Outdoor Adventure Sports Spotlighted at Paris Olympics

After surfing and climbing debuted on the Olympic stage in Tokyo 2020, this year’s Games in Paris will be even more action-packed. The whitewater madness of kayak cross will be added to the canoe events, while sport climbers will fight for medals in two separate categories. 

Kayak Cross

Similarly to ski cross, kayak cross involves four competitors racing at once down a treacherous, winding track. Swapping the solidity of well-packed snow for a roaring river makes the results extremely unpredictable. Passing downstream and upstream gates, athletes aggressively attempt to push each other off course and, although hitting each other with the paddles is strictly prohibited, kayak-on-kayak crashes are completely normal. Even though the whitewater in Paris is entirely man-made, audiences can expect nothing less than nail-biting action.

Kayak cross is held under the canoeing umbrella, joining canoeing and kayaking singles.

More Medals for Climbers

After climbers were awarded two golds in Tokyo – one for women and one for men – four golds await them in Paris. The controversial combined format of 2020, with bouldering, lead and speed climbing all mashed up, is a thing of the past.

This year, bouldering and lead remain a joint discipline, while speed climbing, in which athletes race up a standardized wall, will be held separately. Allowing athletes greater specialization, this division highlights climbing’s most spectacular aspects – creative problem-solving in bouldering and lead, and the sheer speed of the vertical race.

Unbelievably, the fastest climbers can scale the 15-meter wall in under five seconds! Team USA’s Sam Watson is the current world record holder and a gold hopeful.

Spreading the Action 

Surfing returns to the Olympics for its second run after its 2020 debut, and the competition venue is bound to take your breath away. With no reliable surf close to Paris, the organizers decided to stage the competition at the iconic beach in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. Although it is the furthest of the 2024 Olympic venues, the Polynesian island of Tahiti is one of France’s many overseas territories.

Known for their laid-back attitudes even at the highest competitive level, surfers are so “stoked” on their Olympic village, some already say it is better than the one in Paris!