Participants come to Budapest for qualifications for the Olympic Games

The Paris Olympics are fast approaching, and qualifying events have been taking place around the world in recent months. In Budapest, Hungary, athletes from Japan to Kazakhstan gathered to take on rivals in some of the Games’ newer events. For this year’s Olympics, which run from Friday, July 26 to Sunday, August 11, Complex visited Budapest to explore the qualifying events for some of these newly added sports.

The weekend’s events, including rock climbing, skateboarding, BMX riding and breakdancing, were among the newer, less orthodox events added to the Olympics, sending home the message that healthy exercise can take many more forms than we might have thought.

As part of this year’s Games, the International Olympic Committee is promoting the ‘Let’s Move’ campaign. You don’t have to be a seasoned track and field runner or gymnast: from indoor arenas to outdoor parks, climbing walls and half-pipes, spectators were encouraged to get involved too.

The Games have had an unwavering effect on some of these newer sports. Skateboarding, which was added to the Olympics in 2021, has undergone some subtle changes in how competitors approach the sport and what elements of the discipline they prioritize. The year after it was added, skateboarding legend Eric Koston was named team captain of USA Skateboarding, the national governing body for skateboarding in the United States. He was on the ground in Budapest with the U.S. hopefuls, where Complex spoke to him about the Olympics and their effect on the sport.

“It’s definitely affected the way people skate,” Koston explained. “Especially in competition, because of the way the format is set now. Even other competitions have a similar format, but it’s definitely evolved with the Olympics. The Olympics has become a destination and a goal for a lot of these guys and girls, so it’s changed because they’re just evolving. They’re getting better and they’re getting more consistent, more technical, and the tricks are getting bigger. There’s basically two sides to it. There’s the big trick and there’s the technical side. Both can get you high scores. So there’s different ways to get on that podium. It’s crazy to see. I’ve seen it go through generations and it’s evolved into something really intense. I wouldn’t want to be standing there.”

Of course, the events themselves are highly accomplished and not exactly something you can ‘just jump into’, but the message was clear. It was about inspiring movement of some kind. In and around the various areas where official events were held, the IOC had also set up mini-climbing walls, beginner’s skating areas and even an intricate treetop climbing network that everyone, adults and children alike, could try their hand at. While the Olympics are about greatness and finding the very best, this year’s Games were just as much about breaking down elitism and the barriers that often come with it.