2024 OLYMPICS: MEET THE ATHLETES COMPETING FOR GOLD IN THE NEWEST SPORT, BREAKING IN PARIS

 

Meet the Pioneers of Team USA's Breaking Squad at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Sunny Choi, Logan Edra, Jeffrey Louis, and Victor Montalvo are the B-girls and B-boys who have qualified to represent Team USA on the world stage. Breaking makes its highly anticipated debut on August 9th at the Summer Games in Paris.

"I was initially very skeptical because breaking, to me, had always been a raw and gritty street culture,” Choi, a former gymnast who discovered breaking in college, shared in a recent interview with E! News. "The Olympics seemed so refined and elegant, and breaking appeared to be the complete opposite. It has an energy that is not felt in other sports."

The International Olympic Committee, inspired by the positive reception at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, added breaking to the 2024 Summer Games. However, it won't be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, adding urgency for this year's competitors.

The women's breaking event is set for August 9th, followed by the men's on August 10th at La Concorde Urban Park. Nine judges will score the breakers in six categories: Creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity, and musicality—with creativity and performativity accounting for 60 percent of the score.

Sixteen women and sixteen men will compete in respective round-robin qualifying rounds, with the top scorers advancing to the quarterfinals. The medal rounds will feature best-of-three, minute-long head-to-head battles.

Master of Ceremonies Max Oliveira will preside over the event, where breakers will engage in improvisational battles, responding immediately to the music spun by the DJ.

"I'm really excited to represent my country, but I'm even more excited to represent my dance and my art form," Victor told the Associated Press. "We’re bringing hip-hop culture to the Olympics, along with peace, love, unity, and having fun."

Team USA Breaking Members

Sunny Choi, USA

• B-Girl Name: Sunny
• Born: November 10, 1988
• Background: Daughter of South Korean emigrés, graduated from Penn's Wharton School of Business, and was director of global creative operations for skincare at Estée Lauder before focusing on breaking full-time. She qualified for Paris by winning the 2023 Pan American Games.
• Quote: "I'm finally taking the time to step out of that and say, 'Hey, I'm going to put me first. I'm going to do what makes me happy.'"

Victor Montalvo, USA

• B-Boy Name: Victor
• Born: May 1, 1994
• Background: The 2023 WDSF World Breaking champion learned breaking from his father and uncle, pioneering twin B-boys in Mexico.
• Quote: "There’s going to be a new generation of kids that will want to do it… And you just need a dance floor, your body, and self-expression."

Jeffrey Louis, USA

• B-Boy Name: Jeffro
• Born: December 20, 1994
• Background: Texas native with Haitian immigrant parents, graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in kinesiology and sports management. He put plans for physical therapy on hold to compete full-time.
• Quote: "If we get it right [in Paris], we can create something unstoppable."

Logan Edra, USA

• B-Girl Name: Logistx
• Born: May 8, 2003
• Background: The youngest member of the U.S. breaking team, from Chula Vista, California, started breaking at age 7.
• Quote: "I can be competitive, but we're artist-athletes. It's still subjective to a certain extent. It's whoever is killing it that day."

International Competitors

Ayumi Fukushima, Japan

• B-Girl Name: Ayumi
• Born: June 22, 1983
• Background: Won the 2021 World Championship at age 38, introduced to breaking by her sister in Kyoto at 21.
• Quote: "Being unable to do it was fun, and I wanted to try again the next day."

Dominika Banevic, Lithuania

• B-Girl Name: Nicka
• Born: June 8, 2007
• Background: The reigning world champion who started breaking at 5.
• Quote: "Breaking is my life because all my thoughts and everything is connected to it."

Danis Civil, France

• B-Boy Name: Dany Dann
• Born: May 3, 1988
• Background: Moved to France in 2008 to compete in breaking events.
• Quote: "Now breaking is my job."

Phil Kim, Canada

• B-Boy Name: Phil Wizard
• Born: January 25, 1997
• Background: Member of the Wizards dance crew, 2023 Pan Am Games gold medalist.
• Quote: "I want kids to see breaking at the Olympics and be excited, and for their parents to support them."

Amir Zakirov, Kazakhstan

• B-Boy Name: Amir
• Born: October 10, 1997
• Background: Self-taught breaker who considers October 8, 2009, his second birthday.
• Quote: "I always battle with me. If I don't like my dance, then I've lost."

India Sardjoe, Netherlands

• B-Girl Name: India
• Born: May 19, 2006
• Background: Started breaking at 7, trains four to five times a week.
• Quote: "I like everything from Adele to Afrobeats and Dutch hip-hop."

Liu Qingyi, China

• B-Girl Name: 671
• Born: October 19, 2005
• Background: Started breaking at 10, first competed internationally in 2022.
• Quote: "Breaking developed me as a person and gave me confidence."

Rachael Gunn, Australia

• B-Girl Name: Raygun
• Born: September 2, 1987
• Background: Lecturer in media and creative industries, started breaking in her 20s.
• Quote: "Breaking has such a positive force and impact on people’s lives."

As these talented athletes prepare to showcase their skills on the Olympic stage, the world eagerly awaits the debut of breaking at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Go for gold guys.