Postponed due to the particular global context of 2020, the 2021 Olympic Games are actively being prepared for. What is the schedule for this edition of the Olympic Games that is due to take place in Japan? From new events to key dates that are not to be missed, discover everything you need to know about this great tournament, one that is highly anticipated by all athletes.

The context of the 2021 Olympics in Japan

Initially scheduled for 2020, the Tokyo Olympics had to be postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Olympics will take place from Friday 23^rd July to Sunday 8^th August 2021, in a grandiose stadium and a spacious Olympic Village that is located in Tokyo Bay, with a view of the Rainbow Bridge. These games will be followed by the Paralympic Games, from August 24^th to September 5^th.

The organisers are implementing a whole series of measures on the site to ensure the smooth running of the event, given the wider health context, so that both athletes and the public can be welcomed. As usual, the events will be broadcast all over the world: You can follow the performance of the competitors from home in complete safety.

A major event for a whole generation of athletes, the 2021 Olympic Games will feature:

• 33 Olympic sports
• 22 Paralympic sports
• 339 separate events
• 11,000 athletes

New features for the 202 Olympic Games

The Tokyo Olympic Games will see some historic changes: The events and sports disciplines have been reorganised in order to best represent current sporting conditions. With these changes to the programme, new hopes are emerging among athletes of all disciplines.

The new Olympic events

During the 2021 Summer Olympics, 5 new sports will be added to the current Olympic disciplines:

• Karate
• Sport climbing
• Skateboarding
• Surfing
• Baseball/softball

At the same time, the nature of the events has been changed, too, with the aim of adding more diversity into the programme to aim for greater parity. For example, the organisers want to better integrate urban sports and to showcase more of the disciplines that are popular with younger generations. In all, 15 additional events are planned:

• Athletics: A mixed relay of the 4 by 400 metres.
• Basketball: A 3-on-3 match.
• BMX: Freestyle competition.
• Track cycling: Two 50 km relay races for pairs, with both men and women.
• Fencing: 2 mixed team events.
• Judo: A mixed team event.
• Swimming: A mixed relay with 4 strokes that includes 4 × 100 metre sprints, one 800 metre freestyle leg by a man and one 1,500 metre freestyle leg by a woman.
• Table tennis: A mixed doubles event.
• Archery: A mixed team event.
• Triathlon: A relay with mixed teams.
• Sailing: A multihull foil race.

In addition, in boxing, canoeing, rowing, sailing and shooting, some men’s events will be replaced by women’s events.

European athletes in these new events

These changes are to be brought about will mean that new athletes will stand out, with some favourites already doing so. For example, at the European level there is:

• Cassandra Sampieri, a young French karate competitor who is ranked 3^rd in the WKF (World Karate Federation) world rankings. She was the French champion in 2015 and 2019, a year in which she also won the Coupe de France and in which she came 5th in the women’s kata of the Cadet World Championship in Chile in 2019. These achievements earned her a place in the French team.
• Dušan Bulut, a 3×3 basketball superstar from Serbia. With 3 wins at the FIBA ​​3×3 World Tour, where he was named twice a the Most Valuable Player (MVP). He also has 4 wins to his name at the FIBA ​​3×3 World Cup.
• Janja Garnbret, a Slovenian climber who became world climbing champion in the combined event at Hachioji, Japan in 2019. Garnbret was the first athlete to be selected for the new sport climbing discipline.
• Aurélien Giraud, a French professional skateboarder who won his first national competition in Lyon at the age of 7 at the V7 Teenage Tour. He has also made a strong impression with Americans by dominating the Dew Tour in 2019.
• Fleur Jong, a young Dutch prospect for the 2021 Paralympic Games. She’s a sprinter who attended the 2016 Games in Rio and who is the 2019 long jump world champion, where she set a new world record of 5.21 metres.

The Olympic calendar: Events that are not to be missed

The official Olympic calendar for the 2021 Olympics summarises the scheduling details for the events. Within this, there are particular key match-ups that are not to be missed, for example:

• The men’s 100 metres final in athletics, scheduled for Sunday 1^st August 2021.
• Road cycling: The men’s and women’s individual time trials on Wednesday 28^th July.
• The finals of fencing at Makuhari Messe Hall B, from July 25^th to August 1^st.
• Swimming: The men’s and women’s freestyle finals on Sunday August 1^st at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre.
• Other scheduled events.

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