Following last year’s postponement due to the coronavirus, excitement is building ahead of the 29th edition of the modern Olympic Games, with the sporting action getting underway in Tokyo, Japan on 24 July. The opening ceremony takes place on Friday, 23 July at 11.30 GMT.
More than 11,000 athletes from 206 nations will compete in Japan this summer across a total 33 sports, five of which will feature at the Olympics for the first time.
These five new sports, baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing, will join the five sports that have been contested at every summer Olympic Games since 1896: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics and swimming. Of the three sports that debuted at Rio 2016, rugby sevens and golf will return for Tokyo 2020, while kitesurfing has been dropped.
Olympics: popular events schedule
Basketball
Basketball runs from 25 July to 8 August. The men’s basketball final takes place on 6 August, with the women’s final tipping off 24 hours later. There is also a new three-on-three basketball tournament, with the men’s and women’s finals on the morning of July 28.
Track and field
As always, the athletic events will get underway in the second week, starting on Friday July 30. The women’s 100 meters will take place on the morning of 31 July, and the men’s 100m, on 1 August. This is when Gambians can watch Gina Bass and Babacar Camara in their respective events. The women’s marathons will be held on 6 August and the men’s 24 hours later on 7 August.
Swimming
The first final will be held on July 24, with finals continuing every day through the evening of 31 July. The Gambian representative Buaro will feature in this segment
Gymnastics
Gymnastics get underway on the evening of 23 July, US time, with the start of men’s competition. Women’s competition starts the next day on 24 July. The men’s team final will he held on 26 July and the women’s final a day later on 27 July at.
The men’s individual all-around final is on July 28 with the women’s final on 29 July. Individual apparatus finals are held over the following three days.
Swimming
The first final of the swimming gets underway on 24 July, with finals running every day through the evening of 31 July.
Soccer
Soccer starts on 24 July, with the women’s final kicking off at on 5 August and men’s final on 7 August.
Tennis
Tennis runs from 23 July, US time, to 1 August. All doubles and singles finals will be played from 30 July to 1 August, in this order: men’s double finals, women’s singles finals, men’s singles finals, women’s doubles finals, mixed doubles finals.
Golf
Men’s golf competition begins late on 28 July, US time, and runs until the early hours of 1 August, women’s competition from 3 August to 7 August.
Paralympics
The Paralympics will start on Tuesday, 24 August and finish on Sunday, 5 September.
