The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo is due to be the biggest in the event's 125-year history, with the introduction of five new sports to the programme.
The new Olympic sports introduced to this year's games include including skateboarding, surfing, karate, softball, baseball and sports climbing.
It will mark 34 sports in total and a record 339 medal events taking place.
Of the six new sports, four will be making their debut, while baseball and softball have previously been played during past games.
WHAT ARE THE NEW SPORTS AT THE TOKYO OLYMPICS?
BASEBALL
After featuring as an exhibition event previously, baseball was first made a medal event at the 1992 Barcelona Games, before it was removed from the program after the 2008 Games in Beijing.
It's not a surprise to see baseball re-introduced for the Tokyo Olympics – the sport is majorly popular in Japan, with the nation's Nippon Professional League considered the world's second-biggest behind the Major Baseball league in the United States.
It's slated as a one-off event as baseball isn't expected to be included in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
TEAMS
Baseball will be a male only event, with six nations – Japan, USA, Israel, Mexico, South Korea and the Dominican Republic – to compete in a round-robin pool style format before moving into knockout playoffs to determine a winner.
WHO TO WATCH
Japan were announced champions of the 2019 Premier12 tournament, consisting of the 12 highest-ranked nations in baseball, and is considered a strong chance for the gold medal. Team USA will also be strong, although active MLB rostered players are unable to participate given the games will be played during their regular season.
BASEBALL SCHEDULE
Group Stage
Wednesday, July 28th
Dominican Republic vs. Japan (Group A) - 1:00pm (AEST)
Thursday, July 29th
Israel vs. South Korea (Group B) - 8:00pm (AEST)
Friday, July 30th
Mexico vs. Dominican Republic (Group A) - 1:00pm (AEST)
USA vs. Israel (Group B) - 8:00pm
Saturday, July 31st
Japan vs. Mexico (Group A) - 1:00pm (AEST)
South Korea vs. USA (Group B) - 8:00pm
Knockout Stage
Sunday, August 1st
Game 7: Group A third place vs. Group B second place - 1:00pm (AEST)
Game 8: Group A second place vs. Group B second place - 8:00pm
Monday, August 2nd
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner - 1:00pm (AEST)
Game 10: Group A first place vs. Group B first place - 8:00pm
Tuesday, August 3rd
Game 11: Game 8 loser vs. Game 9 loser - 8:00pm (AEST)
Wednesday, August 4th
Game 12: Game 11 winner vs. Game 10 loser - 1:00pm (AEST)
Semifinal 1: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner - 8:00pm
Thursday, August 5th
Semifinal 2: Game 12 winner vs. Game 13 loser - 8:00pm (AEST)
Saturday, August 7th
Bronze Medal Game: Semifinal 1 loser vs. Semifinal 2 loser - 1:00pm (AEST)
Gold Medal Game: Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner - 8:00pm
SOFTBALL
Softball was first included as a medal event in the 1996 games in Atlanta, but similarly to baseball was removed after the 2008 Games.
Like baseball, softball will be a one-off event as it is not due to feature in the 2024 Games in Paris.
TEAMS
This year softball will be a female-only event consisting of six teams – including the United States, Japan, Australia, Italy, Mexico, and Canada – playing off in a round-robin format before the two top teams progress into a gold medal playoff.
WHO TO WATCH
Team USA have a strong team that consists of 2016 and 2018 WBSC Women's World Championship gold medalist Haylie McCleney. 2008 Olympic silver medalist Monica Abbott is also returning for the USA.
Australia have won medals at every Olympics softball event they've competed in, winning bronze in 1996, 2000 and 2008, and a silver in 2004.
SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
Wednesday, July 21st
Australia vs Japan - 10:00am (AEST)
Italy vs. USA - 1:00pm
Mexico vs. Canada - 4:00pm
Thursday, July 22nd
USA vs Canada - 10:00am (AEST)
Mexico vs. Japan - 1:00pm
Italy vs. Australia - 4:00pm
Saturday, July 24th
Australia vs. Canada - 11:00am (AEST)
USA vs Mexico - 3:30pm
Japan vs. Italy - 9:00pm
Sunday, July 25th
Australia vs. USA - 11:00am (AEST)
Canada vs. Japan - 3:30pm
Italy vs. Mexico - 9:00pm
Monday July 26th
Japan vs. USA - 11:00am (AEST)
Canada vs. Italy - 3:30pm
Mexico vs. Australia - 9:00pm
Tuesday, July 27th
Bronze medal game - 2:00pm (AEST)
Gold medal game - 9:00pm
SKATEBOARDING
Skateboarding will be included in the Olympic program for the first time ever in Tokyo, and has already been approved to feature in 2024 in Paris as well, highlighting its shift as a mainstream sport.
Skateboarding will be split into two separate formats - park and street.
Park will take place in a dome-shaped bowl, with skaters scored on their ability to maintain flow while executing tricks. The street competition will be contested on a course featuring stairs, rails and other obstacles.
In both formats, contestants will be scored on each run by a group of judges as traditionally seen in skateboarding tournaments.
TEAMS
80 contestants from 18 different nations will be represented in the skateboarding event, with men and women competing across both park and street disciplines.
WHO TO WATCH
For Australia, five skaters will compete in Tokyo, including former world champion Shane O'Neill, who will compete in the male street event. National Women's Bowl Riding champion Poppy Olsen is definitely one to watch in the female park format.
