New Olympic Sports: Curiosities you need to know

Inspired by the ancient Greek Olympics, the modern Olympic Games began with the Athens 1896 edition, where athletes from 14 countries participated, with the largest delegations from Greece, Germany, France and Great Britain. These first Games were integrated by 10 sports, and in the next edition, Paris 1900, another 9 were added, laying the foundations of the Olympic Games we know today.

The following chart is a bubble timeline showing the number of sports that made their first Olympic debut in the corresponding year (illustrated in the size of each bubble) from Atlanta 1996 to Paris 2024 and gives evidence of the new sporting and cultural trends of each era.

After the Paris 1900 Games, the editions with the highest number of sports making their first debut have been Tokyo 2020 with 10.3%, St. Louis 1904, Berlin 1936, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, each with 6.3%.

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Curiosities about the different editions and disciplines in the Olympic Games.

• Boxing made its debut in St. Louis 1904, a sport it has contested in all editions except Stockholm 1912, women’s boxing was introduced for the first time in London 2012.
• Field hockey debuted at the Olympic Games in London 1908, and women had their first participation at Moscow 1980.
• At the Stockholm 1912, athletes from five continents participated for the first time.
• The modern pentathlon, which includes equestrian, fencing, swimming and laser-run, made its debut at this edition (Stockholm 1912). The women’s event in this sport was added in Sydney 2000.
• In Berlin 1936, basketball, handball and sprint canoeing made their debut.
• After 12 years, the Olympic flame was reignited in the Olympic stadium in London 1948, following World War II.
• The Tokyo 1964 Games were the first to be held in Asia and judo, a traditional Japanese martial art derived from jiu-jitsu, made its debut at these games alongside volleyball.
• In Munich 1972, slalom canoeing was incorporated into the Olympic program, along with badminton. At Los Angeles 1984, rhythmic gymnastics was introduced as a women-only event.
• At Seoul 1988, table tennis was added to the Olympic program.
• In Barcelona 1992, baseball was an all-male sport at the Olympic level, and for Atlanta 1996, softball was added as an all-female sport.
• Mountain biking made its Olympic debut 100 years after track and road cycling, along with beach volleyball.
• At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, trampoline gymnastics, triathlon and taekwondo were integrated. In this edition, women competed for the first time in modern pentathlon and weightlifting.
• In Beijing 2008, open water swimming and BMX racing were added to the Olympic program.
• The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were held in 2021 due to restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, and new disciplines were introduced to reflect current sports trends, such as skateboarding, born in urban environments and practiced mainly by young people. Alongside this sport, 3x3 basketball, BMX freestyle cycling and sport climbing also made their debut.
• Breaking, rooted in hip-hop culture, originated in New York in the 1970s, makes its first debut in the Paris 2024 edition starring individual battles, using a combination of acrobatic moves.