Canadian b-boy Phil Wizard (Philip Kim) took gold in the first Olympic men’s breaking tournament Saturday.
“I never thought I’d be here in my life,” the 27-year-old said, wiping away tears. He spent the last few sleepless nights “tossing and turning” because he was “stressed out of my mind.”
“I cried yesterday because I was so scared to do this, and, I’m just happy. I’m just happy,” he said.
Hometown favorite French b-boy Dany Dann (Danis Civil) won silver, and American b-boy Victor (Victor Montalvo) took the bronze after taking out Japanese b-boy Shigekix (Shigeyuki Nakarai). These Olympic medals may be the last for breaking, at least for some time — the dance form is not in the lineup of sports for the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Seeing this video I am 100 % convinced that break dance battles are the most wholesome form of direct competition. These two athletes treating each other with respect and fun while competing against each other for Olympic gold ist just amazing.
You know what else is? The World’s Strongest Man competitions. ESPN2 used to show them, not sure if they still do. Everyone is super supportive of each other. They will come to each other’s aid if something goes wrong and they are all really happy for whoever wins. Super strong guys who have absolutely no aggression toward each other. It’s a cool competition (and weird as fuck) and everyone likes each other.
Mountain biking, too, at least judging by the one competition I’ve seen.
I think a lot of sports are like this just because most people are like this. I’m trying to think of another sport where the competitors are all just total assholes who can’t laugh about anything. I’m not that into all kinds of different sports so I don’t have much to go on but I can’t think of anything.
Breakdancing is about having fun and laughing though.
I think a lot of sports are like this just because most people are like this.
Absolutely. Even in “combat sports” like boxing, or martial arts most of the competitors are friendly towards each other.
I find it much more engaging than the constant trash talking that some sports seem to have normalized.
Muhammad Ali said all those mean things about how George Foreman looked and then whooped his ass and they were still friends.
Holy crap, he looked like when the character physics glitch out in a video game, but under control at the same time.
Holy shit, their whole routines are improvised. They hadn’t heard the music before.
I am fucking floored.
It’s the same quick, creative muscle that rappers and comedians exercise.
Absolutely. I’ve done my share of standup. These guys are the next level when it comes to improvising though.
Oh. Oh! That makes it all a lot more impressive.
That was amazing!
The performance was amazing, the announcers sucked.
When I watch any Olympic competition I have never seen before I have some idea what is going on because the announcers make a point of saying who these people are, why a move is difficult/impressive, what the requirements are, and why deductions might happen.
Here all I heard was “YA BOOOOOOYYYYYYY!” through the entire performance, with a brief mention of an error made by France but I have no idea what that error actually was.
He tried to do a maneuver onto his head, but he missed the timing and wasn’t in the right position. Just before the announcers talk about it you see his head go down to the floor, but he wasn’t high enough to get the top of his head down … just the side of his head, then he slid.
It was a lot like a missed landing in gymnastics.
Olympic breakdancing is awesome. Zeus would definitely approve.
I don’t know, I think he was more into changing into animals and raping humans.
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Was awesome. It’s not going to return. This guy will go down as undefeated which is a silver lining I suppose.
This is so sad. Give it a bit of time to live at least, guys!
Edit: According to CBC it’s not necessarily dead. It won’t be in LA but in light of the popularity Brisbane 2032 could see it.
Did they have to compete under their real names? I think it would be cooler if they could use their chosen names.
What sounds cooler on the podium:
“The winner of the gold medal is Philip Kim!”
or
“The winner of the gold medal is Phil Wizard!”
He’s a wizard, man. Call him a wizard.
On the CBC coverage they didn’t use anyone’s real names, it was all just dance names.
I thought it was super entertaining compared to something like running or high jump. If anyone doubts these people’s athleticism, just watch and you’ll change your mind.
Ray Gunn…But Phil Wizard was absolutely insane and smooth
Nice. I’m visiting some people, but I’m going home tonight and plan to watch the rerun. I don’t mind that I already know who won.
I’m not even all that into break dancing. I’m not all that into the music. But I appreciate people with amazing acrobatic dance skills.
I would also check out the women. It’s less power focused, but I actually enjoyed the contest more than the men’s event!
Thanks. I definitely plan on watching both.
