On June 25, 2019, the Paris 2024 proposal to include surfing, skateboarding, break dancing and sport climbing in its summer Olympic Games was presented at the 134th International
Olympic Committee Session in Lausanne, Switzerland. At the end of the presentation, the IOC voted unanimously to approve the proposal. The four sports will now enter an observation period, with the final decision of inclusion to be made at the IOC Executive Board meeting in December 2020.
The International Federation of Sport Climbing was represented at the session by IFSC president, Marco Maria Scolaris; IFSC secretary general, Debra Gawrych and athlete representative, Petra Klingler, who presented the proposed sport climbing format for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The sport will feature a combined bouldering and lead climbing event represented by 40 athletes, and a separate speed climbing event represented by 32 athletes. This is an increase in the number of athletes that will be represented at Tokyo 2020, as well as an increase in total medals available. A total number of 248 athletes are expected to represent the four sports.
The Paris 2024 Organizing Committee’s goal for its Olympic Games was to feature sports that are “accessible, youth-oriented, creative and spectacular.” The four sports chosen for the proposal were selected from 19 possible sports presented by their respective federations.
With this provisional inclusion in a second Summer Olympic Games, the anticipation for Tokyo 2020 increases. The success of next year’s games will impact the final Paris 2024 program decision in December 2020.
