The World Breaking Championship have concluded in Belgium. Both titles, and their Olympic quota spots, were won by challengers to the sport's elite figures. In the b-boys event, Victor "Victor" Montalvo, the 2021 champion, took down reigning champion Philip "Phil Wizard" Kim to regain his title. That earned the US a spot in next year's Olympic field. Meanwhile, the b-girls final saw 16-year-old Dominika "Nika" Banevič of Lithuania take down breaking legend and 2021 champion Ayumi "Ayumi" Fukushima. Nika continues a stellar 2023 that saw her win the 2023 European Games. Furthermore, her win at the World Championships means that India "India" Sardjoe of the Netherlands receives the berth from the European Games.
Breaking makes its Olympic debut in Paris next year. The sport has come leaps and bounds from its origins growing alongside hip-hop. 32 of the world's top b-boys and b-girls will take place in the inaugural Olympic competition. The sport takes the form of a best-of-three dance battle scored by a panel of judges. Champions from the Asian and Pan American Games will earn berths in 2023. The remaining 18 places will be determined through next year's Olympic Qualifying Series and universality places.
Nika Puts The World On Notice
Speaking before her World Championship win, Nicka spoke on what makes her unique as a breaker. "I'm not trying to be someone else and I want to show everybody my unique style. I'm trying to be an all-around breaker because there are some breakers who have strong moves, but they don't have musicality and also the opposite, but I'm practising everything and that's what makes me unique," she told Olympics.com.
Furthermore, she spoke on her complete dedication to the sport. "[I'm a] B-Girl 24/7, and that says everything about me because that's who I am. People ask me, 'What do you like doing besides breaking?', but breaking is everything that I'm doing." Nicka will now enter the 16-person Olympic field as both European and World champion. The breaking tournament at Paris 2024 is scheduled for August 9 and 10, making it one of the last sports of the Games to be contested.
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