“Additional sports have become a big money story”

The cross : Has the addition or deletion of disciplines at the Olympic Games always been commonplace?

Pierre Lagrue: It has varied over time. Initially, there were only five sports present at the Games: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics and swimming. There was supposed to be rowing but in 1896, the year of the first Olympiad in Greece, a storm canceled the events. After this selection, different disciplines were added over time. This went through a whole host of bizarre events: in 1924 in Paris, you could attend live pigeon shooting, croquet or tug of war.

Each organizing committee then had a free hand to choose which sports would be present. For a long time, there weren’t all these debates about whether this or that sport could be included in the Olympic events. We tested, we deleted, we added. But a series of events, over time, have made the International Olympic Committee (IOC) more concerned about setting clear rules.

In 1912, in Stockholm, the boxing events were canceled because the discipline was banned in Sweden. This was undoubtedly the first vigilance for the IOC, which then became more structured and imposed more and more rules over the years. Added to this is the rapid professionalization of certain sports, such as tennis, which saw its discipline disappear, for a time, from the Games.

Among the athletes who defend the presence of their sport at the Games, without winning their cases, many mainly cite political and economic reasons…

P. L. : They are right. From 2000, the IOC decided that there were 10,500 athletes present at each Games. No more no less. With fixed proofs and without possible addition. If a sport entered the program, then other events had to be removed to keep the same number. With in addition the question of the parity which had to be respected for the new sports.

At Tokyo 2020 (organized in 2021), there was a novelty: additional sports, which were to remain optional. The Japanese organizing committee had more or less control over the subject, with the opportunity to register a local sport. This is the reason why we saw baseball reappear at the Games, because it is the number 1 sport in Japan and therefore it represented a great chance of medals.

The additional sports are still in force, but the IOC has taken control of the choice of these disciplines and France could not impose petanque instead of breakdance, for example. These are political decisions that can also be explained by the money that this or that discipline generates. Additional sports are all about the big bucks. Pétanque does not have many sponsors, while breakdancing attracts a lot of them because it is popular among young people. The frame has become more rigid for financial reasons.

Are some sports untouchable?

P. L. : Untouchable no because everything can evolve, but there are still the official sports, 28 in number, which cannot be deleted, in theory. I say in theory because before Tokyo, there was talk of eliminating wrestling. There too, for financial reasons: the organizers of the Olympic and Paralympic Games want above all to earn money, or in any case not to lose too much, so each sport can see its position weakened if it becomes less popular and less attractive. .

At the time of reflection on wrestling, the international federation had to really mobilize to keep its seat, by playing the card of tradition. In the years to come, the question will also arise in boxing, but more for reasons of corruption of the judges. In 2024 in Paris, the events will also be organized under the direct aegis of the IOC and not under that of the International Boxing Federation. In 2028, the sport’s presence is far from assured, so even a historic sport is not immune.