The Paris Olympics 2024 are well underway, and if you’re caught up in Olympic fever, you’re certainly not alone.
Although the Olympics is known for its traditional and popular crowd-pleasing sports such as the Marathon, Athletics and Gymnastics, sometimes those that provide the most thrills and spills are the new Olympic sports!
In this blog, we've pulled together the four newest Olympic sports for 2024 whilst explaining how they’re judged and whether we can expect to see them again in later Olympic tournaments. We also offer our top supplement picks to enhance your training, should you want to feel like an Olympian when trying these popular new sports for yourself!
Prepare for Olympic-level sporting success!
Table of contents:
What new sports are in the 2024 Olympics?
- Breaking
- Surfing
- 3x3 Basketball
- Sport Climbing
Future Olympic sports to watch out for
What new sports are in the 2024 Olympics?
Four new sports appear at this year’s Olympic games: Sport Climbing, 3x3 Basketball, Surfing and Breaking.
Whilst three of the sports debuted at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, it’s the first Olympic year for Breaking, which featured at 2018’s Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
These new and exciting sports are a testament to how the competition has expanded and developed over the years, staying current and moving with the times.
Read on to discover more about these new and exciting Olympic sports!
1. Breaking
Taking place at the Place du Concorde, Breaking, otherwise known as Breakdancing, is having its breakthrough at the Paris Olympics games.
Originating in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s, competition Breaking is nothing new, although it’s the sport’s first Olympic foray. From International events to World Championships, the sport is known for its robust judging system, so competitors must show their full creativity and flair if they’re looking to bag that elusive gold medal.
At the Olympics, judges will score competitors on 6 criteria: creativity, musicality, personality, technique, variety and performativity, weighted 60% towards performativity and creativity and 40% toward the other categories. Additionally, competitors won’t have heard their music beforehand and will be expected to improvise their moves to the beat.
In both the men’s and women’s categories, 16 B-Boys and B-Girls will compete with each other in a round-robin style before the best progress through to the quarter and semi-finals and then the exciting medal battles.
At every level, each battle will feature a best-of-three contest consisting of one-minute Breaking, with the opponent’s minute beginning directly after the first competitor’s minute ends.
Women’s Breaking at the Olympics will begin on Friday, 9th August, followed by the men’s competition on the 10th.
The men’s gold medal favourite is US Breaking Star Victor Montalvo, whereas Lithuania’s Dominika Banevic, aka B-Girl Nicka, is the current women’s favourite after winning the world title in 2023. B-Girl Nicka will be just 17 when she competes in Paris.
How to get involved in Breaking:
If you’re captivated by the style of music, the agility of the moves and the creativity and inspiration behind the routines, maybe Breaking is the sport for you!
Before trying to replicate the moves, improving your strength and mobility is important to prevent injury when attempting routines. Breaking is broken down into three types of movement: Top-Rocking, Footwork and Freezes, each requiring a completely different set of skills.
Top-Rocking
Top-rocking uses the top half of the body, including your hands, arms, elbows and chest. These moves usually introduce a Breaking routine before moving on to something more advanced. Upper body strength is key here, so you may find it beneficial to strength train your arms and core in the gym for a few months before trying out top-rocking if you're a novice.
Footwork
The key to a good routine, footwork, is how you use your feet, legs and hips to dance. In Breaking, the footwork is usually more advanced than top-rocking, which usually occurs later in a routine. Difficult to master, start by learning basic techniques before stringing everything together in a routine.
Freezes
Freezes are key to a good Breaking routine and usually break up each section. When completing one move, incorporating a freeze is a technically skilled way to transition seamlessly into the next one whilst showing off your prowess as a B-Boy or B-Girl. Your strength and core training here will also allow you to hold those freeze poses easily with flair, without wobbling around at inopportune moments.
In many cities, Breaking is as popular now as traditional dancing classes, so once you’ve nailed the basics, why not head to a class to perfect your routines and improve your skills?
