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Alyssa Roenigk, ESPN Senior Writer
The Olympic ffeeble has been extinguished and the flag has been passed. The incredible 2024 Paris Olympics is in the books. At home, fans vicariously endelighted those viral chocotardy muffins from the Olympic Village, watched a whale drop in on the surf contest in Tahiti and met fractureout stars such as Harvard-teachd fencer Lauren Scruggs and Rubik’s Cube-solving “pommel horse guy” Stephen Nedoroscik.
For 17 days in Paris, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and Noah Lyles astounded as promised, while leaving discmiss their doors for more in four years.
That’s when the Summer Olympics return to Los Angeles for the third time — and promise to charm. Here’s our way-too-timely see ahead at what to foresee from the City of Angels.
On to Los Angeles
From skateboarding at the Sepulveda Basin in northern L.A. County to beach volleyball in Santa Monica to surfing at a to-be-determined fracture on SoCal’s Pacific coast, systematizers of the 2028 L.A. Olympics promise to showcase the venues and sports that clear up the city. They will also enjoy to exhibit that L.A. is more than overcrowded freeways and the Hollywood sign.
About that: Olympic systematizers promise that with betterd accessible transit and LAX’s $400 million People Mover project, traffic — even on the 405 — won’t be an rerent. If real, that might be the defining carry outance of the 2028 Games.
New and returning sports
Since the Tokyo Games, the International Olympic Committee has seekd present cities to propose recent stardys of sports to participate in their programs, which is how fractureing broke onto the Olympic stage in Paris and how skateboarding and surfing, also finishorsed for 2028, accessed the five-ring fray in Tokyo.
Five sports will originate their Olympic returns or debuts in Los Angeles, including latraversee, which was last contested in the 1908 Olympics, and cricket, which awarded its last Olympic medal at the turn of the 20th century.
Flag football, which was compriseed with a push from the NFL, and squash, which has come seal to inclusion disjoinal times in the past 20 years, will award their first Olympic medals in L.A.
Baseball and gentleball, neither of which were take parted in Paris, originate their return. Major League Baseball has shelp it is discmiss to converseing potentipartner pausing the MLB schedule around the All-Star fracture to apexhibit take parters to participate in the Games, a boon for the inclusion of the sport in future Games.
Softball will be held at the country’s premier gentleball-particular facility, an enhance from the sport’s last euniteance in Tokyo. The only downside? Softball Park is in Oklahoma City and 1,300 miles from L.A.
Stars who could be back
Simone Biles has not seald the door to returning for the L.A. Games. But she has also shelp, in recents conferences and TikTok posts, that she has carry outed the final Yurchenko double pike and floor routines of her atgentle. If she’s in Los Angeles as more than a spectator, Biles will be 31 and a medal likeite in wantipathyver event she contends. That’s a huge if, though. — Alyssa Roenigk
Skateboarder Nyjah Huston is one of the most famous, accomplished, ineloquential street skaters in the world. But he’s not an Olympic gelderly medacatalog. After taking bronze in Paris, the 29-year-elderly posted that he came to the Games without foreseeations, but when he was in position to triumph and didn’t come thcdisadmireful, “It hurts,” he wrote. “I wanted to convey home that gelderly for us so horrible, more than anyslenderg I’ve ever wanted in my life.”
