Swimmers get medal boost with new events added for 2028 Olympics

LOS ANGELES: Six new events were added Wednesday to the Olympic swimming programme, with 50m backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke to be contested for the first time at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Previously, only freestyle was raced over the sport´s shortest distance despite all four strokes being on the schedule at world championships. Their inclusion for Los Angeles brings the swimming gold medal count to 41 from 35 at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Overall there will be 55 medals awarded in aquatics -- which also includes artistic swimming, water polo, diving, and open water -- more than any other sport. “Today´s decision is a testament to the continued evolution of swimming at the Olympic Games,” said World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam after the move was ratified by the International Olympic Committee.

“Including these six new events enhances the programme´s balance and adds more opportunities for athletes to showcase their skills on the world´s biggest stage.” Swimming is one only four sports contested at every Olympics since the first Games in 1896, alongside athletics, artistic gymnastics, and fencing. The United States and Australia have long been dominant in the pool, with the two nations again at the forefront in Paris last year.

The IOC also announced that the number of female athletes competing in Los Angeles (5,333) will exceed men (5,167) for the first time. It follows the women´s football tournament being boosted to 16 teams. The men´s competition has 12.

An additional women´s weight category in boxing and two extra women´s water polo teams ensure gender parity in those sports. A number of new mixed-team events were also confirmed, including in golf, gymnastics and table tennis, while a 4x100m mixed relay was added to the track and field competition.