PARIS — India Sadjo is 18, has braces in her mouth and is looking for work.
“I really loved exchanging pins in the Olympic Village,” she said after taking part in the inaugural Olympic breaking competition in La Concorde on Friday. Known in breaking circles as B-Girl India, the 2022 world champion was one of the favorites coming into the competition but missed out on a medal after losing in the bronze medal match to China's B-Girl 671, aka Liu Qingyi.
In the end, B-Girl Ami (aka Ami Yuasa) from Japan beat B-Girl Nicka (Dominika Banevič) from Lithuania to take the gold medal.
“To be honest, I wasn't really focused on the medal,” Ami said, “I just wanted to show everything I've got in the final, and I think I did that.”
Appearing with Snoop Dogg in the afternoon session and IOC President Thomas Bach in the evening session, a large, enthusiastic and occasionally curious crowd helped popularize breaking, a new sport here but not for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In the afternoon, Afghanistan's Manizha Tarash sparked interest when she revealed a cape with the words “Liberate the Women of Afghanistan” under her jumper during a qualifying match against India. Manizha Tarash, part of the Refugee Olympic Team of 37 displaced athletes from around the world, was officially disqualified from the match, but she had already lost on points before she revealed her cape.
The debate will continue about whether breaking is moving away from its past, when it became ingrained in black American culture through dances by black youth in the Bronx in the early 1970s, but Friday marked a big moment for those who have spent the better part of a decade lobbying and establishing the form through breaking leagues around the world.
Most importantly, people were watching it on TV. Some were watching it religiously. Of course, it wasn't to everyone's liking. But what about these days?
While issues of cultural appropriation and erasure from breaking's roots deserve more public attention, I couldn't help but be impressed by the surprisingly international feel of this inaugural event, reflecting the diverse perspectives and histories of the estimated 30 million breakers worldwide.
B-Girl Ami (Ami Yuasa of Japan) won gold in the inaugural Olympic breaking competition on Friday. “I just wanted to show everything I've got,” she said. (Elsa/Getty Images)
The night was raucous, with a stage for the DJ and judges set up like a boombox, a homage to the old days.
The MCs, Friday, Malik and Max, were from France and Portugal respectively. The DJs were American (DJ Flegu) and Polish (DJ Plushone). The music they played ranged from Booker T. Aberhart's “Heart 'n Soul,” MFSB's “Family Affair,” DC go-go legends Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers' “Blow Your Whistle,” The Rift Valley Brothers' “Mu Africa,” and The Roots' “Boom!”.
The eight finalists are 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 American breakers who competed, B-Girl Sunny (Sunny Choi) and B-Girl Logistx (Logan Edra), were eliminated before the quarterfinals. American breaker B-Boy Victor (Victor Montalvo) is one of the favorites to win a medal in Saturday's men's competition.
“Honestly, it still hasn't sunk in,” said Kate (whose real name is Katerina Pavlenko), who was eliminated in the quarterfinals. “But I can't believe it's over. I've been waiting for this day for so long, and for me it's over now. It feels amazing. I think everyone did a great job and the level of the breakgirls was super high in the way they performed breakdancing. I'm very happy to be in the top eight. I'd say these are the best breakgirls in the world.”
The athleticism of the breakers was incredible, working on top and down rock. B-Girl Ami, who doesn't seem to have a fixed spine, crushed France's B-Girl Syssy 3-0 in the opening quarter-final, then beat India 2-1 in the semi-final. B-Girl 671 somehow seemed to turn while balancing on her head. Nicka seemed to float along the ground rather than rotate. Nicka beat 671 2-1 in the semi-final, who went on to beat India to win the bronze medal.
Afterwards, someone asked 671 if the tears in her eyes were because she was happy about winning the bronze medal, or because she had missed out on the chance to win the gold medal.
“Both,” she said. “First of all, I'm happy to win a medal in my first Olympics, but the fight went a little badly. But I'm still going to keep trying.”
From left, B-Girl Nicka (silver medal), B-Girl Ami (gold medal) and B-Girl 671 (bronze medal) show off their medals from the first Olympic breaking competition. (Elsa / Getty Images)
B-Girl Kate moved to Los Angeles just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, where her family remains, which makes it even more important to her to send a message of hope and possibility to people back home through breaking.
“It means a lot to me because I was born in Ukraine,” she said Friday. “Ukraine shaped me as a person. It shaped who I am today. I thought maybe it would be unfair to represent another country because of Ukraine. I'm Ukrainian. I was born and raised there. I left the country early on. For me, a lot of breakdancing boys and girls look up to me, and by representing someone they can look up to, I can give them a little bit of hope. And for me, that's the greatest reward ever. … If I can inspire or move someone in Ukraine with my dancing, I'll be happy.”
The old and new schools of breaking will probably never blend well together. Perhaps a happy combination is for the best. In the U.S., the desire to monetize breaking and present it on a larger platform will make it impossible to keep the art form under the sole oversight and influence of its originators. But many of the new generation of breakers and breakers understand that they need to pay attention to the originators and innovators who created the dance and on whom they stand.
“It's a big responsibility to represent breaking and raise the bar every time,” Nikka said Friday. “They've done an amazing job. Big hats off to the OGs and the pioneers who invented all these moves. Without them it wouldn't have been possible. Thank you to them.”
Going deeper
Ukrainian breakers' journey to the Paris Olympics
(Top photo of B-Girl Ami during the Olympic Friday breaking competition: Elsa / Getty Images)