Supplements to support Breaking
Once you focus on stringing together skilled and energetic routines, you’ll want a supplement to boost your energy to help you focus and perform at your best. XL Nutrition Purge Pump Pre-Workout is a stimulant-free pre-workout that can be taken any time of the day, helping you stay focused without the caffeine kick! Simply add a 10g scoop to 250-300ml of chilled water, shake and consume immediately, 30 minutes before intense exercise.
2. Surfing
First introduced to the Olympic schedule at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, although there wasn’t any surfing in the River Seine, surfing returned with a bang to the Paris Olympics 2024.
Those making their way to the Paris Olympic Games would need to travel further afield to watch the surfing live; the lack of ocean in the capital city meant that Tahiti, situated in French Polynesia, was the destination to showcase the talents of those most skilled in this ever-growing sport.
Tahiti may be beautiful, but the island is known for its heavy and challenging waves, perfect for scoring this year’s Olympic surfers on their movements, speed, power and flow.
Battling it out over three rounds, then into the quarters, semi-finals and finals, Florida-born Caroline Marks struck Gold for the USA after narrowly missing out on a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In contrast, for the men, it was Kauli Vaast, a Tahitian native, who achieved Gold for France after a near-perfect first ride.
How to get into surfing:
A sport best suited to those living by the ocean and blessed with a nice climate, surfing lessons or a beginner's surf camp is the best way to get into the sport in a safe environment that allows you to perfect your novice-level skills.
Whilst most surf schools are understandably situated on the South West Coast of the UK, if you live in the North of England, there are also experienced surf schools such as Saltburn Surf that will put you through your paces and help you brush up on your surfing skills.
Supplements to support surfing:
Surfing is a sport that requires you to spend hours in the great outdoors, so you’ll want to ensure that you keep your health in check so you can meet the demands of spending hours on (and in) the ocean!
3. 3x3 Basketball
Basketball has been a firm favourite at the Olympics since 1936. 3x3 basketball, however, debuted at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 and recently returned to the Paris Games in 2024.
An urban, street-style take on the traditional game, 3x3 basketball grew in popularity in the 1980s in the USA before being considered a competitive sport.
With a similar concept to traditional basketball, the aim is to score points to win within a set time frame. However, some differences make the sport much faster, more frantic and edge-of-your-seat entertaining than the traditional game.
First, the court is much shorter, measuring just 11 m in length and 15 m in width. There’s only one hoop in 3x3 basketball, and the game starts with a coin toss to determine which team will start as the offensive team and which will be defensive.
Unlike traditional basketball, the shot clock is set to 12 seconds rather than the usual 24, and the winning team is the first to reach 21 points (or the team in the lead after 10 minutes). If it does go to overtime, the first team to score two points is the winner. Scoring is simple: score one point for a free throw or from within the arc, whereas two points are awarded for scoring anywhere else on the court.
As the name suggests, each team in 3x3 basketball has three members and one substitute who can be tagged during a dead ball situation.
During the Paris 2024 Olympics, 3x3 basketball was played at the Parc Urbain at the Place Du Concorde, a popular venue this Olympics for many of the urban sports. To a venue filled with excitement and noise, the Netherlands struck Gold after beating home nation France 18-17 in the men's game and added another silver medal to their ever-growing pile.
Lithuania bagged Bronze in the third-place play-off game, knocking out Latvia and hitting that elusive 21-point score ahead of Latvia’s 18.
In women’s 3x3 basketball, Germany got Gold after beating Silver-winners Spain 17 points to 16. In the third-place play-off, it seemed only fitting that the USA achieved Bronze in front of a raucous crowd, just beating North American rivals Canada to a medal position, 16-13.
How to get into 3x3 basketball:
Basketball is an accessible sport, with most urban parks featuring a court or at least a hoop and backboard for you to hone in on those skills. It’s also a social sport to play with friends, a great place to start if you’re new to it.
If you’ve been playing for a while, are looking for opportunities to play matches, or to find a team to join, register for a free profile with Basketball England.
Supplements to support 3x3 basketball:
Basketball is an explosive sport requiring energy, endurance and strength to get the most out of the game. Because of this, adding Efectiv Creatine Monohydrate to your workout will help you get the best out of your skills!
