For the next two weeks, we’ll watch as the nation’s top athletes will take the world stage for the next And you might be surprised at which new Olympic events you’ll see some of them competing in. 

While some Olympic events have existed since the ancient Games — running, wrestling and boxing to name a few — you’ll see a couple more contemporary ones added to the mix this year. 

Here’s a look at the newest sports, plus other changes, you’ll see at the Paris Games this summer. 

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Breakdancing

Also called breaking, breakdancing will debut at the Paris Olympics for the first time. 

Breakdancing will not return for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, according to NBC. So, make sure to seize the opportunity to watch this unique event this summer.

American breakdancer Victor Montalvo (B-Boy Victor) from Kissimmee, Florida enters the Paris Olympics as a gold medal favorite on the men’s side.

On the women’s side, Sunny Choi (B-Girl Sunny) from Queens, New York will also represent Team USA. She started breakdancing at the University of Pennsylvania during her freshman year of college.

Surfing

Surfing will return after making its first appearance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Surfing at the Paris Olympics will actually take place almost 10,000 miles away from Paris in French Polynesia in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. 

Carissa Moore from Honolulu, Hawaii will be a women’s favorite coming into the Paris Olympics as she took gold in Tokyo. Caroline Marks and Caity Simmers have also qualified for the women’s competition for Team USA.

California surfer Griffin Colapinto was the first to qualify for Team USA in the men’s competition. John John Florence out of Hawaii will also be one to watch for American men’s surfing in Tahiti.

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Skateboarding

Following its debut in Tokyo in 2020, skateboarding will also be among the newer sports at the Paris Olympics.

Skateboarding will take place at Place de La Concorde, one of the major public squares in Paris.

Twenty-nine-year-old standout Nyjah Huston from Davis, California will look to improve his Olympic performance in Paris, given he qualifies later this month. He took seventh place in Tokyo in 2021.

The skateboarding competitions include men’s and women’s street and men’s and women’s park.

Sport climbing

While sport climbing debuted in Tokyo, this year in Paris there will be some differences to the competition.

First, the number of athletes competing in sport climbing will increase from 40 to 68, according to NBC.

Second, there will be two medal events in Paris instead of just one. There will be a speed climbing event and a combined bouldering and lead event.

Colin Duffy, hailing from Broomfield, Colorado, was the youngest member of the USA Climbing team for the Tokyo Olympics at 17 years old. He will look to medal in the combined event.

Kayak cross

The new canoe slalom event kayak cross is set to debut in the Paris Olympics and will have both a men’s and women’s competition.

This event is in addition to the traditional kayak singles and canoe singles competitions within the slalom category.

In kayak cross, four athletes race each other at the same time, starting from a ramp above the water. The racers then journey through a course, navigating through 18 to 25 gates.

Twenty-year-old Evy Leibfarth from North Carolina is set to compete in all slalom events — canoe slalom, kayak slalom and kayak cross — at the Paris Olympics this year.

Other additions and changes:

• Men’s and women’s 3×3 basketball will make their second debut in Paris. In Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, the Latvia men won gold and the U.S. women won gold.

• Men are now included in the artistic swimming competition. There will also be a team acrobatic routine round, which is debuting in Paris.

For more changes in events, visit here.

For the complete list of sports at the Paris Olympics, visit here.

For the complete list of Team USA qualified athletes, visit here.

For the U.S. map of qualified athletes, visit here.

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