Four new events in curling, speed skating, downhill skiing and snowboarding "have been added to the programme for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang," according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS.
The Games "will feature curling mixed doubles, speed skating mass start, big air snowboarding and a team event in downhill skiing" following a decision by the IOC exec board on Monday.
Big air snowboarding "will replace the snowboard parallel slalom" in a move agreed with the Int'l Ski Federation (REUTERS, 6/8). In L.A., Austin Knoblauch wrote the new events "are aimed at adding more excitement to the Games as the IOC and each sport's federation look to become more appealing to younger audiences." In addition, the IOC said that the new events "will help bolster participation by women in the Winter Olympics." The IOC said, "The changes reflect the continued evolution of the Winter Olympic program and build on the success of recent editions of the games. They also build on the reforms outlined in Olympic Agenda 2020, which aim to create more flexibility into the Olympic program of the Olympic Games" (L.A. TIMES, 6/8).
MORE ATHLETES: The Int'l Paralympic Committee has approved the athlete and medal event quotas for the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. The governing board agreed that PyeongChang 2018 will feature up to 670 athletes, a 24% increase on the 539 athletes that competed at Sochi 2014. This number of athletes includes a 44% increase in the number of female athletes competing compared to last year's event (IPC).
