Winner of the first world championships in 2000 in Minneapolis, will Team Surprise (SWE) ever add an Olympic medal to his record? / Credits: Navaz Sumar

The Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the program of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The ISU's application for inclusion of Synchronized Skating was however not successful. 

Synchronized skating will have to wait to be added to the Olympic Games. « The ISU acknowledges the challenges the application was facing, namely the universality of the discipline, the media and broadcast impact and, last but not least, the addition of a substantial number of athletes. (…) The IOC also aims to reduce the Athletes’ quota and to move towards gender balance, the ISU will evaluate the IOC input and will work with the IOC towards a reasonable solution », write this Wednesday the ISU in a communication.

Reducing the overall size of the Games

The 2022 Winter Olympic Games program features the addition of seven new events like for example "monobob and freestyle ski big air, as well as dynamic mixed team formats including short track mixed relay, a ski jumping mixed team event, mixed gender team aerials and a snowboard cross mixed team event" according to the IOC.

For 2022, the overall number of athletes has been reduced by 41 to reach 2,892, adds the IOC. « With no new venues or fields of play needed for the new events, the programme aligns with recommendations set out in Olympic Agenda 2020 and is another step to reducing the overall size of the Games. »

The ISU will nevertheless « continue its efforts to further develop Synchronized Skating and increase its popularity in cooperation with the ISU Members. »

Synchronized skating will thus have a little more time to prove itself, increase its popularity and expand in more countries, especially in Asia.