Five sports added to 2028 Olympics, as Ireland loses its best medal hopes

Good news for all flag footballers out there.

Five new sports are set to be included in the line-up for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. It was voted by the IOC in Mumbai on Monday to include cricket, squash, baseball/softball, lacrosse and flag football in the games. The inclusion of cricket will be the first time the sport has been played in the Olympics for 128 years with organisers proposing a six-team event. However a concrete decision has not been made on the final number or how they will qualify. Bach said: "We are ready to welcome the world's best players of cricket to perform in the United States in 2028, while showcasing iconic American sports to the world" "We see the growing popularity of cricket, particularly the T20 format." Squash and flag football (a non-contact 5-aside version of American Football) are set for their Olympic debuts in 2028, while baseball has appeared seven times before. Softball - the women's equivalent of baseball in the Olympics - has appeared five times in the event, as has lacrosse.

IOC Session approves @LA28’s proposal for 5⃣ additional sports:

⚾Baseball/?softball, ?cricket, ?flag football, ?lacrosse and ⚫squash have been officially included as additional sports on the programme for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028. #LA28 pic.twitter.com/y7CLk2UEYx — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) October 16, 2023

Ireland to lose some of its best Olympics medal hopes

While the news of added sports will do wonders for their global popularity, there was also some bad news on the Olympics-front for Ireland. Unfortunately for Ireland, two of the country's best hopes for a medal look set to be axed as men’s and women’s lightweight double sculls will make a final appearance at Paris 2024. It will be replaced by beach sprint rowing for LA 2028. [caption id="attachment_784235" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Gold medalists Paul O'Donovan and Fintan Mccarthy at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Getty Images)[/caption] The future of boxing is also on the line since the the IOC decision to withdraw recognition of the International Boxing Association. However, the decision on including boxing in the LA28 sports programme has been put on hold, with no discussions being held over the weekend. Between them, boxing and lightweight rowing have accounted for more than half of Ireland's total Olympic medal tally. In our Olympic history, Ireland's boxers have won eighteen of our 35 medals while our lightweight rowers have tallied three. Last month in Belgrade, Olympic champions Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy secured their place in next year's Olympic Games in Paris, retaining their crowns as European champions in the process. Lightweight women’s double of Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey and men’s pair Nathan Timoney and Ross Corrigan also secured their place in Paris while at Belgrade.

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