The International Olympic Committee (IOC) held its 141st Session in Mumbai, India, on Saturday and officially announced that "IOC Session approves LA28's proposal for five additional sports, including baseball and softball, as well as cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash," according to the IOC website.
According to the IOC website, IOC President Thomas Bach said, "The inclusion of these five new sports will showcase America's sporting culture to the world. 먹튀검증 They will bring the world of sport to the United States and vice versa," said IOC President Thomas Bach. "They will make the Los Angeles Games even more special."
Previously, the LA 2028 Organizing Committee proposed these five sports as temporary additions to the Olympic program, which were approved by the IOC Executive Board. The final step was for the IOC Session to reinstate the sports with an overwhelming 88 out of 90 votes.
The Los Angeles Games will also feature athletes from Major League Baseball (MLB), the sport of their dreams. In the past, the MLB office has opposed the inclusion of major leaguers in previous Olympic Games due to their ongoing seasons. However, the LA Games will be held in the United States, the home of baseball. "We have received documents confirming the participation of top players from Major League Baseball, should baseball be included in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles," said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.
This marks baseball's return to the Olympic program after a seven-year absence following the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021. Baseball made its Olympic debut as a demonstration sport at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1988 Seoul Games. From Barcelona 1992 to Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, and Beijing 2008, baseball has been a part of the Olympic program.
Baseball was then dropped from the program for the 2012 London Games, which were held in Europe, and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, which were held in South America. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, baseball was reinstated as an official sport, due to the strong ties to the sport in the host country of Japan. However, baseball was dropped again the following year for the 2024 Paris Olympics in Europe.
The resurgence of baseball is also expected to reopen the door to military exemptions for professional baseball players. After the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, baseball players will be looking to the 2026 Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games three years later for military exemptions. Baseball was removed from the 2024 Paris Olympics. If baseball didn't make a comeback at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, the path to a military waiver through the Olympics could be difficult.But in a dramatic turn of events, baseball's return to the Olympics has opened the door for military waivers.
At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where baseball was an exhibition sport, South Korea lost 2-5 to the United States in the semifinals. They went on to lose 0-3 in the third-place game to Chinese Taipei in 14 extra innings to finish fourth. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the team lost 1-3 in the semifinals to Japan and then 0-7 in the third-place game against Puerto Rico to finish fourth. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the team was eliminated in the preliminary round.
South Korean baseball made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Atlanta Games. South Korea fielded a team of mostly amateur players and finished in last place with a record of 1-6. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the team, led by then-coach Kim Eung-ryong, won its first bronze medal in Olympic history. They lost 2-3 in the semifinals to the "world's strongest" USA, but won the bronze medal with a 3-1 victory over Japan in the third-place game. They were led by Koo Dae-sung's nine-inning, five-hit, 11-strikeout, one-run complete game and Lee Seung-yeop's two-run double in the eighth inning.
South Korea tasted the bitter taste of elimination at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and then again at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where they won the best-of-nine series. Kim Kyung-moon's Korean baseball team opened the tournament with an 8-7 upset of the United States, followed by a 5-3 victory over Japan. They also defeated Cuba, 7-4, to end the preliminary round with a seven-game sweep. In the semifinals, Korea faced Japan and won 6-2, with Lee hitting a come-from-behind two-run shot in the eighth inning. The so-called "Promised Eighth" was born. In the final against Cuba, Jeong "Submarine" Dae-hyun induced a walk-off hit with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to win 3-2 and claim an emotional victory.
In 2012 and 2016, baseball was not included as an official sport. They returned to the world stage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but lost back-to-back games to Japan and the United States to fall in the bronze medal game. They lost 6-10 to the Dominican Republic and finished in fourth place.
Cricket, meanwhile, returned to the Olympic Games after a 128-year absence since its second edition in Paris in 1900. Lacrosse returned to the Olympics for the fourth time, 120 years after the 1908 London Games. Cricket is also making a comeback. Cricket is a popular sport in India, a country of nearly 1.4 billion people.
The inclusion of cricket as an Olympic sport has led to speculation that the IOC will reap a huge amount of revenue from broadcasting rights. The Associated Press estimates that Indian broadcasters will receive more than $100 million ($135.5 billion) in Olympic rights fees.
Flag football and squash have been added to the program for the first time at the Los Angeles Games. In addition, modern pentathlon and weightlifting, which were initially cut from the 28 foundational sports, will remain in the Olympic program.
The IOC voted on the retention of modern pentathlon and weightlifting, and the decision was made to keep them. Initially, modern pentathlon replaced equestrianism with show jumping after allegations of horse abuse, and weightlifting was allowed to stay because of a decision to delegate doping issues to the International Testing Agency (ITA).