Promoting urban sports is crucial for the future of the Olympic Games, says IOC chief Bach

Budapest, June 21 (IANS): International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach highlighted the importance of urban sports for the future of the Olympic Games as he attended the Paris leg of the Olympic Qualifying Series.

Bach also praised the Shanghai leg of the competition in May as a “great success.”

“The Shanghai stage was a very successful demonstration, and here in Budapest, even though the competition has only just started, we can already feel the lively sports atmosphere just by touring the venue,” Bach said, as quoted by Xinhua.

To extend the excitement of the Olympic Games beyond the few weeks of the Games and to attract more attention from young people, the IOC decided to establish the Olympic Qualification Series to increase the visibility of the ‘Road to the Olympics’ .

The first series includes four urban Olympic sports: skateboarding, sport climbing, breaking and freestyle BMX. It will be held in two legs, with the first leg ending with great success in Shanghai from May 16 to 19, and the second leg from June 20 to 23 in Budapest.

The Budapest stage will be held on a campus of the National University of Public Service in Hungary, where the youthful and athletic atmosphere is evident throughout, in line with the Olympic Qualifying Series slogan: “Younger, more urban, more open. “

“In our time, sport must go where the people are, whether in the real world or in the virtual world. This means that sport must go to the urban centers. This applies to grassroots sports where you have to provide sports facilities in And this applies also for sporting events: they must be close to the people, which means that sport goes to the people and does not wait for the people to come,” says Bach.

“That is why we are promoting the introduction of these new urban sports into the Olympic programme. These sports attract the young generation, and the Olympic program should always be a kind of jigsaw puzzle, with some more traditional pieces and some innovative pieces. These city sports are therefore very important for the long-term development of the Olympic Games.”

The former Olympic fencing champion said feedback from many athletes about the Olympic Qualifying Series had been excellent, and international sports federations had expressed similar views. This support is crucial for the future construction of the IOC events system.

Of the four competitive events, Breaking will make its Olympic debut in Paris. However, it was not selected by the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Games, meaning it will temporarily leave the Olympic stage after a successful debut.

“Now there was a decision from the organizing committee (of Los Angeles) about what we saw as breaking. And I think you could not only feel, but the experience is that we very much appreciate the breaking. We had it in the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, and you know that led the way to Paris at the time. So we very much hope that Brisbane, 2032, will once again offer the Bboys and Bgirls the opportunity to make their Olympic dream come true.

In the day’s competitions, Chinese athlete Luo Zhilu finished sixth in the bouldering event of the combined sport climbing discipline, putting her in a favorable position to compete for a spot at the Paris Olympics.