Athletes outside of major stick-and-ball sports are "riding an eclectic wave of additions" to the Tokyo Games program that includes surfing, skateboarding, karate and sport climbing, according to Dan Barnes of the TORONTO SUN. While sprinters, rowers, swimmers and gymnasts will "tell tales of their lifelong Olympic dreams en route to Tokyo, no such story thread exists for surfers, skateboarders and climbers." Canadian skateboarder Matt Berger: "We've always been the misfits. We never thought it would get to that point, where people would ever be interested." Barnes notes the "heart of the program expansion is an admission" from the IOC that "generations of consumers and the sponsors who target them won't be reached or indeed exploited through exposure to traditional offerings like modern pentathlon, for instance." In Olympic surfing, 20 men and 20 women will "compete for one set of medals apiece over two days." Canadian Bethany Zelasko said that it is a "rare opportunity for her sport to gain some exposure." Zelasko: "A lot of surfers have a misconception that what we do is on the world stage, and technically it is, for surfing, but it is not THE world stage. And the Olympics is. It would be exciting to show the world my sport." The exposure "should be good for skateboarding, too, as 40 men and 40 women will compete in park and street medal events" (TORONTO SUN, 12/23).
KELLY'S HEROES: In N.Y., John Branch noted surfer John John Florence earned the "last spot on the American men's team," edging out Kelly Slater. Florence has been Slater's "longtime protégé, rival and neighbor." Kolohe Andino clinched the other men's spot, as the field is "limited to two men and two women per country." The 47-year-old Slater "hoped that the Summer Games would cap his career." Some have "suggested that Slater should be granted an automatic entry to the Olympics, a nod to his fame and influence in the sport." But it "appears that his only chance is if one of the two American men misses the Summer Games because of injury" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/20).