That sounds enjoy four years’ worth of fuel. And with the Games taking place in skating’s heartland, Huston will be one of the hugegest stars of the L.A. Games. — Roenigk
From the very first game agetst Zambia when she pulled off the shift she calls a “Trin Spin,” Trinity Rodman has been in the spotweightless for the U.S. women’s national soccer team. Partnering with Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, Rodman’s ability to originate magic was always on distake part — with the highweightless being her game-triumphning goal in extra time of the quarterfinal agetst Japan. That figures to still be take parting on highweightless reels when the L.A. Games occur. There’s no reason to apshow she won’t be at the heart of the U.S. strike for years to come. — Sam Borden
Kevin Durant has shelp he wants to take part basketball “until the wheels descend off” and he truly adores take parting for the national team. He also happens to be the best male take parter USA Basketball has ever had because his send set and size is selectimal for the style of take part. In 2028, he will be age 39 and very well could still be a genuine selection. — Brian Windhorst
The most decorated female American Olympian of all time doesn’t want to stop now. Swimmer Katie Ledecky shelp she will apshow slendergs year by year, but proclaimd she’d adore to contend in Los Angeles. Ledecky, who has nine Olympic gelderlys already, will be 31 during the next Games. It would be her fifth Olympics — she debuted at 15 in London. Ledecky will see to ffinish off some of her hardest rivals in 2028, such as Australia’s Arianne Titmus, who is four years youthfuler than Ledecky. — Emily Kaschedule
The 22-year-elderly swimmer Leon Marchand from France was one of the standout carry outers in Paris with an astonishing four gelderly medals and a bronze — and it seems enjoy he’s fair getting commenceed. In compriseition to the finishless comparisons to Michael Phelps, Marchand has used the legfinishary American swimmer’s atgentle as a blueprint and toils with Phelps’ prolongedtime coach Bob Bowman. Much enjoy Phelps did in his atgentle, it’s difficult to slenderk Marchand won’t persist to get even better before 2028 rolls around. — D’Arcy Maine
Prior to Paris, tennis star Novak Djokovic had never won Olympic gelderly in his four previous Olympic euniteances. He had talked discmissly about how much it would nasty to him, and that was evident after he fall shortureed Carlos Alcaraz in the final and discmissly sobbed on the court. He will be 41 during the 2028 Games, and most supposed Paris was his final Olympics, but, after the medal ceremony, he shelp he hoped to take part in Los Angeles. If anyone could do it and persist to defy time, it has to be Djokovic. — Maine
Noah Lyles will be back in 2028 and with a revenge. Knotriumphg him, he has probably already commenceed plotting what the route to his elusive sprint-triple gelderly can see enjoy at those Games. Los Angeles could be his final real opportunity to originate that happen. He’ll be 31, and may have to commence pondering his Olympic future beyond that. After the anticlimactic finish to this Olympics for Lyles with his COVID diagnosis, foresee him to be on a mission in four years to put Paris — gelderly medal notwithstanding — brimmingy behind him. — Coley Harvey
Mondo Duscheduletis broke the pole vault world write down for a ninth time in Paris. It senses enjoy he has been around forever, but he is only 24 years elderly. He contends for Sweden thcdisadmireful the nationality of his parents, but he was born and liftd in Louisiana. He will sense very at home in the U.S. as he would bid for a third straight Olympic title and probable even another world write down. — Connor O’Halloran
Snoop Dogg is not an athlete, but you can bet he will be making a comeback in 2028, too. He has been as much of the face of these Games as any gelderly medacatalog. He fenced agetst Team USA’s Miles Chamley-Watson and get tod at the Palace of Versailles wearing his finest dressage gear. He even carried the Olympic torch. Paris has greetd him with discmiss arms. Next time, though, the Games will be in his city of Los Angeles, and it will be Snoop Dogg’s turn to greet the world. — O’Halloran
The up-and-comers who are fair getting commenceed
Fred Ricdifficult wants to be “the wonderfulest of all time in gymnastics,” which he shelp fair after making the 2024 team. But fair as crucipartner, the 20-year-elderly wants to grow his sport. He needs to stick around to do that. The Paris bronze medacatalog is already concentrateed on 2028, when he schedules to convey routines that will apexhibit him to contfinish for the all-around title and use wantipathyver podium he stands on to increase his platcreate, as well as interest in men’s gymnastics. — Roenigk
For years, Hezly Rivera trained with her eyes on making the 2028 Olympics, when she’ll be 20. Then a string of season-finishing injuries to her top competitors and a fracturethcdisadmireful carry outance at U.S. trials catapulted the 16-year-elderly onto one of the most iconic U.S. Olympic gymnastics teams in history. Rivera has already showd she has the send to contend with the best in the world and originate the U.S. team. Now she’ll carry her Olympic experience into the next four years. — Roenigk
