By Alice Luo

Breakdancing, skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing were added to the program of the 2024 Paris Olympics on December 9th, 2020. Skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing were already added to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is trying to incorporate modern sports into the Olympics.

The four sports’ incorporation into the Paris Olympics was decided by the IOC’s executive board when they confirmed the program for the Olympics. This is considered a historic event for dancers all around the world. The new sport, break dancing or breaking, appeared in the 2018 Youth Olympics in the form of head to head battles.

The Paris Olympics have undergone some changes. For example, the 50k men’s race is being left off the program. This is for gender equality. Instead of adding a women’s version or changing it to a mixed-gender cross country race, they have decided not to have it. The number of medal events has also gone down from 339 to 329.

The new program changes have affected athletes around the world, introducing new sports and changes to the program.

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