The Paris Olympics are now approaching the halfway point and attention will turn to the next Olympics in Los Angeles in four years.

The American city will host the next Olympic Games in 2028. When Paris was awarded the hosting title in 2017, it was the only candidate to host the Olympic Games this summer.

In every version of the Olympics, core sports such as athletics, swimming, cycling and equestrianism always remain regular pillars of the event, although the latter has been the subject of a petition to be banned from the Games.

However, some disciplines have come and gone over the years, and some, like tug of war, have already taken their place in the history books.

Under LA 28, five sports not held in Paris have been officially approved to feature at the Games within four years, some of which have not been featured for a long time or even in the past.

Two of those, flag football and squash, will make their debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Squash has long been a feature in the Commonwealth Games but will make its Olympic debut in 2028.

There are also sports that will not feature in the Games coming from Paris, including an event won by Team Great Britain.

Baseball and softball have featured in many Olympics, most recently at Tokyo 2020, when hosts Japan won gold in baseball, the United States won silver and the Dominican Republic won bronze.

(Getty report)

In softball, Japan won the gold medal, while the Americans won the silver, but Canada won the bronze.

But two sports that have not been Olympic sports for more than a century will be back on the schedule in Los Angeles after a long hiatus.

Cricket, which was last featured at the Games held in Paris in 1900, is returning to the game.

Lacrosse was last featured in the 1908 London Olympics, but will be featured again in the program to be held in Los Angeles in 2028.

Speaking on last year’s approval of the inclusion of five sports in LA 28, IOC President Thomas Bach said: “The selection of these five new sports is in keeping with American sports culture and will introduce iconic American sports to the world while bringing international sports to the United States. These sports will make Olympic Games LA28 unique.

“Their inclusion will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new communities of athletes and fans in the United States and around the world.”