It’s snuck up on us, but the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympics have arrived after five long years of waiting.
Rio 2016, London 2012 and Beijing 2008 were all pretty spectacular in their own right, and now, we’re back over in Asia for the controversial Tokyo Games. There have been plenty of obstacles thrown in the way of the Olympics even taking place this year, but in the midst of all the chaos, the IOC plans on pushing ahead with the opening ceremony being right around the corner.
As we prepare to celebrate a variety of sports over the next two weeks, we thought it’d be fun to pick out five pretty niche selections that are all thoroughly entertaining in their own right.
BMX Racing – 29-30 July

From the heats all the way through to the final, BMX racing is something you won’t want to miss this year. The utter carnage that ensues when a collection of BMX riders attempt to get over the finish line first truly is a joy to behold, and the best part is that it’s actually all said and done in just two days for both the men’s event and the women’s.
Canoe Slalom – 25-30 July

The sprint is a lot of fun, but the slalom is absolute bedlam and there’s really no other way to describe it. A cavalcade of individuals come hurtling through the waves in their canoes with both the singles and team events being worth a watch. Not only do they have to get to the finish in the fastest time, but they also need to avoid missing any of the key checkpoints.
Archery – 23-31 July

In a world full of so much noise and confusion, there’s almost something poetic about archery at the Olympics.
The pinpoint nature of darts blends together with the respect seen in a tennis rally, and even though that sounds like a bizarre combination, it seems to work and regularly creates fans for life at every single Games.
Sport Climbing – 3-6 August

The addition of sport climbing to the Olympic Games may not jump off the page as something worth cheering about, but the actual end product is pretty intense. Lead climbing, bouldering and speed climbing will all play a role here as athletes from around the globe attempt to showcase the sort of power and precision most of us could only dream of possessing.
Fencing – 24 July-1 August

The épée, the foil and the sabre. On their own these three words don’t mean a whole lot but within the context of the Olympics, it’s pretty much legalised sword fighting.
There’s obviously a whole lot more that goes into it than that, though, and when you see it in action, it could easily be confused for a kind of art form.
Featured image credit: Getty