10 Summer Olympic Sports You Didn’t Know About
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic games have finally kicked off after being postponed a year due to the pandemic and we are thrilled about it! Watching the incredible athletes get the opportunity to shine on the Olympic stage after the years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice is enough to inspire us to maybe run that extra mile, do 10 more pushups, or maybe just dream a little bigger. One of the greatest aspects of the Olympics is being exposed to sports you may not know much about and this year the Olympics welcomed 6 new sports to the Olympic stage; karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing, baseball, and softball.
As we were thumbing through the channels watching the recaps of the games played that day we were enamored with the wide array of sports played in the Summer Olympics, and made a list of the 10 summer olympic sports you may not have known existed! Looking for a fun dinner conversation over the next few weeks? Bring up the 13 year old superstars shredding up the skateboard park or the pentathlon.
Scroll below to see our list and to learn about a little about each!
1. Artistic swimming - This is not Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky swimming in the lap pool, or diving, this is a full synchronized dance routine in the water!
2. BMX - BMX made its Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing games and has been an Olympic sport ever since. BXM is best described as similar to a bicycle race, but instead of on the street, they are going through a terrain park while cutting tight corners, and bumping up against their opponents at a very high speed. Great fun to watch if you want to get your adrenaline pumping.
3. Badminton - Badminton made its Olympic debut in competition at the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics where 4 events were held, with singles and doubles events for both men and women.
4. Skateboarding - The 2020 Tokyo Olympic games is the first time Skateboarding has been included and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive! The athletes are also the youngest Olympians competing, with some being as young as 13 years old.
5. Table Tennis - Table Tennis is possibly the one sport on this list that you did know about, but it is so underrated and so fun to watch that we had to list it! This isn’t your pingpong game with your friends in a basement, this is fast paced magic and worth tuning into.
6. Surfing - Surfing is also making its highly anticipated Olympic debut during the 2020 Tokyo games. We are excited to see which surfers and countries come out with the first gold medals awarded in the sport of surfing!
7. Handball - Handball was first played in Berlin, Germany, in 1917 and has remained very popular in European countries, Asia and South America, but has never gained massive recognition within the United States, which is why it has made out list. It has been an official Olympic sport since 1972, and recently been recognized by large universities in America such as University of Virginia and Texas A&M.
8. Baseball/ Softball - Baseball and Softball have been added to the official roster of Olympic sports during the Tokyo 2020 games since 2008. 6 national baseball teams will compete in this years games, Israel, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Republic. The 6 national softball teams competing at Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and the United States.
9. Trampoline - Yes, trampoline is an Olympic sport and we had no idea! The trampoline competition consists of one men's and one's women's individual event, and it made its Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games in Australia.
10. Modern Pentathlon - This is probably the coolest sport played at the Olympics because it comprises five different events; fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming (200 m), equestrian show jumping (15 jumps), and a final combined event of pistol shooting and cross country running (3200 m). Yes, all of those!