How Many Games in Olympic? Summer, Winter and Paralympic Sports Explained

How many games in Olympic?

The answer depends on which Games you mean. Paris 2024 had 329 events across 32 sports and 48 disciplines. The Winter Games in Milano Cortina 2026 had 8 sports, 16 disciplines and 116 medal events. The next Summer Games, LA28, will have 36 sports and 51 disciplines.

New to the Games? Start with our simple guide on what is the Olympic Games. Then come back here for the full sports list.

How Many Games in Olympic? The Quick Answer for Summer, Winter and Paralympic Games

Here are the latest numbers:

• Summer Olympics (Paris 2024): 32 sports, 48 disciplines and 329 events.
• Winter Olympics (Milano Cortina 2026): 8 sports, 16 disciplines and 116 events.
• Next Summer Olympics (LA28): 36 sports and 51 disciplines, with 351 medal events.
• Summer Paralympics (Paris 2024): 22 sports and 549 medal events.
• Winter Paralympics (Milano Cortina 2026): 6 sports and 79 events.

What is the difference between a sport, a discipline and an event?

People mix these three words all the time. Here is the simple version:

• Sport: the main category, such as aquatics.
• Discipline: a part of a sport, such as swimming or diving.
• Event: one medal contest, such as the men’s 100m freestyle.

So when someone asks how many games in Olympic, they usually mean sports. Some people mean events. Some even mean how many editions of the Games have happened. This article covers the first two.

Which Games Did the Ancient Olympics Include at Olympia?

The ancient Games took place at Olympia in Greece. They honored Zeus. Tradition places the first Games in 776 BC. They started small and grew over the centuries.

Early Games had just one race, a sprint of about one stadium length. Later, organizers added more events:

• Longer foot races, including the two-lap race (diaulos) and a long-distance race (dolichos)
• A race run in armor
• Wrestling
• Boxing
• Pankration, a mix of wrestling and striking
• The pentathlon: running, long jump, discus, javelin and wrestling
• Horse races and chariot races

The ancient Games ended in the late fourth century AD. The modern Olympics began in Athens in 1896.

Which Sports Are in the Modern Summer Olympics? The Full Paris 2024 List

The Summer Games have grown a lot. Paris hosted 17 sports and 126 medal events in 1924. In 2024 it hosted 32 sports and 329 medal events.

The 32 sports at Paris 2024 were:

• Aquatics (swimming, diving, artistic swimming, water polo, marathon swimming)
• Archery
• Athletics
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Breaking
• Canoeing
• Cycling
• Equestrian
• Fencing
• Football
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Handball
• Hockey
• Judo
• Modern pentathlon
• Rowing
• Rugby sevens
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Skateboarding
• Sport climbing
• Surfing
• Table tennis
• Taekwondo
• Tennis
• Triathlon
• Volleyball
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling

Which Sports Are in the Winter Olympics? The Milano Cortina 2026 List

The first Winter Olympics took place in Chamonix in 1924. The Winter Games are smaller because they need snow and ice.

Milano Cortina 2026 had 16 disciplines: alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, Nordic combined, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, ski mountaineering, snowboard and speed skating.

Ski mountaineering made its Olympic debut there. New medal events included ski mountaineering sprints, a mixed team skeleton event, women’s doubles luge and dual moguls.

Do the Paralympics Have the Same Games as the Olympics?

Want the basics first? Read our guide on what is the Paralympic Games.

Not exactly. The Paralympics share many sports with the Olympics. Some sports exist only in one of the two.

Summer Paralympic sports

Paris 2024 had 22 Paralympic sports. They were: archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, blind football, canoe, cycling, equestrian, goalball, judo, powerlifting, rowing, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.

Para-only sports: boccia, goalball and wheelchair rugby.

Olympic sports with no Paralympic version at Paris 2024: boxing, diving, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, modern pentathlon, rugby sevens, sailing, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing, water polo, wrestling, artistic swimming and breaking. Powerlifting replaces weightlifting.

Winter Paralympic sports

The six Winter Paralympic sports are Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard and wheelchair curling.

So the Winter Paralympics have no bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, ski jumping, Nordic combined, figure skating, speed skating, short track, freestyle skiing or ski mountaineering.

