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Tokyo 2020 has turned into Tokyo 2021, although it’s still officially called Tokyo 2020.

Doctors, famous film directors, and even former Japanese mafia members are united against this year’s event going ahead, but let’s assume that the Olympic torch is lit and look at the new sports set to feature.

Four sports are making their Olympic debuts, and another two, baseball and softball, will return after a hiatus of sorts.

Let’s kick off with a look via CNET, at karate:

Fittingly, karate — a martial art that originated in Okinawa during the Ryukyu Dynasty — makes its Olympic debut in Tokyo, joining judo, taekwondo and wrestling.

It consists of two disciplines for both men and women: kata (forms) and kumite (sparring).

It’s been a long time coming, but we will finally see skateboarding get recognition on the biggest global sporting stage of all:

Men’s and women’s Olympic skateboarding will consist of two events: park and street. The street course is designed to replicate street skating, with stairs, ramps and rails that riders can use to put together a series of tricks…

The park event takes place on more of a bowl-shaped course, in the sense that it looks hollowed out. Riders use the inclines within the course to build momentum and perform tricks. They’re judged on difficulty and originality, among other things.

The sport has come a long way since its early days on the streets. I reckon Tony Hawk deserves a great deal of credit on that front.

The third new sport is one I’m pretty excited about, and also one that I know very little about.

Ever heard of sport climbing?

In the Olympics, men’s and women’s sport climbing will consist of three disciplines: speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing. In speed climbing, two athletes secure themselves to ropes and race each other on a fixed route to the top of a 15-meter high wall.

Bouldering involves climbers — without safety ropes — individually trying to ascend as many fixed routes on a 4-meter high wall as they can within 4 minutes. And in lead climbing, athletes will try to climb as high as they can on a 15-meter high wall within 6 minutes, again using safety ropes. If two people reach the same height, the person who did it fastest wins.

There’s a great deal more to discuss regarding those three disciplines – you can delve deeper here.

The fourth and final debutant is surfing, and could provide South Africa with a real medal opportunity.

Surfing makes its Olympic debut next year when women and men shortboard competitors hit Shidashita Beach on Japan’s Pacific coast. Four athletes compete at a time, with each heat lasting 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the quality of the waves.

During that time each wave can only have one rider. Instead of being judged on how many waves they catch, the athletes are judged on the difficulty of the maneuvers they perform, with masterful execution on large waves bringing the highest scores.

The two highest scores count, and the top two ranked surfers in each round progress.

Jordy Smith (above), our most exciting surfing talent in a long time, has qualified, and says he is raring to go.

The Tokyo Olympics will open on July 23, and run through to August 8.

[source:cnet]