Two new events will debut at this year's Olympics, and they are both bound to bring some serious excitement to the Games.
Four sports debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Games—surfing, skateboarding, karate, and sport climbing. Though karate will not be returning, the other three events were a huge success and paved the way for even more action in 2024.
Breaking, a completely new sport in the Games, will debut in 2024, bringing a style of dance that originated in the Bronx in the 1970s to the global stage. Both a men's and women's event will take place where a DJ will set the mood for some serious dance battles.
Under the canoe slalom umbrella, kayak cross will be introduced, as well. A race between four kayakers at once on a difficult course, this sport is bound to be full of photo finishes and some waterworks.
Find out more about the two new Olympic additions below.
MORE: When do the Olympics start?
How many sports are in the Olympics?
There are 32 sports in the official 2024 Olympic program. That includes 329 total medal events.
Breaking
The 2024 breaking competition at the Paris Olympics is comprised of two events—one men's and one women's—where 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls will compete in a round-robin followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal battles.
Each battle is a one-on-one, best-of-three contest that lasts approximately one minute. When one breaker finishes their round, their opponent must instantly begin their routine in a battle format.
Nine judges will score each dance on six criteria: creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity, and musicality. Sixty percent of the score comes from the performativity and creativity categories, and the others account for the remaining 40 percent.
The twist? The breakers don't know the music ahead of time. Their whole routines must be improvised to whatever beat the DJ chooses.
MORE: How is breaking scored in the Olympic Games?
Kayak cross
A new event in the canoe slalom category, kayak cross consists of four athletes who race against each other on a complex course featuring a maximum of six downstream gates and two upstream gates. Kayak cross will also have separate women's and men's categories.
The competitors start on a ramp located above the water before dropping in and beginning the race. Athletes are allowed to touch the gates when they pass through, but missing one will mean disqualification.
Additionally, during the race, all athletes are required to complete a "kayak roll" in the defined zone of the course. This entails completing a 360-degree rotation that includes your head going under the water.
The kayak cross competition will start with a timed solo trial in order to determine the heats and bracket. The top two finishers from each race in the preliminary rounds go through to the quarterfinals, and that same process is repeated until the medal round.
