Sports You Should Watch During the 2024 Summer Olympics

Oh look, the Olympics are just around the corner.

It’s, uh, been quite the year already and we still have five more months to go. But for the next couple of weeks, we can at least add the fun and competition that is the Olympics to the mix, even if you’re not exactly a sports fan.

The problem, however, is that if you live in the United States and watch the Olympics on NBC, you probably think that the only sports in the Olympics are gymnastics, swimming and diving and track and field.

And I have no qualms with those sports. Simone Biles is absolutely breathtaking with everything she does in the arena. It’s incredible watching Katie Ledecky just smoke the field and break world records in the pool. And track and field is a much better sport viewed live than on television.

The issue I have is that the Olympics are so much more than those sports. There are other sports that are simply amazing to watch, and NBC really does a disservice to its viewers by not highlighting them on the main channel.

So instead of just watching what NBC thinks you want to watch, here are some other Olympic sports you should seek out and watch over the next couple of weeks.

Track Cycling

Track cycling is so underrated. And yet it just might be one of the closest, most intense sports at the Olympics.

I got the chance to see some of the cycling events live when covering the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and it definitely got me hooked.

First, the track looks like a smaller version of Bristol Motor Speedway, with extremely high banked turns that allow for high speeds.

Second, the riders are traveling at high speeds while being just centimeters away from touching wheels. There’s a sense that danger can be just around the corner every step of the way.

In fact, during one of the team time trial events I was at in 2016, one of the Dutch riders was sent sliding right into the wall after touching wheels with a teammate. Thankfully he was alright and was able to walk off the track under his own power after a few minutes, but it was intense to see it happen right in front of me.

Finally, the competition is extremely intense, especially the team sprints. The day I got to cover the cycling competition finished out with the men’s team sprints knockout rounds. For this event, the two countries going head to head start on opposite sides of the track and basically whoever finishes the three laps first wins.

That night the gold medal match featured New Zealand and Great Britain with the crowd being about split between the two. What happened next was incredible.

So take some time this Olympics to check in on the track cycling. You won’t regret it.

Rugby Sevens

Don’t want to kill a lot of time watching a team sport that takes a long time like football (soccer) or basketball? You’ll want to give Rugby Sevens a watch.

What is Rugby Sevens? To put it simply, it’s a very condensed version of rugby, and most of it is in the name: sevens. There are two seven minute halves and there are seven players per team.

That means the field is more open for more scoring and games go by within a half hour. And for the most part, the sport is easy to learn. You can’t throw the ball forward (but you can kick it forward and recover the ball), and you’re trying to get the ball on the ground in between the goal line and dead-ball line (end line in American football).

It’s a great game that operates at a rapid pace. And you don’t have to waste an entire day to watch a game.

Rowing

So I know what you might be thinking: why rowing?

Well, this was another event I got to cover in person in Rio in 2016. And it’s a really cool sport with a lot of drama.

It’s essentially a manual drag race for 2,000 meters, and quite a number of them come right down to the wire.

Plus there are so many different types of rowing events, from the single sculls to the full eight person crew races. There’s really something for everyone when it comes to the rowing events.

Also, if you ever attend an Olympic rowing event in person do remember to put on sunscreen. Learned that one the hard way in 2016.

Sailing

Sailing might be the most out-of-left-field sport on this list, but just give it a chance.

This wasn’t the one I was most excited about covering in 2016, but I had a fun time watching the race and learning about how it all worked.

There’s also a lot of drama when it comes to the sailing events. Not only are the competitors competing against each other, but they are also competing against the weather. They have to factor in the wind conditions as well as the occasional bit of rain (or at least they did in Rio).

And quite a number of races come right down to the wire.

Add in the fact that there’s a lot more they have to do than move a steering wheel to get the boat going in the right direction, and it’s an event that is way more challenging than it looks. Definitely something worth checking out.

Handball

Handball is a fascinating sport that will likely have you hooked in moments.

Think soccer on a much smaller scale where you can use your hands (I mean, it’s literally in the name). Add in the drama of close matches that go back and forth, and you’ve got the recipe for a great sporting event.

Really the only major rules you need to know going into watch a match is that the goal is to get the ball into the back of the net without stepping across the arc in front of the net. Everything else is pretty self explanatory.

So give it a shot at this year’s Olympics.

Canoe Events

Lastly, there are the canoeing events.

Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to see them in person in Rio in 2016, but I’ve loved watching them on TV in years past.

I find it fascinating to watch them navigate the (fake) river and all of the obstacles they encounter to be the first person across the line. It’s definitely something that’s a lot harder than it looks (and it really looks hard to my eyes).

If you’re looking for something that’s not mainstream at the Olympics, this is definitely something you’ll want to check out.

Find a Way to Watch the Opening Ceremony that’s not NBC

Finally, this is more for viewers in the U.S., but if you can find a way to watch the opening ceremony (and the closing ceremony as well) not on NBC, you’re going to have a much better time.

While we didn’t get to be in the Maracana Stadium for either ceremony, we did have access to the world feed for them. That meant we got to see them in real time with no commercial breaks and no announcers. And that was a great experience I wish I could duplicate this year.

NBC way overproduces the games, but it feels like they take it to the next level of overdoing it with the opening ceremony. Too many commercials, too much talking over what’s happening and not letting the ceremony speak for itself.

Honestly, them just showing the world feed of the opening ceremony would be miles ahead of anything else they could do with it. So if you can find the elusive world feed for the ceremonies, that’s a much better option than dealing with the mess NBC makes it.