Canada won a gold medal. Australia became a meme. At times, even the commentators weren’t sure what to say.
Love it or LOL it, it’s safe to say breaking’s debut made its mark at the Paris Olympics, although it may never return. Breaking — known to many as break dancing — is not on the program for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Yet it’s become one of the most talked-about events.
Much of the buzz comes courtesy of Vancouver’s Philip Kim, a.k.a. Phil Wizard, who captured gold after dominating his final battle with host-country favourite Danis Civil (Dany Dann) of France.
But it’s also in no small part thanks to the performance of an Australian b-girl known as Raygun who did a “kangaroo dance” and scored zero points but became a viral sensation.
Despite some misinformation circulating online, the decision not to include breaking in the 2028 Games was made long before Raygun’s performance.
Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, is a 36-year-old college professor. After her performance on Friday, Gunn posted on Instagram: “Don’t be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.”
The comments on her post were largely unsupportive.
“I know a lot of people will discourage you but please listen to them,” wrote Instagram user “preacherz_son,” in a comment with 30,000 likes.
She defended her moves again on Saturday, telling the Independent that she tried to be “new, different and creative” because she couldn’t compete athletically with her younger rivals.
On Sunday, the head judge of the breaking competition said Gunn was just trying to be original.
“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” head judge Martin Gilian — known as MGbility — said at a news conference. “This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.”
Phil ‘Wizard’ Kim used his unique skills to his advantage in the B-Boys Breaking Final, earning himself a historic gold medal in Paris.
So, breaking isn’t coming back?
Breaking was added to the program for Paris 2024 in an effort to attract a younger and more diverse fanbase to the Olympics. It made its debut under a rule that allows local organizers to choose a limited number of additional sports.
But it’s not on the roster for the 2028 Olympics in L.A. — a decision that was made long before the competition. The International Olympic Committee announced last October that it had approved L.A.’s proposal for five additional sports: baseball/softball, cricket (T20), flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.
At the time, IOC president Thomas Bach said these sports are “in line with the American sports culture.”
But as Japan’s Ami Yuasa points out, breaking originated in the United States — during the mid-1970s in the Bronx borough of New York City, according to the World DanceSport Federation.
Yuasa, known as b-girl Ami, won the gold medal for the women and said she wished Los Angeles organizers had waited to experience the energy between the athletes and the crowd at Place de la Concorde in Paris.
“I feel so sad about it not happening in Los Angeles, because breaking was born in the U.S.A.,” she told The Associated Press on Sunday. “Breaking is not just a sport, it’s also expressing myself and art.”
At a news conference on Sunday, Vancouver’s Kim pointed out that breaking really showcased the “energy and atmosphere” it brings to the Olympics.
“I mean, it’s similar with skateboarding, BMX and a lot of these other kind of more urban sports,” he said. “Yes, coming into it, we see ourselves as a dance and art and a culture. But I think a lot of these things are just labels.”
What about the 2032 Olympics?
World DanceSport Federation president Shawn Tay told a news conference on Sunday that it’s too bad L.A. didn’t get to see the buzz about breaking in Paris before making its decision.
“You can see the last two days it was really exciting and almost mind blowing for those watching it,” Tay said. “It’s not just about physical performance. It’s also about the enjoyment in sports that the audience can link with what they hear and they can see it. And so they get a lot of audience involvement in the last two days.”
It’s possible that breaking could return for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia, but Zack Slusser, vice-president of Breaking for Gold USA and USA Dance, told reporters he thinks it’s unlikely. “It was a miracle that we were even in Paris to begin with,” he told NBC.
Phil Wizard’s family expresses their love and excitement about his gold medal and performance.
Sergei Nifontov, general secretary of the World DanceSport Federation, said breaking might still have a chance despite the worldwide criticism of Raygun’s performance.
“We believe that this has nothing to do with our chances for Brisbane 2032,” Nifontov said.
But even if breaking was a one-and-done Olympic event, some of the athletes say they don’t mind.
“For us, as of now, this is the one and only,” Kim told USA Today. “So to be a part of history is truly incredible.”