Historic Debut in Paris
Breakdancing, or breaking, which originated in the Bronx over 40 years ago, made its Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games on Friday, August, 9 at the historic Place de la Concorde stadium. [1]
Women’s Competition Highlights
In the women’s competition, Japan’s B-girl Ami won gold, while American B-girls Logistx and Sunny did not advance past the preliminaries.[2]
Australian college professor b-girl Raygun, real name Rachael Gunn, went viral for her unconventional dance moves.[3] Nearly twice the age of her competitors, she failed to earn a single point and received harsh criticism on social media platforms for her lackluster performance.[4]
Ami, whose legal name is Ami Yuasa, secured the gold medal by winning all three rounds against B-girl Nicka (Dominika Banevič) from Lithuania.[5]
Men’s Competition Highlights
On Saturday, American fan favorite B-boy Victor, also known as Victor Montalvo, secured the bronze medal in the men’s breaking competition, displaying his creativity and stamina through 15 rounds. He lost to French competitor Dany Dann in the semi-finals, but triumphed over Japan’s B-boy Shigekix for the bronze.[6]
Phil Wizard of Canada claimed the gold, while Dany Dann took silver. The other American competitor, B-boy Jeffro, advanced past the round-robin stage, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Victor, 30, who followed in the footsteps of his b-boy father and uncle, began breaking at the age of 14. He boasted world championships in 2021 and 2023, as well as the Red Bull BC One in 2022.[7]
Canada’s Phil Wizard (born Philip Kim) defeated Dany Dann in the finals, sweeping all three rounds and earning 23 of 27 possible votes from the judges. In the semifinals, Phil Wizard overcame Japan’s Shigekix, while Dany Dann narrowly defeated B-boy Victor.[8]
B-boy Victor dominated the round-robin stage, sweeping Japanese breaker Hiro10 and China’s B-boy Lithe-ing, and then defeated B-boy Amir of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals. B-boy Jeffro, or Jeffrey Louis, also performed strongly in the round-robin, but lost to Dany Dann in the quarterfinals by a slim margin.
Future of Breaking in the Olympics
Though breakdancing’s Olympic debut was an attempt to gain younger viewers, it will not be returning to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 and will more than likely not be an Olympic sport in the future.[9][10] The local organizing committee for each Olympics can suggest new sports for their Games, however, LA 2028 did not propose including breaking. Instead, it will introduce new sports such as lacrosse and flag football.[12]
For a sport to become a regular part of the Summer Olympics, it must be included in three consecutive Games. The exclusion of breaking from the 2028 sports program is a significant blow – especially since the Los Angeles Games are being hosted in the country where the dance originated.[13]
[1]https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/08/10/breakdancing-olympics-live-updates/74748258007/
[2] Ibid.
[3]https://nypost.com/2024/08/10/sports/2024-paris-olympics-australian-breakdancer-rachael-raygun-gunn-fires-back-at-critics-over-viral-performance-uniform/
[4] Ibid.
[5]https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/breaking/breaking-makes-olympic-debut-aug-9-1.7290600
Ibid.
Ibid.
[9]https://evrimagaci.org/tpg/breakdancing-shines-bright-at-2024-paris-olympics-11255#:~:text=To%20the%20surprise%20of%20many,within%20the%20venerable%20Olympic%20framework.
[10]https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2024/08/10/breakdancing-olympics-live-updates/74748258007/
[11]Ibid.
[12]Ibid.
[13]Ibid.
