been there before. Baseball had a run as an official Olympic sport from 1984-2008 before being dropped partially because of the absence of the best professional players. Softball’s connection with baseball contributed to a similar stretch, that also saw its removal in the late 2000s.

It’s not the first time for lacrosse in the Olympics, having been a medal sport in 1904 and 1908, then a demonstration event in 1928, ’32, and ’48. But it has taken a significant effort (see a great piece on this at InsideLacrosse) to get back to the big stage in a slightly different format: 6-person teams instead of 10 men or 12 women.

Squash is the lone individual sport of the five new entrants. Cricket is an interesting addition, as it has seen significant growth in the United States, but it traditionally played throughout the Commonwealth and remnants of the old British Empire. And flag football got a major push from the considerable influence and deep pockets of the NFL and its never-ending efforts to grow viewership around the globe.

Not unsurprisingly, France chose a bit more avant-garde new sport selections for the upcoming 2024 Olympics: breaking, sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing. Interesting that with the exception of climbing, all of these sports originated on these shores. Also intriguing sociologically, is that the US chose mostly team sports, while the French chose individual disciplines.

For the sports slated for 2028, the next five years will be filled with major activity, as state-sponsored entities will pour resources into their growth to put their best foot forward in the pursuit of new medal opportunities.