Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic organizers have proposed adding Para climbing to their edition of the Games.
On June 26, the International Paralympic Committee will review and vote on whether to add the sport for the 2028 LA Games.
“We would like to thank the International Paralympic Committee for giving us the opportunity to add this exciting sport in 2028,” LA 2028 Chief Athlete Officer Janet Evans said in a press release. “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.”
In deciding which sport(s), if any, to propose to be added, LA 2028 “assessed the global and domestic popularity, the universality at major international events as well as the cost and complexity of the shortlisted sport.”
The International Sport Climbing Federation has held world championships for Para climbing since 2011. The U.S. won nine medals (all silver and bronze) at the most recent worlds in 2023 in Switzerland.
Sport climbing events made their Olympic debut in Tokyo. Climbing remains on the Olympic program for Paris this summer and Los Angeles in 2028.
LA 2028 organizers say they are the first organizing committee in history to propose additional sports for both the Olympics and Paralympics.
Last year, LA 2028 proposed adding flag football, baseball, softball, cricket, lacrosse and squash for its edition of the Olympics. IOC members voted to add all of them for the 2028 Games.
Recent IOC reforms allow Olympic and Paralympic hosts to propose adding sports solely for their edition of the Games.
The Los Angeles Paralympics, the first Summer Games to be held in the U.S. since 1996 in Atlanta, are Aug. 15-27, 2028.