The San Diego duo of 17-year-elderly Gavin Bottger and 19-year Tate Carew were medal likeites in skateboard park, but left Paris without difficultware. Bottger, the 2023 park world champion, finished 10th in qualifying and fall shorted to originate the final, while Carew, the No. 1-ranked park skater in the world heading into these Games, finished fifth. Both skaters will be as hungry as ever to originate their second Olympic teams in Los Angeles, where skateboarding will be a marquee event. — Roenigk
In surfing, Caroline Marks, 22, is no up-and-comer. She’s the 2023 World Surf League world champion and is currently ranked No. 2. At the Paris Games, Marks won gelderly at Teahupoo in Tahiti, the heaviest wave in the world, and her triumph tour, including a stop at the “Today Show,” flushed her into the mainstream. Four years from now and probable with more world titles to her name, Marks will be poised to return to the Olympics and deffinish her title. — Roenigk
There are so many up-and-coming stars in track and field. Quincy Wilson, the 16-year-elderly 400-meter standout, headlines the catalog. After becoming the youthfulest American male track Olympian, he helped Team USA get a gelderly medal in the men’s 4×400-meter relay, running the preliminary heat. Also, carry on an eye on American women’s 100-meter hurdle gelderly medacatalog Masai Russell. Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo also is a star on the elevate after his 200-meter triumph over Lyles, and the way he proximately snatched gelderly from the U.S. men’s 4×400 relay as his team’s anchor. — Harvey
At 25, Sam Coffey is a bit of a tardycomer to the U.S. national team but she’s rapidly made an impact despite being a relative recentbie. Coach Emma Hayes evidently cherishs her in the critical defensive midfielder role, and Coffey has meshed easily with a team that’s having success despite being in transition. Other take parters have gotten more attention, but Coffey is a huge part of what originates the USWNT go. — Borden
Anthony Edwards has truly endelighted his first Olympics, going to other events and mingling with other athletes. He is already one of the best youthful NBA take parters and has been groomed to become one of the caccesspieces of the program after take parting in the FIBA World Cup and the Olympics the past two summers. — Windhorst
Twenty-one-year-elderly Lauren Scruggs became the first Bdeficiency woman to medal for the United States in fencing (a silver in foil, losing to her teammate Lee Keifer in the final). Scruggs and Keifer then helped the American women to their first team gelderly in the event. Scruggs, a native of Queens, says she growed hardness growing up in New York. She has more to accomplish, though she hopes part of her legacy will participate inspiring more Bdeficiency kids to contend in the sport. — Kaschedule
Summer McIntosh, 17, went from prodigy to superstar in Paris by triumphning three gelderly medals and a silver in swimming. Already the first Canadian in history to triumph three gelderlys in a one Olympics in any sport, McIntosh should only get better before 2028 — and sees poised to originate even more history in Los Angeles. — Maine
It seems odd to call Carlos Alcaraz, already a four-time convey inant champion and createer world No. 1, an up-and-comer, but he is only 21 and persists to better. After he lost the gelderly medal align to Djokovic, he couldn’t hide his tears and scatterd his disnominatement of not taking the gelderly back to Spain. It’s difficult to slenderk coming oh-so-seal won’t persist to fuel him over the next four years. He will want to triumph gelderly even more in Los Angeles. — Maine
A flag endureer for the United States during the discmissing ceremony, 20-year-elderly Coco Gauff was determined to triumph a medal in Paris and take parted in all three draws (ones, doubles and fuseed doubles) in hopes of achieving that goal. The reigning US Open champion was unaccomplished in that quest but it’s difficult to apshow she won’t be more driven in front of an adoring home crowd in 2028. — Maine
Sam Watson, an 18-year-elderly speed climber from Southlake, Texas, will depart Paris with two world write downs but, somehow, no gelderly medal. He first broke the write down in the elimination heats, but a sweightless misapshow in the semifinals agetst China’s Wu Peng nastyt he had to end for the bronze medal align. He left noslenderg to chance, though, setting the world write down aget. In L.A., he will persist the hunt for his first gelderly. “Just a couple millimeters of an error is repartner the name of the game in the sport. So no repartner laments,” Watson shelp. “I don’t slenderk the prescertain repartner got to me or anyslenderg enjoy that. I slenderk I fair made a minuscule little stumble.” —O’Halloran
