The Tokyo Olympics will scale new heights, ride the crest of a wave, and hit it out of the park.
You can guarantee the Games will achieve that triple-whammy, because sport climbing, surfing and baseball are all part of Japan's big show.
The Games of the 32nd Olympiad have been hit hard by the pandemic, but the diversity of 'new' sports on offer means a feast of entertainment is beckoning, designed to attract younger audiences.
Skateboarding an Olympic sport? After snowboarding proved a raging success at the Winter Games, it was a banker that kickflips and Caballerials would be coming to the summer programme.
And soon enough we will all have a tight grip on the technicalities of lead climbing, speed climbing and bouldering.
The Olympics are getting a radical facelift, and you'll want to take a close look.
Sport climbing
Given the Olympic motto is 'faster, higher, stronger', perhaps it is a wonder that climbing has not been a part of the Games before now.
Yet this version of the sport is a relatively modern phenomenon, having first become established in the 1980s.
Climbing walls are as prevalent in many parts of the world as ice rinks or bowling alleys, becoming a fashionable leisure activity but a competitive sport for some.
Complicated routes to dizzying heights, seeking the highest controlled hold possible, are the hallmark of lead climbing, while speed climbing is an attack on the senses for competitor and viewer alike, with elite men having been known to hurtle up a 15-metre wall in barely five seconds.
Bouldering is a test of problem-solving expertise as well as skill, a true examination of the climber's wit and athleticism.
At Tokyo's Aomi Urban Sports Park, the climbing competition for men and women will cover all three disciplines, with combined scores deciding the medals.
Surfing
Sailing, canoeing and kayaking have been mainstays of the Olympic Games, and now surfing joins as a high-octane addition to the roster of sports.
The daredevil nature of surfing means it should prove one of the outstanding spectacles, assuming Mother Nature brings the Pacific coast waves Games organisers are looking for.
Each of the 20 men and 20 women competing will be allowed to ride up to 25 waves in 30 minutes, with their two highest scopes from the five judges being counted, so choosing the right moment for a high-tariff manoeuvre is all important.
Surf stars will be assessed on their "commitment and degree of difficulty, innovative and progressive manoeuvres, combinations of major manoeuvres, variety of manoeuvres, and speed, power and flow", the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.
American John John Florence is a man to watch out for, with the 28-year-old two-time former world champion having built up his skills riding the waves of his native Hawaii. He suffered a worrying knee injury in Perth, Australia in May, but has recovered in time for the Games.
Skateboarding
Once largely portrayed as the preserve of weed-smoking punk kids, and certainly still patronised by the disaffected youth, skateboarding now comes with a highly professional element too.
Washington Square Park, Venice Beach and the undercroft of London's Southbank Centre have been epicentres of the growing subculture, but now the focus turns to Tokyo, where separate street and park disciplines will test the elite boarders.
Competitors will be assessed on the difficulty level, the originality and the execution of their displays at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.
This will be skateboarding's coming-out party as a major competitive sport, with the eyes of millions across the world setting their eyes on the stars who put themselves in more danger of injury than most Olympians.
Japan's Yuto Horigome and Aori Nishimura won gold in the men's and women's Street World Championship in Rome just a matter of weeks ago, ramping up the interest at home.
British 12-year-old Sky Brown, poised to become her country's youngest summer Olympian, will also be one to watch after recovering from a horror skateboarding accident last year that saw her suffer skull fractures. They are a tough set in this sport, with surely nobody braver than Brown.
Karate
Of course karate needed to be in any 21st century Olympics hosted by Japan, and it may be a surprise to many that this marks its debut at the Games.
The sport has Japanese roots and there seem sure to be home gold medals, while global exposure to karate is perhaps at an all-time high thanks to the popularity of Karate Kid spin-off Cobra Kai, the Netflix series.
Spain are a mighty force too, with Damian Quintero and Sandra Sanchez prime contenders for gold in the kata discipline, both being ranked number one in the world.
In the combat element, known as kumite, the jargon may take some getting used to for newcomers. One point, known as a Yuko, is awarded for a punch to key areas of an opponent, including the head, back or torso, while a Waza-ari is worth two points and will be given for a kick to the body.
An Ippon, for three points, is achieved by landing a high kick to the head or a punch to a grounded opponent.
Karate will take place at Tokyo's famous Nippon Budokan, which as well as being a famous martial arts venue also famously played host to The Beatles for a series of shows in 1966.
Rock acts including Bob Dylan and Cheap Trick recorded legendary live albums at the Budokan, which was built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and has also staged Muhammad Ali fights, one a standard boxing match in 1972 and the other a bizarre hybrid clash in 1976 with wrestler Antonio Inoki.
Baseball and softball
Baseball was an Olympic medal-awarding sport from 1992 to 2008 and softball had that status from 1996 to 2008, so you would be forgiven for not feeling any huge rush of enthusiasm about its return to the Games.
Unlike in basketball, the United States do not bring their baseball A-listers to the Games, relying on a group largely formed of minor-leaguers and free agents, and South Korea were the last Olympic champions.
This year the competition will feature the Dominican Republic, Israel, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and the United States, while the women's softball event will be contested by Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico and the USA.
Japan's baseball stars are reportedly each in line for bonuses worth 10 million yen (£65,000) if they carry off the gold medal.
They won an exhibition event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, beating the United States in the final, and have since claimed a silver and two bronze medals.
MLB: Red-hot Mets lose Senga but beat reeling Braves
J. D. Martinez highlighted a seven-run third with a grand slam and Kodai Senga won his season debut before leaving with an injury as the New York Mets remained red hot with an 8-4 win over the
struggling Atlanta Braves on Friday night.
