Climbing officially approved for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

A leap forward in the history of our sport - climbing has been officially added to the sport programme for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as announced by IOC yesterday.

Along with baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, and surfing, these five new sports have been introduced to attract a wider youth audience and respond to the increasing trend of urbanization in sports.

“We want to take sport to the youth. With the many options that young people have, we cannot expect any more that they will come automatically to us. We have to go to them. Tokyo 2020’s balanced proposal fulfills all of the goals of the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendation that allowed it. Taken together, the five sports are an innovative combination of established and emerging, youth-focused events that are popular in Japan and will add to the legacy of the Tokyo Games.”, said the IOC President Thomas Bach on the official press release.

Initially rejected in a 2013 decision, climbing was given a second chance when it was decided that host countries could propose sports of local and international significance. Since the bid of 26 new sports in September 2015, climbing advanced through the selection process and was officially accepted and supported by the Committee on August 3rd.

Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said, “The inclusion of the package of new sports will afford young athletes the chance of a lifetime to realize their dreams of competing in the Olympic Games – the world’s greatest sporting stage – and inspire them to achieve their best, both in sport and in life.”

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