Joseph Doyle ’27 | Darian Mihalakis ’27
When the Olympic Games come back to Los Angeles in 2028, athletes from more sports than ever before will have a chance at gold. Lacrosse is returning to the Games for the first time since 1908, baseball and softball are back again after being dropped for the 2024 Paris Games, and for the first time, flag football, squash, and cricket have been added as “optional” sports.
Efforts to make lacrosse an Olympic sport have been seriously in progress for over five years. In 2018, the sport was granted provisional status, meaning it was under formal consideration for inclusion in future Games, and in late 2023, it was formally added to the slate of contests for the 2028 Summer Games.
This was a big win for lacrosse players, as the last time anyone had seen lacrosse in the Olympics was back in 1904 and 1908. Sydney Richter ’24, a member of the EA girls varsity lacrosse team, says, “It is so awesome for the sport I have played and loved my whole life to be spreading across the world and to be played on a big stage.” Athletic Director Todd Fairlie, who played lacrosse professionally, believes there will likely be players from the Inter-Ac who could wear the red, white, and blue in 2028. . “I imagine we would have an Inter-Ac presence…given its success locally,” Fairlie says.
Flag Football is set to make its debut as an Olympic contest in L.A. The sport has seen explosive growth recently, as there is much less injury risk than in traditional football. “Flag is much safer,” said Connor Gaul ‘24 when asked why he thought flag football was added rather than American football or Australian rules football, another popular iteration of the game. Flag football’s addition is largely a product of expanded international interest in football. “We play international games in Europe all the time now,” says Coach Farlie. Still, the U.S. will be a heavy favorite.
Squash will also be added to the Olympics in 2028, an exciting prospect for EA, which perennially fields one of the top squash programs in the country. US Squash ranks Riya Shankaran ’26 as a top ten U17 girls squash player, and the boys varsity team has also made a splash on the national stage. The team recently defeated Haverford, another top team, for the Inter-AC title. Ishani Khanna ’25 says, “I am excited about Squash being added,” and she expects Squash to get “a lot bigger,” in large part because the addition “will promote squash” a lot.
While many EA athletes have their work cut out for them in their Inter-Ac contests and on their various club teams, these new opportunities have given even more Churchmen and Churchwomen a chance to represent Team USA after their days playing for EA and/or their college teams are over. EA alum Ivan Pukosovic ‘19 punched his ticket to the 2024 Paris Games in open-water swimming, and he has a chance to be joined by even more of his fellow alumni in 2028.