Paris 2024: Extreme Sports Overview

The Olympic Games are nothing short of a global spectacle, and this year’s run is no exception. From 26 July to 11 August 2024, Paris will host over 10,000 top-caliber athletes who’ll battle it out to win the top spots in 329 events.

To create a more inclusive and youth-oriented program, the 2024 Paris Olympics will include extreme sports widely associated with millennials. High-risk competitions appeal to the younger generation because they offer heightened experiences—perfect for adventure-seeking players and spectators. 

Let’s discuss Olympics’s extreme sports list, both new and old, that are worth watching.  

The rising popularity of extreme sports

The mere mention of extreme sports conjures competitions that require high levels of physical exertion, speed, height, temperature, and risk. Think bungee jumping, scuba diving, and mountain biking—all meant to push human capabilities to the limit. Also called adventure sports, these activities are often staged outside conventional sports venues.

Extreme sports have been around for decades. But it wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the term was coined following the airing of a sporting event organized by a popular cable network. The industry has gained a huge following since then. It’s estimated that the sector earns at least USD$ 200 billion annually from over 490 million extreme sports enthusiasts worldwide. (1)   

Olympic organizers just announced that there will be four new events, making this year’s edition more thrilling for fans seeking an adrenaline rush. That said, you don’t have to spend thousands to watch these popular action sports. They’re available exclusively across various channels, so you can tune in to the events at Paris as they unfold.

Extreme sports in the Paris 2024 Olympics  

The Olympics has undergone various enhancements to maintain its status as the world’s biggest sports competition. In an effort to create an ‘inclusive, gender-balanced, and youth-centered’ program, the International Olympic Committee remains open to innovations. Thus, in 2020, the proposal to add four extreme sports was born.

Here’s a rundown of the new events in the Paris 2024 Olympics:

Breaking

The United States is widely credited as the birthplace of break dancing, which, in the Games, is called breaking. While closely associated with the hip-hop culture, this dance style has spread all over the world, eventually making its way to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Male and female athletes will be judged separately according to their mastery of executing specific power moves. While the event focuses on creativity, there’s always an element of danger involved in performing acrobatic movements, which sits at the core of this dance style.

Skateboarding

Like breaking, skateboarding will also test an athlete’s creativity in performing tricks, often while being suspended mid-air. Contestants will be evaluated based on the variety of moves, the degree of difficulty, height, and speed in their efforts to impress the judges.  

This year, all eyes are on Brazilian frontrunner Rayssa Leal, who won silver in street skateboarding in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She captured the title at only 15 years old, making her the youngest medalist in the Games’s history. In the male category, bets will likely be placed on 25-year-old Yuto Horigome, who snagged the gold medal when the sport was introduced in the same year. (2)

Sport climbing

Sport climbing made its debut in the previous Games and is formally adopted as a new sport in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The competition will be divided into three primary formats: bouldering, lead, and speed. Each event will test their physical and mental abilities reminiscent of rock climbing.  

In bouldering, athletes must climb at the top of the wall successfully without a harness and in the shortest time possible. The lead event will see them tackling a complex vertical route, which won’t be revealed until the actual competition. Meanwhile, the speed format challenges the male climbers to scale the wall as high as possible before the six-second time limit, while females must reach the top in under seven seconds.   

Surfing

Those seeking the thrill of beach sports would be ecstatic to know that surfing events will make their comeback in the 2024 Paris Games. While considered a new sport, this action game was first introduced in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Like skateboarding, albeit on water, surfers will be assessed based on their speed, tricks, and the complexity of their moves. However, the competition’s venue will be outside Paris, particularly in the iconic surfing village of Teahupo’o in Tahiti.

Other binge-worthy action sports

But these aren’t the only Olympic adventure sports you should get excited about. Several high-octane events are worth watching in this year’s competition:

Water sports 

Before embracing surfing as part of its dynamic and inclusive strategy, several aquatic-based sports have been considered staples in this sports festival. The most exciting games include:   

Canoe slalom

European athletes have reigned in this high-speed water sport since its adoption in 1992. However, it remains to be seen whether they’ll excel in the new format kayak cross, which will make its maiden run in this year’s Summer Games.

Canoe sprint

Kayakers, whether individually or as a team, will race against each other over flatwater and at various lengths. Canoe racing was first featured as a demo event in the 1924 Olympic Games, also held in Paris.   

Marathon swimming

This competition is the ultimate test of an athlete’s physical stamina and mental focus. Olympic marathon swimmers must endure a 10-kilometer race in open waters while being exposed to extreme temperatures and conditions.  

Cycling-based sports

Bicycle motocross (BMX) occupies a considerable chunk of the adventure sports industry. In the US alone, some 4.5 million individuals participate in BMX freestyle and racing activities—an increase of over 6% from a year before. Unsurprisingly, the 2024 Paris Olympics features several events under the cycling category. (3)     

BMX freestyle

Here, bikers must impress the judges by performing tricks on the ground or while suspended mid-air. This urban outdoor sport had its maiden run at the 2020 Tokyo Games amid a huge crowd of impressed spectators.  

BMX racing

As the name implies, athletes will go head-to-head to cross the finish line in the shortest possible time. The course will feature complex obstacles to test their mastery of riding this two-wheeled machine.

Cross-country mountain biking

Unlike BMX events, which occur in park-like settings, the Olympics mountain biking happens off-road and on rough terrains, testing the riders’ stamina, speed, and strategic skills.

Like most Olympic sports events, this competition has separate categories for men and women.

Road cycling

Road cycling is also held outdoors but in friendlier settings. So, where’s the twist? Competitors can participate in either the road race or time trial formats. The former is a test of endurance, where male riders must triumph over their competitors at a distance of 200 kilometers and females at around 120 kilometers. In time trials, they’re judged individually while pedaling at a shorter distance.

Track cycling

Track bicycles are meant for races because they’re stiffer and brakeless. Olympic track cycling athletes will compete in various sprint formats individually or as a team to challenge their speed, power, and tactics.     

Conclusion

The addition of new extreme sports events not only distinguishes this year’s Games from its predecessors. It also sets a higher bar for other global sporting events. As it is, traditional sports are already enjoying significant support worldwide. However, adding youth-oriented sports into the mix will increase the appeal of Summer Olympics and its relevance to millennials—the generation that makes up most of the global population. With these changes, expect the thrill and excitement to get better over time.  

References

1.      People craving adrenaline are fueling a ‘major increase’ in demand for extreme sports after a year at home. Source:https://www.businessinsider.com/extreme-sports-demand-adrenaline-activities-increases-after-year-at-home-2021

2.      2024 Paris Olympics: Athletes to Watch.  Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/2024-Paris-Olympics-Athletes-to-watch#:~:text=Dubbed%20the%20%E2%80%9CSkate,medals%3A%201%20gold

3.      Number of participants in BMX bicycling in the United States from 2011 to 2023. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/763726/bmx-bicycling-participants-us/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20the,million%20in%202021