A guide to ‘breaking’ aka ‘breakdancing’, the new sport at the 2024 Paris Olympics
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The Olympics gets a brand new sport this summer in the form of breakdancing – or breaking, as it will be known at the Olympics.
Originating in the Bronx borough of New York in the late 1970s, and considered part of the “four elements” of hip-hop, alongside rapping, graffiti and DJing, it comprises crews aiming to out-do each other with acrobatic dance moves set to music.
Its popularity, with international competitions first held in the 1990s, has been noted by the International Olympic Committee, which is keen to reach new and younger audiences.
Despite the wrath of Games traditionalists, breaking’s inclusion on the programme for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires was met with widespread acclaim, and now the sport makes its main bow in Paris.
When and where is breaking at the Paris Olympics?
The breaking competitions take place at the Place de la Concorde, Paris, site for the newer, urban Olympic sports.
What is the competition format?
Both men’s and women’s events will see 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls competing against each other to be crowned individual champions.
One-on-one competitive dance matchups are known as battles, with each battle divided into best of three rounds, called throwdowns.
Each throwdown begins when a breaker (individual) starts their performance, which can last up to 60 seconds, with the opposing breaker then responding with their own throwdown. Each competitor performs to music of the live DJ’s choosing, with each round judged.
Each set of 16 breakers will be divided into four groups of four participants, competing in an initial round-robin stage, with the two group winners advancing to straight knock-outs in the form of quarter-finals, semi-finals and then bronze and gold medal battles.
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How is breaking judged?
A five-strong judging panel score each battle based on technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality, with each category accounting for 20 per cent of the final score.
The winner is the competitor who wins the majority of the three-round battle, with judges using a digital, real-time slider to score the battles.
Judges also have three misbehavior buttons they may use to penalise a breaker when they act or gesture inappropriately.
Any Brits to look out for?
There will be no British involvement for breaking’s Olympics debut with no b-boys or b-girls qualifying for the Games.
Who are the favourites?
For the women, keep an eye out for Lithuania’s Dominika Banevič, (nickname Nicka), and Japan’s Ayumi Fukushima (nickname Ayumi) after the two battled it out in last year’s World Breaking Championship final. Banevič, who also claimed European gold earlier in the year, took the title, while bronze went to France’s Sya Dembélé (nickname Syssy).
For the men, American Victor Montalvo (nickname Victor) is the current world champion, beating Canada’s Philip Kim (Phil Wizard) into silver, while Shigeyuki Nakarai (nickname Shigekix) took bronze.
Who is competing?
16 b-girls
Dominika Banevič (Lithuania) – nickname: Nicka
Sunny Choi (US) – nickname: Sunny
Fatima Zahra El-Mamouny (Morocco) – nickname: Elmamouny
India Sardjoe (Netherlands) – nickname: India
Liu Qingyi (China) – nickname: 671
Rachael Gunn (Australia) – nickname: Raygun
Ami Yuasa (Japan) – nickname: Ami
Ayumi Fukushima, (Japan) – nickname: Ayumi
Sya Dembélé (France) – nickname: Syssy
Logan Elanna Edra (US) – nickname: Logistx
Zeng Yingying (China) – nickname: Yingzi
Kateryna Pavlenko (Ukraine) – nickname: Kate
Antilai Sandrini (Italy) – nickname: Anti
Vanessa Cartaxo (Portugal) – nickname: Vanessa
Anna Ponomarenko (Ukraine) – nickname: Stefani
Manizha Talash (Refugee Olympic Team) – nickname: Talash
Carlota Dudek (France)* – nickname: Senorita Carlota
*reserve
16 b-boys
Victor Montalvo, (US) – nickname: Victor
Bilal Mallakh, (Morocco) – nickname: Billy
Danis Civil, (France) – nickname: Dany Dann
Jeffrey Dan Arpie Dunne (Australia) – nickname: J Attack
Philip Kim, (Canada) – nickname: Phil Wizard
Shigeyuki Nakarai, (Japan) – nickname: Shigekix
Lee-Lou Demierre, (Netherlands) – nickname: Lee
Kim Hongyul, (South Korea) – nickname: Hongten
Hiroto Ono, (Japan) – nickname: Hiro10
Qi Xiangyu, (China) – nickname: Lithe-ing
Jeffrey Louis, (US) – nickname: Jeffro
Amir Zakirov, (Kazakhstan) – nickname: Amir
Menno Van Gorp, (Netherlands) – nickname: Menno
Sun Chen, (Chinese Taipei) – nickname: Quake
Oleg Kuznietsov, (Ukraine) – nickname: Kuzya
Gaëtan Alin, (France)* – nickname: Lagaet
*reserve
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