Skateboarding, climbing and surfing set to stay for 2028 Olympics

International Olympic Committee (IOC) sports director Kit McConnell said after executive board meetings skateboarding, climbing and surfing had a strong Olympic debut this year in Tokyo and are fully backed by LA organizers.
"They bring in new communities, are globally popular and easily accessible," he said. "All three had their best athletes in Tokyo. They bring a lot to the movement and the Olympic Games."
Final approval by the IOC Session is seen as a formality for the three who will also be in Paris 2024.
Having them helps the IOC to keep the Olympics relevant in the future by attracting a younger audience.
Modern pentathlon, boxing and weightlifting must meanwhile fear for their participation in LA but IOC president Thomas Bach said there will be "a pathway" for them "to be potentially included" in 2023.
Boxing and lifting have still not overcome problems including governance, with Bach speaking of ongoing "grave concerns" regarding lifting while boxing's body AIBA could be reinstated in two years if they continue reforms.
Modern pentathlon had a major scandal in Tokyo when German coach Kim Raisner was disqualified for punching a horse, after her rider Annika Schleu's hopes of gold ended in tears on a mount which refused the show jumping course.
The governing body UIPM has decided to drop the concluding horse riding portion after 2024 for another discipline which is yet to be determined.
McConnell said a decision in the new discipline could come by the end of next year after trials in the European summer, and Bach said the sport must "demonstrate significant reduction in costs and considerable improvement in universality."