Top 10 Tokyo Olympic Events to Watch

It’s an undeniable truth: Some Olympic sports are just more popular or interesting to watch than others. That’s not to say that they’re better or more worthy than others. Certain sports have managed to capture the attention of viewers for multiple reasons, whether it’s because the rules are simple and the competitions are relatable, or because the athletes do things we never even imagined possible. Find out what will be some of the top events to watch at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

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Opening and closing ceremonies

Part of what makes the opening and closing ceremonies so spectacular is not just the lights and performances, but also the meaning behind the demonstrations. The Games Vision consists of three core concepts: “striving for your personal best,” “accepting one another,” and “passing on a legacy for the future.” The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Ceremonies specifically will focus on eight different concepts:

• Peace
• Coexistence
• Reconstruction
• Future
• Japan and Tokyo
• Athletes
• Involvement
• Excitement

Track and field

Yet, despite its simplicity, it keeps everyone on the edge of their seats. Why? Because races are often won by less than a sliver. In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Usain Bolt beat Justin Gatlin for the gold medal in the 100-meter race by eight-hundredths of a second. In turn, Gatling only beat Andre De Grasse by two-hundredths of a second.

Other track events, combine both speed and endurance, challenging the athletes’ ability to pace themselves while still trying to stay ahead of the other racers, making it as much of a mental game as it is a physical one.

The field events also display great athleticism and give spectators the opportunity to observe great accomplishments that you don’t see every day. When was the last time you watched somebody throw a javelin 98 meters (107 yards)?

Gymnastics

This Olympic sport has also increased in difficulty, making it even more of a spectacle. In 2006, the introduction of the Code of Points, a new rulebook defining the scoring system for gymnastics, encouraged athletes to make routines more and more difficult instead of playing it safe in order to focus on technique execution.

One of the other unique aspects of gymnastics is that it’s one of the few Olympic sports that requires a great deal of creativity along with athleticism. Many of the routines are as much of a dance performance as they are skilled execution of techniques. On top of that, every single movement has to be executed absolutely perfectly.

Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, will also likely be returning to the stage for the Tokyo Olympics and is almost guaranteed to put on a good show.

Swimming

It’s a sport of great diversity, with a total of four different types of techniques, or strokes, that are completed across all sorts of varying distances.

Like many sports, swimming is constantly evolving, but athletes are also constantly innovating. This innovation in techniques has allowed seven new world records to be set in swimming between the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. What world records do you think will be set in this Summer Olympics?

Basketball

As if the continuous scoring weren’t enough excitement, the performance of the players adds even more. There are dunks, alley-oops, and all sorts of other exciting plays to capture your attention.

Plus, some of the most intense games in basketball come down to the very last few seconds of the game to determine who the winner will be.

Part of what else makes Olympic basketball, in particular, so exciting is that players must play for their home countries. This means that some international players who traditionally play in the NBA in the United States may be returning home to play for their respective countries and facing off against the United States.

Soccer

Unlike other sports such as basketball, soccer is a very low-scoring games, with some games going into overtime with a score of 0-0. However, that’s always what contributes to some of the excitement. When an athlete kicks at the goal, will it go in? Will they score that coveted point that could ultimately make the difference in who wins the game?

Even between goals, athletes put on quite a show. From their fancy footwork to juking defenders to outsmarting the goalie, there is always something interesting going on.

Volleyball

Part of what makes the sport so exciting to watch is not only the speed at which players can spike the ball over the net, but also the heights they can reach. Some players are more than 6 feet tall and can reach heights of over 11 feet when attempting to spike or block the ball.

Judo

Like many martial art sports, it’s full of bursts of actions. For much of the match, athletes will do feints and teases, sort of feeling their opponents out, waiting for them to make mistakes that will give them an opening. When an athlete does decide to make her move, it’s a sudden rush as both try to defend and gain the upper hand, ultimately allowing her to pin her opponent.

Rugby

Even though only the ball carrier can be tackled in rugby, there is still quite a bit of tackling going on. A study published in 2012 revealed that a total of 31,655 tackles were recorded across 48 professional rugby league matches. That’s an average of 659 tackles per game!

What makes it even more amazing is that rugby can be played with just a mouthguard. Unlike in American football where players wear hard, heavy padding, in rugby only light padding on the head and shoulders is allowed.

Sport Climbing

Not convinced? Go to YouTube and search for “speed climbing.” With the way these athletes can scale an almost 50-foot wall in six to seven seconds, it wouldn’t be surprising to discover one of them were secretly Spider-Man.