As the dog days of summer continue, us sports fans of the world will turn our eyes to Paris because in the coming week, the 2024 Summer Olympics will be underway.

There are about 70 athletes that have ties to Washington state, but what I find truly fascinating are the sports and competitions themselves. Here are four sports that I am excited to watch for the 33rd Olympiad.

BMX and Skateboarding

BMX racing and freestyle events have to be some of the coolest sports from a visual perspective in the Olympics. The tricks and the sheer speed make these athletes look like superheroes flying through the air.

Then with skateboarding entering its second Olympics, I am interested to see how much better these athletes are. We have the X Games, which are probably the second highest level of extreme sports. But when a 12-year-old Cocona Hiraki wins a silver medal from Japan and was one of the standout athletes all competition, I’ll definitely be tuning in this time around.

Skateboarding also has the best fashion in the Olympics, but this year Breaking (break dancing) might make a run for that crown.

Modern Pentathlon

The Modern Pentathlon might be the greatest event ever. It consists of multiple phases of different types of athletic requirements.

The five phases are horse riding, fencing, swimming, running and shooting. The first competition is swimming followed by fencing, riding, then the final stage: the running and laser pistol shooting.

After each event the athletes are ranked based on points. Then for the final stage of the run and shoot, each runner starts after the runner in pole position starts, one second for every point they are behind.

Probably the coolest aspect of this event other than the laser pistols is that for horse riding, horses are given to athletes through a random draw 20 minutes before the competition begins. So an added twist on top of competing, you have to be familiar with your horse.

In 2020, Great Britain swept both the men’s and women’s gold medals.

Team Handball

Every four years when the Olympics come around, team handball is a sport that always baffles me with its lack of popularity in the U.S.

Handball combines the athleticism required for basketball, but the gameflow of a cryptic type of soccer.

Now, the U.S. has never qualified for team handball, which might be why nobody cares. But the game looks extremely fun to play.

Handball is dominated by the majority of Europe. France won both the women’s and men’s tournaments, but Norway and Denmark are the usual favorites to win when the four-year tournaments come about.

It is a high-scoring fast-paced sport, with goalies making crazy saves and showing incredible flexibility — and some Frenchmen throwing a ball a bit smaller than a soccer ball very fast.

Basketball

Yeah, yeah it is basic. Yes, the U.S. has dominated on the global stage and yes it’s not a new sport. But this could be the most competitive international tournament of all time.

This is one of the first instances where the U.S. doesn’t stand head and shoulders above the rest in talent anymore.

Countries all over the world have excellent NBA players who have been all-stars and big players on their franchise teams. The likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Victor Wembanyama (France) and Nikola Jokic (Serbia) are some of the top players in the NBA who will be competing for their home countries.

Not to mention the last global competition the U.S. actually lost was to Germany in the FIBA World Cup semifinal. Now this team is much different from that roster, but the level of global competition has risen immensely.

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Ben Ray covers sports in South King County. Contact benjamin.ray@fedwaymirror.com.