PARIS — Breaking — better known as breakdancing — is making its Olympic debut here at the 2024 Paris Games. The competition begins with the B-Girls and medals will be awarded by the end of today.
The competition begins with a round robin format, four groups of four breakers each, with each group playing two rounds against the other three in their group. From there, the top two B-Girls in each group – determined by the most rounds won – advance to the quarter finals. The quarter, semi and final rounds all consist of three rounds in the traditional bracket style.
USA TODAY Sports will have everything you need to know, live updates and highlights as the contest unfolds. Stay tuned.
Halfway through the round-robin portion of the competition, some of the top contenders are starting to emerge.
B-Girl Ami from Japan and B-Girl Syssy from France have had the most one-sided rounds so far, but perhaps the most impressive performer so far has been B-Girl Nicka from Lithuania. She managed to win in her first two bouts against two medal contenders, Syssy and B-Girl Logistx from Team USA. And she showed some impressive power moves, but also smooth transitions – which will be crucial as the competition progresses. Chinese B-Girls Ying Zi and 671 have also been consistently strong in their bouts so far.
Logan “B-Girl Logistx” Edra of the USA fought B-Girl Nicka of Lithuania in the second round of their round robin tournament and lost by 13 votes to 5. The first round ended almost evenly (5:4) in Nicka’s favor, but in the second round only one judge was on Nicka’s side; Logistx seemed to run out of steam towards the end. Her unanimous victory in the first round will be crucial to her advancement.
It wasn’t the start Sunny “B-Girl Sunny” Choi wanted, as she lost her first fight to China’s “671” (Qingyi Liu) 16-2. But by the second round, she had the pro-American crowd on her side and began beating Snoop Dogg on her way from the tunnel to the dance circle.
Logan Edra, known as “B-Girl Logistx,” did it. She won all nine votes in each round of her first bout against an Australian competitor, Rachael “B-Girl Raygun” Gunn. Logistx knew she had it in the bag and made the “It’s over” throats of Vince Carter at the end of the second round.
Here are the results of the round robin competition as they come in. There are two rounds per competition and there are nine votes up for grabs per round.
- Lithuania’s Nicka 1 (11 votes) vs. France’s Syssy 1 (7 votes), Group B
- USA Logistx 2 (18) vs. Australia Raygun 0 (0), Group B
- Japan’s Ami 2 (17) vs. Italy’s Anti 0 (1), Group C
- China’s Ying Zi 2 (18) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (0), Group C
- Japan’s Ayumi 1 (10) vs. Ukraine’s Stefani 1 (8), Group D
- Ukraine’s Kate 2 (15) vs. France’s Carlota 0 (3), Group D
- China 671 2 (16) vs. USA Sunny 0 (2), Group A
- Netherlands, India 2 (15) vs. Portugal, Vanessa 0 (3), Group A
- Lithuania’s Nicka 2 (13) vs. USA’s Logistix 0 (5), Group B
- France’s Syssy 2 (18) vs. Australia’s Raygun 0 (0), Group B
- Japan’s Ami 2 (18) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (0), Group C
- China’s Ying Zi 2 (16) vs. Italy’s Anti 0 (2), Group C
Breaking is part of a new wave of sports introduced by the International Olympic Committee as part of a broader effort to appeal to younger fans and bring an urban feel to the Summer Games. It follows the inclusion of sports such as skateboarding and surfing, which made their debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Athlete of Team Refugee wears cape of “Free Afghan Women”
Manizha Talash, or “B-Girl Talash,” represented the Refugee Olympic Team at those Games and took part in the first bout in Olympic history during a pre-tournament qualifying match. During the third round, Talash – who now lives in Spain – wore a Free Afghan Women cape.
The cape appeared to be a blatant violation of Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits political protests or messages on the field of play. The IOC, which created the refugee Olympic team, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. And Talash was ushered past print reporters in the mixed zone without answering questions.
“I think what she has done on stage is enough,” said a man who accompanied her.
India Sardjoe of the Netherlands, also known as “B-Girl India”, defeated Talash in the three-round pre-qualification match and thus eliminated the Refugee Olympic Team dropout from the competition.
Manizha Talash, “B-Girl Talash,” represented the refugee team at those Games and took part in the first bout in Olympic history during a pre-tournament qualifying match. During the third round, Talash – who now lives in Spain – wore a cape that read “Free Afghan Women.”
She defeated Dutchwoman India Sardjoe, “B-Girl India,” 27-0 in the three-round event.
The first breakdancing competition began in a most fitting way: Snoop Dogg slammed a pole on the floor three times. Before every event in Paris, a guest of honour is brought on stage to perform what is known as “les trois coups, s’il vous plait”, which literally means “three strikes, please”. The ritual is a celebration of French theatre culture, according to Eurosport. Snoop performed his duties with flying colours before the B-girls were introduced.
It has been declared an Olympic sport for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
This is a bit confusing – and completely new in the world of breakdancing. Instead of a simple one-on-one match, the preliminary round is played in round-robin style: four groups of four breakdancers each, each of whom plays two rounds against the other three in their group. From there, the top two B-girls in each group – determined by the most rounds won – advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals all consist of three rounds in the traditional tournament style.