One of the stories of the Tokyo games, 13-year-old Brit Sky Brown is a strong medal chance in the women's park event having won bronze in the 2019 World Championships. She will be Great Britain's youngest ever summer Olympics athlete.
In the men's American Nyjah Houston is one to watch in the street format as well. He's claimed the last three World Skate League street titles, and is a 12-time X Games gold medalist. He's also the highest-paid skateboarder in the world.
SKATEBOARDING SCHEDULE
Sunday, July 25th 10:00am (AEST)
Men’s Street Preliminary Heats
Men’s Street Final
Men’s Street Victory Ceremony
Monday, July 26th 10:00am
Women’s Street Preliminary Heats
Women’s Street Final
Women’s Street Victory Ceremony
Wednesday, Aug. 4th 10:00am
Women’s Park Preliminary Heats
Women’s Park Final
Women’s Park Victory Ceremony
Thursday, Aug. 5th 10:00am
Men’s Park Prelims Heats
Men’s Park Final
Men’s Park Victory Ceremony
SURFING
Another action sport to make its Olympics debut in Tokyo, surfing will also feature in Tahiti as part of the games in Paris in 2024.
The surfing event will take place at Tsurigasaki Beach in Ichinomiya, which is around 100km away from Tokyo.
Both men and women will contest in preliminary-round heats followed by a head-to-head knockout stage.
Scheduling for the event is contingent on wave forecasts and the competition can be completed within four days, however it may require more time depending on conditions.
TEAMS
A total of 40 athletes (20 men and 20 women) will compete in the surfing event from 20 different countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, South Africa and United States.
WHO TO WATCH
Australia are taking a strong surfing contingent to Tokyo, including Julian Wilson, Owen Wright in the men's and Stephanie Gilmore and Sally Fitzgibbons in the women's.
For USA, WSL stars Kolohe Andino and John John Florence, along with four-time world champion Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks will also feature.
Others to watch include Brazil's Gabriel Medina and Kanoa Igarashi from Japan.
SCHEDULE
The schedule for the surfing events is flexible based on surf conditions, however it is expected to take place between July 24th and July 31st.
SPORTS CLIMBING
Another sport to make its debut in Tokyo, sports climbing will feature as a single event involving a combination three disciplines – speed, bouldering and lead – to determine both a male and female winner.
The speed event requires two competing athletes to climb a 15 metre wall on identical routes to see who can reach the top the fastest.
In bouldering, climbers will navigate a number of different routes in as few attempts as possible, across 4.5 metre-high boulders with steep overhangs.
Lead climbing requires climbers to climb as high as they can on a 15 metre wall over the course of six minutes.
Scores across all three disciplines are multiplied for each athlete, with a top-eight going through to contend for medals.
TEAMS
There will be 40 climbers in Tokyo, 20 each from both the men's and women's competitions.
The nations that have qualified for sports climbing include Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russian Olympic Committee, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.
WHO TO WATCH
Six-time world champion Janja Ganrnbret from Slovenia is widely favoured to win gold in the women's event, while five-time champion Adam Ondra from the Czech Republic is considered the man to beat in the men's event.
Australia's team consists of 18-year-old Melbournite Oceana Mackenzie and 28-year-old Tom O'Halloran from Blackheath, NSW. O'Halloran spoke with Sporting News during his preparations in the lead up to Tokyo 2020, you can read about his story here.
SCHEDULE
Tuesday, August 3rd
Men's combined, speed qualification - 6:00pm (AEST)
Men's combined, bouldering qualification - 7:00pm
Men's combined, lead qualification - 10:10pm
Wednesday, August 4th
Women's combined, speed qualification - 6:00pm (AEST)
Women's combined, bouldering qualification - 7:00pm
Women's combined, lead qualification - 10:10pm
Thursday, August 5th
Men's combined, speed final - 6:30pm (AEST)
Men's combined, bouldering final - 7:30pm
Men's combined, lead final - 10:10pm
Friday, August 6th
Women's combined, speed final - 6:30pm (AEST)
Women's combined, bouldering final - 7:30pm
Women's combined, lead final - 10:10pm
KARATE
Another sport due to make its Olympic debut in Tokyo, which is fitting considering karate originated in Japan.
The martial art's popularity in Japan saw a strong push for its inclusion in the Tokyo games, however it isn't expected to be included in the program for Paris 2024.
Karate will consist of two different events: kata, where athletes are judged on their form and technique, and kumite, where athletes go head-to-head on a mat. Both men and women will compete across three different weight classes in the kumite discipline.
TEAMS
80 competitors, both men and women, will compete in both the kata and kumite karate disciplines.
WHO TO WATCH
Local favourite Ryo Kiyuna, from karate heartland, Okinawa, is a three-time world champion and the favourite for the men's kata gold medal. He'll come up against the world's top-ranked male, Spaniard Damian Quintero in his quest for gold.
Spain's Sandra Sanchez is six-time women's European champion and is a strong chance to take out gold in the kata event.
Tsuneari Yahiro, competing in the men's kumite event, is the only Australian karate representative heading to Tokyo.
SCHEDULE
Click here to see the full karate schedule, for both men and women kata and kumite disciplines. (NOTE: event times are displayed in local time)
