Sports Bulletin Report
Torino (Italy): The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games proposed to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to add Para Climbing to the 2028 Paralympic Sports Program. With this proposal, LA28 becomes the first organizing committee in Games history to propose additional sports for both the Olympic and Paralympic Sports Programs.
“LA28 is proud to propose adding Para Climbing to the Paralympic Sport Program, and to be the first organizing committee in history to propose a new sport for the Paralympic Games,” said LA28 Chief Athlete Officer Janet Evans. “We would like to thank the International Paralympic Committee for giving us the opportunity to add this exciting sport in 2028. We see this as a unique chance to give more athletes the ability to compete on the world’s biggest stage, while creating an expansive and elite adaptive sport program that exemplifies LA28’s commitment to elevating the Paralympic Movement.”
“We are very excited about the announcement of LA28 and thank them for their proposal of the addition of Para Climbing to the Paralympic Sport Programme: it’s a wonderful recognition of the value of our great athletes – says Marco Scolaris, IFSC President. “We must wait now for the International Paralympic Committee’s Governing Board to vote on the proposal on June 26. When we were notified by the Los Angeles Organizing Committee, my first thought was for our athletes and their chance to show the world what they can do. My next was to some of our crazy visionaries who first believed in the magic of Para Climbing, together with us. I am talking about pioneers like the former Presidents of the Italian and French Federations, Ariano Amici and Pierre You. We all took our first ‘crazy’ step together in 2011 with Para Climbing’s debut at our World Championship and we hope that the next step will be the IPC confirmation.”