2024 Olympics Breakdancing Recap

Breakdancing, which started in the Bronx over 40 years ago, made its Olympic debut on August 9, 2024, at Paris Games' Place de la Concorde stadium. Here's your recap of this historic moment.

Historic Debut in Paris

Breakdancing, also known as breaking, which began in the Bronx over 40 years ago, made its Olympic debut on Friday, August 9, 2024, at the historic Place de la Concorde stadium during the Paris Games.

Women’s Competition Highlights

In the women's competition, Japan's B-girl Ami claimed the gold medal, while American B-girls Logistx and Sunny were unable to advance past the preliminary rounds.

Australian college professor B-girl Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, gained viral attention for her unconventional dance style. Despite being nearly twice the age of her competitors, she did not score any points and faced harsh criticism on social media for her underwhelming performance.

Ami, legally known as Ami Yuasa, won the gold by triumphing in all three rounds against B-girl Nicka (Dominika Banevič) from Lithuania.

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, showcasing his creativity and endurance through 15 rounds. Although he was defeated by French competitor Dany Dann in the semifinals, he rebounded to win against Japan's B-boy Shigekix for the bronze.

Canada's Phil Wizard (Philip Kim) took home the gold medal, while Dany Dann earned the 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 14 and had already earned world championships in 2021 and 2023, along with a victory at the Red Bull BC One in 2022.

Phil Wizard defeated Dany Dann in the finals, winning all three rounds and securing 23 out of 27 possible votes from the judges. In the semifinals, Phil Wizard overcame Japan's Shigekix, while Dany Dann narrowly defeated B-boy Victor.

B-boy Victor dominated the round-robin stage, sweeping past Japanese breaker Hiro10 and China’s B-boy Lithe-ing, and then defeating B-boy Amir of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals. B-boy Jeffro, or Jeffrey Louis, also performed strongly in the round-robin but was narrowly defeated by Dany Dann in the quarterfinals.

Future of Breaking in the Olympics

Despite breakdancing's Olympic debut being an effort to attract younger audiences, it will not be featured in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and is unlikely to return as an Olympic sport in the future. The local organizing committee for each Olympics can propose new sports for their Games, but LA 2028 has opted not to include breaking. Instead, it will introduce new sports such as lacrosse and flag football.

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 setback, particularly since the Los Angeles Games are being held in the country where the dance originated.