LONDON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The year of 2022 is set to be a crucial year for para sailing, as sailing's global federation World Sailing aims to have the sport reinstated for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games.
"This is the year it will be decided which sports get reinstated by the International Paralympic Committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Games," said World Sailing CEO David Graham. "While we are still waiting for the IPC to confirm the reinstatement process and timeline, we expect the application and declaration of intent to be requested in Q1."
Graham added that the organization will submit the full application by next summer. It is expected that a final decision will be announced at the IPC Annual General Meeting next November.
The IPC has not decided whether there will be any changes to the program for LA28. The para sports for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games are the same as at Tokyo 2020.
Graham said that a total of five major Para Sailing World Championships and inclusive events will be staged in 2022 in Japan, Australia, the United States and Oman.
"It is very clear that the sailing community feels strongly about getting sailing back in the Paralympic world. But the hard work is really only starting on this road, and 2022 is a crucial year," he said.
Para sailing was a Paralympic sport for five consecutive Games from Sydney 2000 to Rio 2016, but was dropped from Tokyo 2020.
World Sailing submitted a reinstatement bid for Paris 2024, but was rejected. Enditem