Senga allowed two runs – both on Adam Duvall’s second-inning home run – and two hits over 5 1/3 innings with one walk and nine strikeouts after spending the first four months of the season on the injured list with a right shoulder strain.
He left in the sixth when he strained his left calf after throwing 73 pitches. Senga will have an MRI on Saturday.
New York won its fifth straight and moved past the Braves for the NL’s top wild card. The Mets (55-48) are a season-high seven games over .500 following their 11th win in 14 games.
The Mets reached Charlie Morton for seven runs in the third.
After Tyrone Taylor reached on an error by third baseman Austin Riley, Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch and Brandon Nimmo walked. Martinez then belted his ninth career grand slam to give the Mets a 4-2 lead. Morton retired Pete Alonso, but Jeff McNeil doubled and Vientos followed with his 14th home run. One out later, Francisco Alvarez homered to make it 7-2.
Duvall hit his second home run of the game in the ninth and Marcell Ozuna added his 29th, but the Braves lost their season-high sixth straight. That is their longest slide since another six-game skid from Sept. 25-30, 2017.
Profar’s blasts power streaking Padres
Jurickson Profar hit his second two-run homer to snap a ninth-inning tie and the San Diego Padres won their sixth straight, 6-4 over the Baltimore Orioles.
Profar took struggling Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel deep in the ninth to score Luis Campusano, who singled with one out.
Kimbrel blew saves in two of his previous three appearances and has allowed eight runs in his last 3 2/3 innings.
Profar hit his first two-run shot of the game off Grayson Rodriguez in the sixth to erase a 2-0 deficit.
San Diego had 13 hits and used eight pitchers one day after Dylan Cease threw a no-hitter at Washington.
Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg homered for the first-place Orioles, who have lost four of five and nine of 13.
Red Sox rally, overcome Judge’s long home run
Masataka Yoshida capped a three-run eighth with a two-run single and the Boston Red Sox overcame Aaron Judge’s major league-leading 36th home run in a come-from-behind 9-7 win over the reeling New York Yankees.
Judge’s three-run blast in the seventh gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead and was measured at 470 feet. It landed in a small section of stands above a back wall and below a videoboard.
Austin Wells followed with a solo shot to make it 7-4.
The Red Sox got two runs back in the bottom half on Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-run homer off Luke Weaver that went over the Green Monster and out of Fenway Park.
Weaver allowed Rob Refsnyder’s third hit of the game to lead off the eighth and walked Connor Wong.
Clay Holmes relieved with one out and allowed Wilyer Abreu’s tying double before Yoshida singled home two runs.
The Yankees have lost five of six and are 10-23 since a 50-22 start.
Paris get Olympic Games under way with stylish opening ceremony
Paris kicked off the 2024 Olympic Games by making history with the first opening ceremony to be held outside on a rainy night in France.
It is the first time in 100 years that the Games have been held in the French capital, and despite the constant showers, thousands of Olympians from the 205 delegations celebrated as they travelled down the River Seine on boats and barges.
During the nearly four-hour sprawling ceremony, spectators were treated to performances by Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura and Celine Dion as the city showed off the story of France while commemorating Olympic history.
On a tour of the city, Paris' most well-known landmarks, including the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral, were on show as fans packed in around the parade route to get a glimpse of the showcase.
The Olympic flag was delivered to the Eiffel Tower on the back of a mechanical horse travelling down the river, while a masked individual carried the torch across the city.
An incredible light show on the Tower then restarted the torch relay, as Zinedine Zidane reappeared to hand it to two-time gold medallist Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard, with the help of fellow tennis icon Serena Williams, American sprinter Carl Lewis and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci carried the torch back down the river on its way to the cauldron.
Some of France's best Olympians helped carry it the rest of the way before judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lit the flame in the hot air balloon cauldron, which rose high above the Parisian sky, to officially mark the start of the Games.
More than 10,500 athletes will compete across 32 sports at the Games, which will close on August 11.
“The favourite is Thompson”-Boldon highlights Jamaican champion as man to beat in 100m in Paris
Trinidadian four-time Olympic medallist Ato Boldon has named Jamaican sprinting sensation Kishane Thompson as his favourite to take 100m gold at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Thompson, 23, is currently the world leader in the event after running a personal best 9.77 to win the 100m title at the JAAA/Puma National Senior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston in June.
The MVP Track Club-trained sprinter also produced times of 9.82 and 9.84 in the heats and semi-finals, respectively, at those national championships and, most recently, ran 9.91 shutting down to win at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Hungary on July 9.
“Thompson is the favourite,” Boldon said in an interview with LetsRundotcom on YouTube on Friday.
“I know Noah (Lyles) is the World champion. I think Noah made it a little bit more interesting by running that 9.81 into a headwind which kind of almost converts to a 9.77 but there’s no way you can look at the way in which Thompson ran that 9.77 and just go ‘Oh Noah will beat him.’ Noah has his hands full with that guy,” Boldon said.
Blazing speed acknowledged, one thing that Thompson lacks that his other competitors don’t is experience competing at the highest level of the sport with this being his first time representing Jamaica at any level.
If there is anything to prevent Thompson from delivering on the form that he’s shown so far this season, Boldon believes that would be this lack of experience on a stage like the Olympic Games compared to his peers.
“There are things which I see people completely ignoring. Kishane Thompson has not been under the microscope of Olympic favourite. Rounds are a great equalizer. Noah has the medals that he does because of how well he runs rounds. Is Noah suddenly a lock for the silver? No but he does have his hands full,” he said.
“There are others who are going to be in the 100m that are used to the pressure and pressure is a big thing. If he’s able to pull this off, you write books about stuff like that,” he added.
Thompson's quest for Olympic glory will begin in the heats of the men's 100m beginning on Saturday' August 3.
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