PARIS has been an Olympic blast.
But things will look very different when “the youth of the world” gather in Los Angeles in four years’ time.
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And the most controversial sport of the past fortnight is on the cusp of going missing altogether – after being part of the Games for more than a century.
Boxing has long been one of the core sports of the Olympics, the launchpad for Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Oscar de la Hoya, Lennox Lewis, Sugar Ray Leonard and many others.
In Paris, though the controversy over Algeria’s Imane Khelif has only put a further question mark over a sport that was already on the ropes.
IOC chiefs took over the running of the Olympic event in Tokyo from the official world governing body, the IBA, led by Russia’s Umar Kremlev – the man who banned Ukraine after his country invaded its neighbour in 2022.
While the four British boxing associations helped form the breakaway World Boxing organisation in a bid to wrest control of the sport from Kremlev and his lackeys, it is currently not on the Los Angeles roster.
IOC President Thomas Bach warned a decision has to be taken soon.
Bach said: “The answer will be at some point in the next year, as soon as possible but I don’t think we can expect a final decision before next year.
“I hope we’ll have an answer in the first half of next year.
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“The IOC will not organise boxing without a reliable partner. If they want their athletes to win Olympic medals, they have to organise themselves as a federation.”
But a likely boxing-less Games will be just part of a significant revamp both in the sports involved and the schedule.
In will come five different sports, with the return of cricket – expected to be in the T20 format – for the first time since 1900, a clear lean towards the Indian sub-continent in particular.
We will also see, after years of lobbying, squash, plus lacrosse, baseball and softball and flag football – think a “tag rugby” version of NFL action.
But a major timetable change will see the Games open on July 14, two weeks earlier than they did in Paris.
That will be just five days after the Euro 2028 Final at Wembley and, across London, the men’s singles final at Wimbledon.
For the first time since 1968, athletics will be scheduled in the first week, with swimming filling week two.
The early start will also mean golf’s superstars hot-footing it back over the Atlantic in a 13-hour flight to California with the final round of The Open taking place on the Games’ first weekend.
Track and field will go back to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the main 1984 stadium, with Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke’s SoFi Stadium transformed into the biggest swimming venue in history after hosting the opening ceremony.
The majority of events will be contained within a 25-mile radius of downtown LA, with venues including Long Beach, for triathlon, sailing and rowing – although the normal 2km race distance will be cut by 500m – and Santa Monica Beach.
But spare a thought for the whitewater canoeists. Their venue is in Oklahoma City, just the 1300 miles due east of the host city.
Fans can also expect the Games to be littered with celebrities and A-listers, who have already started making their mark.
Rapper Snoop Dogg has been spotted all over Paris, while the likes of Tom Cruise and Ariana Grande have also been seen enjoying themselves. Expect them and more to be back in four years time.
Whatever happens, though, there is the guarantee: heartbreak and fairytales in La La Land.
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