Here Are The 3 Sports That Were Dropped From The Olympics This Year

The Olympics are almost here!

Kicking off July 26, the Summer Olympics will see athletes and audiences flocking for fierce competitions in the City of Lights.

There are some program changes this year, with three sports departing and one sport making its Olympics debut. So here’s the rundown of notable sporting changes to expect:

Leaving: Baseball

Baseball first joined in Barcelona 1992, where Cuba won gold. The sport was removed after Beijing 2008. It came back briefly for Tokyo 2020, but it will not be returning this year in Paris.

Leaving: Softball

Four years after Baseball debuted, Softball joined at Atlanta 1996, where the US won gold. The sport has followed the same path as Baseball: exiting the Olympics after Beijing before making a brief return four years ago at the Tokyo games.

Leaving: Karate

Karate debuted at the last Olympics. It consisted of two events — Kumite and Kata. The events were split by weight class and gender, resulting in eight gold medals up for grabs. However, Karate was not brought back for the Paris games.

Joining: Breaking

Breakdancing is joining for the first time and will consist of one event for B-Boys and one for B-Girls. It first made an appearance in the Olympic circuit at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Additionally, new events have been added for longstanding sports, including Kayak Cross in Canoeing and Kitesurfing in Sailing.

And, finally, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing are back for their second Olympic appearances after debuting in Tokyo.

Tell us in the comments below which sports you’re most looking forward to watching at the Olympics!