Breaking at the 2024 Summer Olympics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Breaking at the Games of the Olympiad
Venue	Place de la Concorde
Dates	9–10 August 2024
No. of events	2 (1 men, 1 women)
Competitors	33 from 16 nations

Breaking, also known as Breakdancing, made its exciting debut at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris! This cool dance sport was held from August 9 to 10 at Place de la Concorde. It was the first time a dance sport was part of the Summer Olympics.

Breaking first appeared at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. Because it was so popular, it was chosen as one of the new sports for Paris 2024, along with sport climbing and surfing. In the competition, 33 breakers (16 B-Boys and 17 B-Girls) faced off in exciting one-on-one battles.

How Breaking Competitions Work

The breaking competition had two medal events: one for B-Boys (men) and one for B-Girls (women). Each event featured 16 dancers.

The competition started with a group stage. The 16 breakers were divided into four groups. Each dancer performed against others in their group for about a minute. The top two breakers from each group then moved on to the knockout stage. In this stage, dancers were eliminated if they lost a one-on-one battle.

How Judges Score Breaking

A panel of judges decided who won each battle. They scored each performance based on five important things. Each of these five things was worth an equal part of the total score.

• Technique: This is about how well a dancer performs their moves. It includes how athletic they are, how they control their body, and how clean their movements look.
• Vocabulary: This means the number and different types of moves a dancer uses. A high score here means a dancer uses many different moves in various positions. Moves are grouped into:
  • Toprock: Dance moves done while standing up.
  • Downrock: Moves done on the floor, like spins and footwork.
  • Freeze: Stopping suddenly in a cool, acrobatic pose.
• Execution: This is about how cleanly and smoothly a dancer performs their moves. The moves should flow well together but still be clear and distinct.
• Musicality: This is how well the breaker dances to the music. The music is chosen by a DJ at the event, and the dancers don't know it beforehand.
• Originality: This is about how unique and creative a dancer's performance is. It's about how they "wow" the audience and make the dance their own.

How Dancers Qualified for the Olympics

A total of 32 spots were available for dancers to compete in breaking at the Olympics. There were 16 spots for B-Girls and 16 for B-Boys. Countries could send a maximum of two B-Boys and two B-Girls.

Most of the spots were earned through different competitions:

• The winners (B-Boy and B-Girl champions) of the 2023 WDSF World Championships, held in Leuven, Belgium, earned a direct spot.
• The highest-ranked eligible B-Boy and B-Girl from each continent (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania) also earned a spot.
• The remaining spots were decided through a special Olympic Qualifier Series. This series of events took place around the world from March to June 2024.

France, as the host country, automatically got one spot for a B-Boy and one for a B-Girl. A few other spots were given out through a "Universality invitation" to help more countries participate. Dancers getting these spots had to be among the top 32 in the Olympic Qualifier Series.

Competition Schedule

Medal Winners

Medal Table

  *   Host nation (France)

Rank	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Canada	1	0	0	1
	Japan	1	0	0	1
3	France*	0	1	0	1
	Lithuania	0	1	0	1
5	China	0	0	1	1
	United States	0	0	1	1
Totals (6 entries)		2	2	2	6

Medalists

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
B-Boys details	Philip Kim Phil Wizard  Canada	Danis Civil Dany Dann  France	Victor Montalvo Victor  United States
B-Girls details	Ami Yuasa Ami  Japan	Dominika Banevič Nicka  Lithuania	Liu Qingyi 671  China

See also

• Breaking at the 2023 Pan American Games