A raw form of high-quality creatine, it’s essential for those intense workouts helping to improve strength and power. Creatine replenishes your ATP stores, the body’s first energy source. Take a 5g serving daily with water, or add to your post-workout protein shake or pre-workout mix for convenience.
4. Sport Climbing
Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing made up of bouldering, speed climbing and lead climbing and is popular with young competitors with the natural agility to complete the sport swiftly and successfully.
Sport climbing first appeared at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018 in Buenos Aires, then debuted at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Returning to Paris in 2024, it took on a fresh new format. In the Tokyo Games, medals were awarded to both genders based on their success in a combination of bouldering, speed climbing and lead climbing; this year, the events are split, with medals awarded for bouldering and lead climbing combined and a separate medal event for speed climbing.
In speed climbing, athletes climb side-by-side up a 15 m climbing wall, racing each other for a time. In the combined event, however, speed is overlooked in favour of skill and various climbing moves.
The bouldering section is about completing as many allocated climbing walls as possible, with points deducted for unsuccessful attempts. In the lead climbing section, climbers must climb as high as possible within six minutes (in this section, however, competitors only have one attempt, as opposed to multiple attempts in bouldering within the time).
Bouldering and lead climbing have a maximum of 200 points that can be achieved (100 in each discipline) to bag an elusive medal-winning position.
Whilst the competition is still ongoing, it’s an exciting time for the sport with the new format allowing future athletes to train towards their specific skill set.
How to get into sport climbing:
If sport climbing looks like your sort of challenge, the safest place to start is on a climbing wall in a gym or sports centre. Here, you can usually hire the correct gear, and most good centres will offer training or courses to help you improve your skills!
Once you’ve learned the basics, you can join sport climbing and bouldering clubs; a great way to learn from others and build a community around the sport you love!
Remember to rest between climbing days, as sport climbing requires extreme strength and agility, so you must let your body recover to achieve the best results.
It’s also important to stay safe when climbing; don’t try ambitious outdoor climbs until you have the proper skills to do so safely, and always prioritise the correct safety equipment.
Supplements to support sport climbing
Whilst there are many supplements that you could take to give you explosive energy and power for speed climbing, the best supplement that will aid all three climbing disciplines is protein for muscle repair.
XL Nutrition Xtra Whey Protein is a high-quality, great-tasting protein available in many great-tasting flavours and offers 21g or protein and 119 calories per serving. Its protein content will help support the growth and maintenance of muscle mass, replenishing your body’s protein stores directly after a climbing workout when your body needs it most.
Mix with cold water or milk for the perfect, delicious post-workout treat!
Future Olympic sports to watch out for
Now you’re up to date with all of the latest and greatest Olympic sports at the Paris Olympics, we’re sure there’s at least one you’d love to try for yourself.
However, if you’re already mastering a new sport, you may wonder whether it’s set to feature in a future Olympic games. Olympic sports are chosen long before the schedules are announced, so with this in mind, we thought we’d round up the ones to watch for the 2028 Olympic games in Los Angeles.
The five new sports coming to LA in 2028 are as follows:
- Baseball/Softball - although first introduced in Tokyo and omitted from the Paris games, it seems fitting that baseball should return to Los Angeles due to the sport's popularity in the USA.
- T20 Cricket - For the first time since 1900, cricket is making its Olympic comeback in 2028.
- Flag football - Another USA favourite, this non-contact American football-style sport is sure to be popular with the home nation.
- Squash - Racquets at the ready - squash will make its Olympic debut.
- Lacrosse - played in a six-a-side format, Lacrosse returns for the first time since 1908.
Go brush up on your sporting skills and get ready for 2028!
Supplement your training success at Discount Supplements
Whatever your sport of choice, increase your success with our exceptional selection of supplements at Discount Supplements. Find whey protein for muscle repair, pre-workout for an intense focus, creatine to improve your strength, and more from industry-leading brands. Shop the range today and prepare to train for Olympic levels!
Related posts:
The Ultimate Guide To Mr Olympia