NEW YORK (NEXSTAR) — The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo are just one year away.
NBC ramped up excitement Tuesday with an Olympic-themed show at their studios in New York City, and WOOD TV8 Sports Director Jack Doles was there.
“They are so ready. It’s amazing. They could start right now,” said NBC London correspondent Keir Simmons.
The Tokyo Olympics will feature five new sports: baseball/softball, karate, sports climbing, surfing and skateboarding.
Shaun White is excited about the addition of skateboarding, but is holding off on a decision about competing for a spot in the Summer Olympics until he’s done with the world championships in September.
X Games gold medalists Tom Schaar and Brighton Zuener are equally stoked that their sport is finally in the Olympics.
“I can’t believe it. I grew up watching the Olympics. I’m a huge fan of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, all those guys, so it’s crazy to think the sport that I do, skating, can be in the Olympics,” said Schaar.
“It means a lot because all the exposure and a new audience to skateboarding,” explained Zeuner.
Tokyo promises to be the most innovative games yet. The games are an opportunity for the host country to show off its culture.
For wrestler Jordan Burroughs, it’s about the journey to get there.
“I kind of regrouped, regathered myself from that place of desperation, and got back on the mat. I turned myself into a different person with more energy, more excitement, more freedom with less pressure, less expectation,” he said.
The Tokyo Games will be the fourth straight Olympics Doles has attended. He covered six of the past seven summer Olympics dating back to the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
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