08/21/2024
Pickleball 2028 Olympics Update!
Did you catch some of the Olympics? If not, we can tell you that the USA won the most medals and tied with China for the most gold medals.
Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky added to their already legendary careers, the USA menβs and womenβs basketball teams both won gold (but barely), Snoop Dogg was everywhere and Tom Cruise made a cameo at the end.
Also, one of the coolest sports photographs of all time was taken.
But letβs cut to the chase β where was pickleball? Why wasnβt it in the Olympics? When will it get in? What needs to happen for it to qualify?
For starters, the Olympics requires one governing body to represent and regulate a sport worldwide. Pickleball currently has at least three international governing bodies, including the World Pickleball Federation, the International Pickleball Federation and the Global Pickleball Federation.
Seymour Rifkin, president of the World Pickleball Federation, is currently trying to negotiate a merger between all three organizations in order for the sport to qualify.
If that merger can happen, Rifkin is very optimistic. "I know for a fact that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) is very interested in pickleball. That is an absolute fact.β
There are also rules about a sport being practiced in a minimum number of countries throughout the world. But that shouldnβt be a problem, as there are already 60 countries where pickleball is being played, according to the World Pickleball Federation.
As for the prospects of pickleball getting into the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, "99% of the people say that it's too late, the earliest we could get it in is 2032," Rifkin said. "But I'm going to tell you this, and this has come directly from an IOC member, 'If we want you in, you're in.' Is it too late for 2028? It's never too late."