Contestants are judged in five categories: technique, execution, musicality, originality and vocabulary. Judging is fairly subjective, with each judge simply voting for the B-boy or B-girl they think performed best in each category. There is no numerical scoring system like in figure skating or gymnastics.
Vocabulary is one criterion to keep in mind as the competition progresses. Judges want to see breakers show a variety of moves and styles throughout the rounds. If they do the same thing in the last fight as they did in the first, they would theoretically be penalized for it.
The B-girls will compete today, and the B-boys will compete on Saturday, August 10. The breakdancing competitions at the 2024 Paris Games will all be broadcast live on E! The women’s competition is scheduled to begin around 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday and conclude with the finals, which begin at 2:00 p.m. ET. The men’s competition will take place on Saturday at the same time.
Sunny Choi (or B-Girl Sunny) and Logan Edra (or B-Girl Logistx) will represent Team USA in the women’s competition. Choi won the 2023 Pan American Games, while Edra has had success in the past at Red Bull’s international breaking competition BC One. Sunny came in 10th, while Logan came in 14th, according to the World DanceSport Federation.
As you can imagine, the DJ plays a central role in any breakdance competition.
“The DJ is everything,” said B-boy Jeffro, whose real name is Jeffrey Louis, at a press conference this week. “The DJ sets the mood. The DJ is the one who challenges you on the dance floor.”
The DJs for the Olympic competition are DJ Fleg from the USA and DJ Plash from Poland.
The International Olympic Committee has licensed about 400 songs for this weekend’s competition, USA Breaking officials said. And Fleg and Plash said in a social media post that the songs range in variety and style, from old-school hip hop to funk to newly created beats.
The story of breaking began in the Bronx and is now celebrating its Olympic debut
Londoner “B-Boy London” Reyes explains the origins of breaking in the Bronx and why he had his sights set on the Olympics from the start.
Sunny Choi was drunk when she first got into breakdancing. She was a freshman at Penn and felt a little lost, like most college freshmen do. After drinking some more, she was out late and saw some breakdancing dancers on campus and thought, “Oh, that looks like fun.” The group of dancers invited her to practice, and she quickly immersed herself in the scene at Penn and in Philly’s breakdancing community. The former gymnast loved being upside down, but for her, there was more to it than that.
“Over time, I really fell in love with exploring the physical limits of my body and artistic expression,” said the 34-year-old Olympia rookie. “I had never really done anything creative in my life.”
Despite her love of breakdancing, she stayed for professional reasons and the financial security of a corporate career, working her way up to creative director at Estée Lauder. However, when breakdancing was recognized as an Olympic sport, she decided to bet on herself, quit her corporate job, and commit to breakdancing full-time. Now, at 34, she is on her way to the Olympics. After the games, she hopes to work on opening a dance studio/community center in Queens.
There’s more to it than you might think.
The most obvious moves are known as power moves – big flips, spins and other acrobatic elements. Then there’s “top rock”, the dancing and posing you see when breakers are standing upright. But there are also a lot of small elements in between – footwork, floor work, freezes and “get down”, which is how a breaker transitions from top rocking to the floor.
Breaking is all about the nuances and transitions between elements. The best are fluid in their dynamics, transitioning from standing to the ground and back. And they are able to perform different components in opposite directions or with slight variations to make them new.
Current results: Round robin tournaments of Group A
- China 671 2 (16) vs USA Sunny 0 (2)
- Portugal’s Vanessa against Netherlands’ India
- Portugal’s Vanessa against China’s 671
- Sunny from the USA against TBD
- Sunny from the USA against Vanessa from Portugal
- China’s 671 vs. TBD
Current results: Round robin tournaments of Group B
- Lithuania’s Nicka 1 (11) vs. France’s Syssy 1 (7)
- USA’s Logistx 2 (18) vs. Australia’s Raygun 0 (0)
- Lithuania’s Nicka 2 (13) vs. USA’s Logistix 0 (5)
- France’s Syssy 2 (18) vs. Australia’s Raygun 0 (0)
- Australia’s Raygun vs. Lithuania’s Nicka
- Logistx from the USA against Syssy from France
Current results: Round robin tournaments of Group C
- Japan’s Ami 2 (17) vs. Italy’s Anti 0 (1)
- China’s Ying Zi 2 (18) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (0)
- Japan’s Ami 2 (18) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (0)
- China’s Ying Zi 2 (16) vs. Italy’s Anti 0 (2)
- China’s Ying Zi against Japan’s Ami
- Morocco’s Elmamouny against Italy’s Anti
Current results: Round robin tournaments of Group D
- Japan’s Ayumi 1 (10) against Ukraine’s Stefani 1 (8)
- Ukrainian Kate 2 (15) vs. France’s Carlota 0 (3)
- Japan’s Ayumi against Ukraine’s Kate
- France’s Carlota against Ukrainian Stefani
- Japan’s Ayumi vs. France’s Carlota
- Ukrainian Kate against Ukrainian Stefani
