Big changes for LA 2028 Olympics with FIVE new sports, major schedule change, incredible swimming venue… plus CRICKET
PARIS was an Olympic blast.
But when “the youth of the world” come together in Los Angeles in four years, everything will look very different.
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And the most controversial sport of the last two weeks is on the verge of disappearing altogether – after being part of the Games for over a century.
Boxing has long been one of the core sports of the Olympic Games and the launching pad for Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Oscar de la Hoya, Lennox Lewis, Sugar Ray Leonard and many others.
In Paris, however, the controversy surrounding Algerian Imane Khelif has only put another question mark over a sport that was already at an end.
The IOC leadership has taken over the management of the Tokyo Olympics from the official world association IBA, which is led by Russian Umar Kremlev – the man who excluded Ukraine after his country invaded its neighbor in 2022.
Although the four British boxing associations helped form the breakaway World Boxing Organization to wrest control of the sport from Kremlev and his lackeys, she is not currently on the roster of boxers in Los Angeles.
IOC President Thomas Bach warned that a decision must be made soon.
Bach said: “The answer will come sometime next year, as soon as possible, but I don’t think we can expect a final decision before next year.”
“I hope we will have an answer in the first half of next year.
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“The IOC will not organize boxing without a reliable partner. If it wants its athletes to win Olympic medals, it must organize itself as a federation.”
But the likely games without boxing will be just part of a comprehensive overhaul of both the sports involved and the schedule.
Five different sports are included, including the return of cricket – probably in the T20 format – for the first time since 1900, with a particular focus on the Indian subcontinent.
After years of lobbying, we will also see squash, lacrosse, baseball, softball and flag football – imagine a “tag rugby” version of the NFL.
However, due to a major change in the schedule, the games will not open until July 14, two weeks earlier than in Paris.
This will be just five days after the 2028 European Championship final at Wembley and the men’s singles final at Wimbledon.
For the first time since 1968, athletics competitions are scheduled for the first week, while the second week is dominated by swimming.
The early start also means that the golf superstars have to fly quickly across the Atlantic back to California, where the final round of the Open will take place on the first weekend of the Games.
Athletics will return to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the home stadium in 1984. Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke’s SoFi Stadium was transformed into the largest indoor swimming pool in history after the opening ceremony.
The majority of events will take place within a 25-mile radius of downtown LA, with venues including Long Beach for triathlon, sailing and rowing (though the normal 2k race distance will be shortened by 500m) and Santa Monica Beach.
But also think of the whitewater canoeists. Their venue is Oklahoma City, just 2,100 kilometers east of the host city.
Fans can also expect the games to feature plenty of celebrities and A-listers who have already started to make a name for themselves.
Rapper Snoop Dogg was spotted all over Paris, and Tom Cruise and Ariana Grande were also seen having fun. They and others will probably be back in four years.
Whatever happens, one thing is guaranteed: heartbreak and fairytale in La La Land.
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