Baseball Will Return to the Olympics in 2020

The 2016 Summer Olympics begin this week, and it’s already time to look ahead to the 2020 Games, which will be held in Tokyo. The International Olympic Committee approved five new sports for 2020, including the return of baseball and softball (considered to be one sport).

Baseball had a long history as a demonstration sport in the Olympics and finally became a full medal awarding sport for the 1992 Games in Barcelona. However, the sport was tossed out after the 2008 Beijing Games. Host nations can request the addition of sports to their games, and baseball is very popular in Japan. Other sports added for 2020 are skateboarding, karate, sport climbing, and surfing. The decision to add these sports to the host nation’s games are not binding for future games, so baseball and the others could possibly be one and done.

The U.S. baseball team won the Gold Medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. Here’s some highlights: