Olympic leaders selected golf and rugby today for proposed inclusion in the 2016 Summer Games, rejecting bids from baseball, softball, and three other sports. The IOC executive board narrowed the field to two from a list of seven, which also included squash, karate, and roller sports. The board will submit golf and rugby sevens—a faster-paced version of the standard game—for ratification by the full IOC assembly in October.
The board also gave final approval to the inclusion of women's boxing in the 2012 London Olympics. Boxing had been the only summer Olympic sport without female competitors. Leaders of the seven sports bidding to be added to the 2016 Games made their cases to the IOC board in June and continued to lobby extensively. Tiger Woods and other top players have indicated they would play in the Olympics if golf gets the nod. (More International Olympic Committee stories.)