The 2026 Winter Paralympics ran from 6 to 15 March and had 611 athletes.

When Is the Next Olympics and Who Is the Host? LA28 Schedule and What Comes After

The next Olympics is the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games.You can also read more about the host country for the next Summer Olympics.

• Olympic Games: July 14 to 30, 2028
• Paralympic Games: August 15 to 27, 2028
• Sports: 36 sports across 49 venues in 18 zones around Los Angeles and Oklahoma City
• Events: 351 medal events, which is the figure in the latest official programme. Some updated listings show 353, so check the final schedule before you publish or quote it.
• Paralympic sports: 23

New and returning sports at LA28

• Flag football and squash make their Olympic debut.
• Lacrosse returns for the first time since 1908.
• Baseball and softball return after missing Paris 2024.
• Cricket returns after 128 years. It starts on July 12, with medal matches on July 20 and July 29.

What comes after LA28?

The next Winter Olympics will be held in the French Alps from 1 to 17 February 2030. The Winter Paralympics will follow from 1 to 10 March 2030. The event programme is not final yet.

For ticket details and the final schedule, check the official LA28 website.

How Many Countries, Sports and Athletes Took Part in the Last Summer and Winter Olympics?

Paris 2024 (last Summer Olympics)

• About 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees and the Refugee Olympic Team competed in 32 sports. Some records show a final count of 10,714 athletes.
• The Refugee Olympic Team had 37 athletes in 12 sports.
• Paris 2024 was the first Olympics with equal numbers of male and female athletes.

Milano Cortina 2026 (last Winter Olympics)

• About 2,900 athletes took part from 92 National Olympic Committees, plus Individual Neutral Athletes. The official results page shows 93 teams and 2,842 athletes, so the numbers differ slightly by source.
• Benin, Guinea-Bissau and the United Arab Emirates competed in their first Winter Games.
• 29 National Olympic Committees won medals.
• Norway finished first with 41 medals, including 18 golds. Both are Winter Games records.

Which countries did not take part?

Russia and Belarus could not send national teams to either Games. At Paris 2024, 32 Russian and Belarusian athletes from 10 sports competed as Individual Neutral Athletes. At Milano Cortina, 13 Russians and 7 Belarusians competed under that banner, without flags or anthems. Their medals did not count in the official medal table.

Many other National Olympic Committees also stayed home in winter. The world has over 200 of them, and only about 92 sent athletes to Milano Cortina.

Which Olympic Sports Does India Take Part In? Summer, Winter and Paralympics

India at the Summer Olympics

India sent 117 athletes to Paris 2024 and won six medals: one silver and five bronze. Of these, 110 competed and 7 were alternates.

Indian athletes took part in 16 sports: archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

Neeraj Chopra won silver in javelin. The men’s hockey team won bronze. Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals in shooting.

At LA28, Indian fans can watch cricket and squash, two new sports that are expected to draw heavy Indian interest.

India at the Winter Olympics

India sends very few athletes to the Winter Games. At Milano Cortina 2026, India had two athletes in two sports. Alpine skier Arif Khan finished 39th in the men’s slalom, India’s best result in that event. Cross-country skier Stanzin Lundup finished 104th in the 10km race.

India first competed at the Winter Olympics in 1964. India has never won a medal at the Winter Games.

India at the Paralympics

This is India’s strongest Games record. India sent 84 athletes in 12 sports to Paris 2024 and won 29 medals: 7 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze. That put India 18th in the table.

The 12 sports were archery, athletics, badminton, canoeing, cycling, blind judo, powerlifting, rowing, shooting, swimming, table tennis and taekwondo. Cycling, judo and rowing were new for India.

On the winter side, India has never taken part in the Winter Paralympic Games.

Final Thoughts: The Simple Answer to How Many Games in Olympic

So, how many games in Olympic? Use these numbers:

• Summer Olympics at Paris 2024: 32 sports.
• Winter Olympics at Milano Cortina 2026: 8 sports and 16 disciplines.
• LA28 in 2028: 36 sports.
• Paralympics: 22 summer sports and 6 winter sports.

The number keeps changing. Every host city can propose new sports, and the IOC approves them. Check the official Olympic website before the next Games to see the final list.