This summer, the 2024 Olympics will be taking place in Paris, France. This year, the Olympics has a total of 40 sports that each country can participate in, with breakdancing being the newest addition to the group.
If breakdancing can be considered a sport, then what are some other sports that should be added to the Olympics?
In 2022 the popularity of pickleball started skyrocketing.
“The number of players nearly doubled to 8.9 million in the US,” according to a Sportico article, Since then, the sport has only been growing in popularity, especially in the United States.
Compared to some other sports, the popularity of pickleball is still low, but the number of watchers and players is more than enough to qualify for the Olympics.
Another sport that could also be added to the Olympics is bowling. Many people do not consider bowling as a sport, but colleges and universities give out scholarships for bowling, and bowling alleys have their own leagues.
The age demographic for competitive bowling consists of a majority of participants who are 30 and older because it is a calmer sport. While we mainly see very young people in the Olympics, adding bowling will allow for the representation of older people and give them a chance to be able to compete in the Olympics.
“MMA should also be added because it’s very competitive and very entertaining, there’s a lot of people that like fighting events,” said junior Justice Lucas.
While boxing, taekwondo, and karate are all fighting sports in the Olympics, Lucas believes that mixed martial arts (MMA) should be added. MMA is highly popular in the United States. It’s a more brutally entertaining way of fighting that involves much more physical contact, with the players punching, kicking and grabbing onto each other, making it a very entertaining event to watch.
The Olympics have the power to give a spotlight to many different sports. This is why it is important for the Olympics to continue to add new and upcoming sporting events to expand entertainment and give a chance for these sports to flourish. The 2024 Olympics will officially start on Friday, July 26, with the opening ceremony.
