If you’re lucky enough to live in or close to a host Olympic city then there’s a strong chance you’ll get swept up by the hysteria surrounding the sale of tickets. For the last Olympics in Tokyo, local residents were allowed to apply for a maximum of 30 tickets across as many sports as they wanted. Whilst I applied for some pairs of tickets I thought (in a very selfish way!) that I would increase my chances of winning in the ballot by just trying to get single tickets.

I can’t remember exactly but I tried to get tickets for about 20 different sports, and ended up winning them in three sports. The spectator ban due to the coronavirus pandemic meant I was unable to see archery or hockey live but I was very fortunate to be able to actually attend the track cycling in Shizuoka. It got me thinking that after such a rush for tickets in any sport I might as well try and watch some of these sports when they’re not under the Olympics banner.

Of course many people just want to experience the Olympics in person and don’t care too much about which sport they see. I totally get that but wanting to advance my knowledge of more sports I decided at the start of last year to go and watch a few new sports. Things got a bit out of hand though and I ended up seeing more than I ever anticipated. There are 32 different sports n the Olympic programme for Paris 2024 and this is how many of them (in alphabetical order) I managed to go and see……

1. Archery – Without the help of the TV cameras zooming in, it really is difficult to see the arrows and the target so well. 

2. Athletics – Probably the sport most synonymous with the Olympics for many and 17 disciplines were on show at this event which featured mostly Japanese athletes with a few Americans, Aussies and New Zealanders too. More details here.

3. Badminton – Little did I know but, unlike tennis, doubles in this sport is actually more exciting, and the speed of the rallies as well as the super-fast reflexes of the players is something else. More details here.

4. Basketball – I’m not exactly fan of this sport but I have quite enjoyed the spectacle of the two times I’ve been to watch it. This particular occasion was only really chosen as it fit in nicely with meeting a friend for dinner in the vicinity before the tip-off.

5. Canoeing – This was actually an Olympic qualifier event and so I hope to see one or two of these competitors on TV. Navigating all the gates including a few of them positioned up stream requires a change of direction, and a lot of strength and skill to paddle against the swift current. It was impressive to watch in person. More details here.

6. Football – I’ve seen about 50 football matches since the start of last year but only one of them hosted that sport at the Tokyo Olympics! No, not the ill-fated 2021 games but the 1964 ones when the preliminary rounds of the Olympic football competition were held at Komazawa Park Olympic Stadium.

7. Gymnastics – Another Olympic staple but one that was difficult to fully appreciate without the TV commentators telling you what kind of moves the gymnasts are doing, and how good they are! For me, it all just looked hugely impressive! More details here. 

8. Handball – Expectations beforehand were quite low but they were exceeded. With similarities to basketball, netball, water-polo (minus the water), futsal and many more it was certainly a sport which seemed familiar yet so different. More details here.

9. Hockey – I actually had tickets for field hockey at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but of course Covid_19 put paid to those plans. Whilst the atmosphere of seeing such a sport in the Olympics could never be beaten here, I was still very satisfied with seeing this international match. More details here.

10. Skateboarding – The surprise event of the last Olympics for me and so it was good to see some of those names present at this tournament which basically took place on a tennis court!! More details here.

11. Swimming – Easy to watch and understand what going on and it was interesting to see how it was all presented in terms of the swimmer introductions as they came out from behind the screen before bowing and waving to the camera operator stood in front of them. More details here.

12. Table Tennis – Each and every time the Olympics take place I often find myself watching a fair amount of table tennis. It’s not because I’m particularly interested in it but it’s just that the Japanese TV broadcasters seem to show it a lot. That’s probably not too surprising as there are a lot of very good players and some of those females were present at this epic title decider. More details here.

13. Tennis – As well as the Toray Pan Pacific Open women’s tournament last September, I also saw Japan (featuring Naomi Osaka) against Kazakstan in the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this year at the same arena. It was my first time to see such a team competition.  More details here.

14. Volleyball – Probably the noisiest sports occasion I’ve ever been present at but not in a good way sadly! Every time the home team scored a point the incredibly loud sound of rapid gun fire was blasted out for a few seconds over the sound system followed by noisy chants and music. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was occasional but with points scored every 30 seconds or so it really was never ending! On court, I really was impressed by the sporting skill and game play itself but I’ll be sure to take some earplugs if I ever go again! More details here.

15. Water Polo – This looked like an incredibly difficult sport to play. I always just assumed water polo players’ feet (or at least their toes!) were on the floor but they are actually treading water in a deep pool the whole time. More details here.

16. Wrestling – Whilst the entertainment may be a far cry from WWE, it is a more straightforward test of skill, strength and strategy and, as something of a sporting purist, the uncertainty of it all makes it a more interesting spectacle. More details here.

• Rugby Sevens is an Olympic sport but I’ve only seen the regular 15-a-side format. Near misses included weightlifting, fencing and judo but life (wife!!) got in the way of those. You can’t have it all! Had I been able to see them as hoped, and if the likes of baseball and karate were still in the Olympics, then my total tally would’ve been more impressive. 16 out of 32 sports ain’t too bad though I guess.

Click here to read ‘I Watched 15 Sports In Japan For The First Time In 2023’

Click here to read ‘Reignite Your Passion For The Olympics At This Tokyo Museum’

Click here to read ‘What It`s Like To Be A Spectator At The Tokyo 2020 Olympics’

Click here to read ‘At The Velodrome For Two Days Of Live Track Cycling At The Tokyo 2020 Olympics’