Breaking debuts at Olympics, noisily and colorfully, in the sport’s newest chapter

PARIS — India Sardjoe is 18, with a mouth full of braces, and is on the hunt.

“I really like exchanging pins in the Olympic village,” she said Friday, after taking part in the inaugural Olympic breaking competition at La Concorde. Known in the breaking game as B-Girl India, the 2022 world champion had been one of the favorites coming into the competition but finished just off the medal stand, losing the bronze medal match to China’s B-Girl 671, aka, Liu Qingyi.

In the end, Japan’s B-Girl Ami, aka Ami Yuasa, defeated Lithuania’s B-Girl Nicka (Dominika Banevič) for the gold medal.

“I just, I didn’t nearly focus on medals, actually,” Ami said. “For the final, I just wanted to show my … everything. And I think I did that, yeah.”

A large, enthusiastic and occasionally curious crowd, which featured Snoop Dogg in the afternoon session and IOC president Thomas Bach in the evening one, helped break in breaking, a new sport here but which will not be part of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. There was intrigue in the afternoon when Afghanistan’s Manizha Talash, in her qualifying match against India, unveiled a cape under her jumper that read “Free Afghan Women.” Manash, who was a member of the Refugee Olympic Team, a 37-member contingent of displaced athletes from around the world, was officially disqualified from her match, but had already lost it on points before she displayed her cape.

The debate about whether breaking is walking away from its past, steeped in Black American culture through the dancing of young Black teenagers in the Bronx in the early 1970s, quickly followed by Latino kids in the city, will go on. But for those who pushed for breaking’s inclusion in the Games, after a decade or so of lobbying and building the form through breaking leagues around the world, Friday was a big moment.

Most importantly: Folks were watching on TV. Some, intently. Of course, it was not universally loved. But, what is these days?

Issues like appropriation and erasure of the original culture of breaking should be amplified and heard. But it was hard not to be impressed by the amazing international flavor of the inaugural event here, reflecting the different viewpoints and histories of the estimated 30 million breakers worldwide.

B-Girl Ami (Japan’s Ami Yuasa) on Friday won gold in the inaugural Olympic breaking competition. “I just wanted to show my … everything,” she said. (Elsa / Getty Images)

The evening was noisy and raucous, with a stage for the DJs and the judges set up like a boombox, an homage to the old days.

The MCs Friday, Malik and Max, hailed from France, and Portugal, respectively. The DJs were American (DJ Fleg) and Polish (DJ Plash One). The music they played ran the gamut: “Heart ‘n Soul,” by Booker T. Averheart; “Family Affair,” by MFSB; “Blow Your Whistle,” by D.C.’s go-go legends Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers; “Mu Africa,” by The Rift Valley Brothers; “Boom!,” by The Roots.

The final eight women hailed from France, Japan (B-Girl Ami and B-Girl Ayumi), China (B-Girl 671 and B-Girl Ying Zi), Ukraine (B-Girl Kate), France (B-Girl Syssy), the Netherlands (B-Girl India) and Lithuania (B-Girl Nicka). The two U.S. breakers in the field, B-Girl Sunny (Sunny Choi) and B-Girl Logistx (Logan Edra) were eliminated before the quarterfinals. U.S. breaker B-Boy Victor (Victor Montalvo) is among the favorites on the men’s side to medal at the men’s competition Saturday.

“Honestly, I didn’t really get to process everything yet,” said Kate, full name Kateryna Pavlenko, who lost in the quarters. “But I can’t believe it’s over. I was waiting for this day for a long time. Now it’s done, for me. It feels great. I think everybody did a great job, and I think (the) representation of breaking was super-high level from the b-girls. I’m very happy I ended up in the top eight — best b-girls in the world, let me say.”

The athletic ability of so many of the breakers was astounding, as they top rocked and down rocked. B-Girl Ami, who didn’t appear to have a fixed spine, dominated France’s B-Girl Syssy in the opening quarterfinal, 3-0, then squeaked out a 2-1 semifinal over India. B-Girl 671 seemed to change directions, somehow, while balanced on her head. Nicka didn’t spin as much as she floated along the ground. Nicka beat 671 in the semifinals, 2-1; 671 beat India for the bronze.

Someone asked 671 afterward if the tears in her eyes were because she was happy at winning bronze, or because she lost a chance at winning gold.

“Both,” she said. “The first Olympics I go to, the medal, first, I’m happy. But also, the battle turned out a bit (badly). But I will still keep going.”

From left, B-Girl Nicka (silver), B-Girl Ami (gold) and B-Girl 671 (bronze) show off their medals from the inaugural Olympic breaking competition. (Elsa / Getty Images)

B-Girl Kate moved to Los Angeles just before the Russian invasion into Ukraine in 2022. Her family remains there. So it is even more imperative to her to use breaking to send a message of hope and possibility to her people back home.

“It’s very important, because I was born there,” she said Friday. “It shaped me as a person. It made me who I am. Because of Ukraine, I thought it might be not fair to represent any other country. I’m Ukrainian. I was born and raised there. I left early. For me, I know a lot of b-boys and b-girls are watching me, and I give them a little bit of hope to represent, somebody they can look up to. And for me, it’s the highest reward ever. … If I can inspire or touch somebody from Ukraine with my dance, I’m happy.”

There will likely never be a happy marriage between the old and new schools of breaking. Maybe a marriage of convenience is the best that can be done. The desire to monetize and showcase breaking on bigger platforms in the United States will likely make keeping it solely under the watch and influence of the originators of the art form impossible. But many among the new generation of breaking, and breakers, understand that attention must be paid to the originators and innovators that created the dance, and on whose shoulders they stand.

“It’s a huge responsibility to represent and raise the bar, every time, for breaking,” Nicka said Friday. “Because they did an amazing job. Big respect for the OGs and the pioneers that invented all those moves. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible. I’m grateful for them.”