Six new events added to the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Program

SEOUL - The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (POCOG) has expressed respect for the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding new event additions for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games Program.

The IOC Executive Board announced on Monday their decision to add 1 alpine skiing event, 2 snowboard events, 2 skating events, and 1 curling event to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games' competition program.

The IOC has also decided to remove 2 snowboard events (men's and women's parallel slalom) from the 2018 program. This will mean 4 more gold medal events, increasing the total number of PyeongChang 2018 Olympic gold medal events to 102.

The PyeongChang 2018 Games will be the first in Winter Olympic history to have more than 100 medal events.

The IOC stated through its announcement that "The new program will allow for a record number of female events, a record number of mixed events, a record number of female athletes, and a projected increase in the overall female participation rates at the Olympic Winter Games, reflecting the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020."

Regarding the IOC's decision, POCOG President Yang-ho Cho said "IOC Olympic Agenda 2020 opened the door to more flexibility with the events and we believe that adding new events will make the 2018 Winter Games more innovative and open New Horizons, inspiring and inviting more participation in winter sports. They will expand and improve the Olympic Program encouraging more athletes to compete by reaching out to a wider audience."

POCOG estimates that the additional events will have very limited impact on the overall Games operations, and POCOG will continue to work closely with the IOC and relevant International Federations to make sure that the athletes will have the same optimal conditions for competing in the new events as those that are already on the Olympic Program.