By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Los Angeles 2028 organisers joined Oklahoma City officials on Monday to mark 1,000 days until the Olympic opening ceremony and said preparations are advancing to stage softball and canoe slalom events in the city as part of the Games.
LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman and CEO Reynold Hoover appeared with Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt and Team OKC President Michael Byrnes after a weekend of youth clinics and venue visits to the OKC Softball Park and the OKC Whitewater Center, which organisers say will host the Olympic softball tournament and canoe slalom competitions in 2028.
“The LA28 Olympic Games will bridge regions and communities from the Pacific coast in Los Angeles to the central plains of Oklahoma City,” Wasserman said.
Hoover said Oklahoma City’s role underscored a collaborative spirit as organisers look to use existing facilities for competitions outside the host metropolis.
“We are marking 1,000 days out from the LA28 Games, reflecting a nationwide celebration of sport,” he said.
Holt called Oklahoma City’s participation a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” that would “dramatically expand the reach of the Olympic experience,” noting that two sports across seven events are slated to be staged in the city.
The announcements were paired with an “LA28 Day of Sport” on Oct. 18 featuring clinics with Olympians and Paralympians, including five-times Paralympic champion Jeremy Campbell, gymnastics greats Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner, 1988 U.S. Olympian Kelly Garrison-Funderburk and U.S. softball silver medallist Michelle Moultrie.
Los Angeles is set to host the Olympics for a third time after 1932 and 1984 and will stage its first Paralympics.
The Olympics run from July 14-30, with the Paralympics scheduled for August 15-27.
Organisers have emphasised a plan to lean on existing venues across Southern California and in select partner cities to control costs and avoid new permanent construction.
Last month, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Holt signed a Memorandum of Understanding to coordinate planning between the two cities, organisers said.
Baseball/softball was among sports the International Olympic Committee approved for LA28, alongside cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash, while canoe slalom is part of the core programme.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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