Then head over and watch some popping! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u8l9yF_p84
Whoa whoa whoa, running is boring yeah, but you best respect high jump / long jump / triple jump!
Why did he (apparently) randomly lift his shirt to show his belly at times?
I’m entirely unfamiliar with breaking.
When you’ve got those kinds of abs, you have to give the crowd what they want.
My favourite event of the Olympics by far, both finals were epic
I watched the women’s final and omg there was some serious cringe there.
You can bet your ass detractors will use that aussie woman to say that it has no place in the olympics.
As is often the case, one outlier draws all the attention away from everyone else who are much more representative of the actual sport/artform/culture.
Hating on women is so hot right now
From Toronto! Awesome. Represent, Phil. Also what’s with all the fuddy duddies in the comments?
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They’re measuring dancing now?
While I’m personally a very talented technical dancer, this just isn’t right.
Figure skating is also an olympic competition, is it not?
Along with rhythmic gymnastics, synchronised swimming, dressage…
I would say this is more impressive because they don’t get to choose their music nor listen to it ahead of time.
Along with rhythmic gymnastics, synchronised swimming, dressage…
At one time painting, sculpture and even architecture were Olympic competitions.
Iunno, but that’s stupid too.
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Very interesting take, Very Talented Technical Dancer. You really gave us all something to think about.
I’m not the one giving it a grading system.
This take reminds me of the family dinner scene from Whiplash
I still can’t believe this became an Olympic thing. What’s next? Line dancing?
What’s wrong with this being an Olympic event? It’s incredibly athletic.
I watched some of it and it was awesome, but I don’t think it should be an event until they have more formalized rules. It seemed like the judges just based it off vibes.
Breaking has been judged since the 70s. Give this a read:
https://olympics.com/en/news/breaking-breakdancing-rules-format-moves
It’s a dance. It’s in the name. It’s not a sport. It’s a dance
Your pedantry is unbecoming of a 21st century person, especially considering the event is “The Olympic Games” not “The Olympic Sports”.
Ok. Hop scotch next then
What about figure skating or gymnastics? They are just “performing a set of dance moves in a sequence”.
It all takes talent and skill. Worthy of being in the Olympic Games.
End of the day, Olympics is meant to be entertaining and Breaking sure as heck is entertaining.
It’s actually called “breaking” the dance isn’t in there officially
You might wish to revise your dictionary.
sport
/spôrt/
noun
noun: sport; plural noun: sportsan activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
Sounds like a sport to me.
What’s next? Horse dancing?
Probably not the best example to use rn, what with one of the major riders, Charlotte Dujardin, being banned from the sport completely due to a horse whipping caught on camera.
Dressage was already in the “maybe” pile for future Olympics because of the animal cruelty that occurs.
https://inews.co.uk/sport/olympics/dujardin-brutal-world-dressage-olympics-3187519
Oh you mean another even that’s dumb as hell and shouldn’t be in? Past bad decisions for events shouldn’t justify continuing to add others.
Did you bother watching? This is essentially floor gymnastics to a beat. Does line dancing require this much physical skill and coordination? And to be clear, Ice Dancing came before this.
Flag football
That’s already an Olympic sport.
Not in 2024, it’ll be there in 2028 though! (OP asked what’s next 😂)
Same as breaking won’t be in LA in 2028. :(
What do you guys think about all the cultural appropriation concerns for breaking in the Olympics?
Edit: Re-read my question (left it unedited), and it appears “all the cultural appropriation concerns” means I think that it raises said concerns. It would have been much better written as “all the people raising concerns” or “all the concerns being raised.”
Woopsie.
I think its a way to argue that sports developed by certain groups shouldn’t be allowed in the Olympics because then those who didn’t traditionally develop said sport might compete in them. It results in exclusion, which is worse than the risk of cultural appropriation IMO.
Why is exclusion worse than cultural appropriation? I’m excluded from the traditions of the first nations people where I live because I’m not first nations, is that a bad thing?
Most sports are not as recent as break and do not have the same cultural significance. Break was developed by an oppressed people who have historically had their artistic creations repackaged and sold without their involvement. I have no idea whether breaks inclusion in the games is cultural appropriation but I don’t feel like you are giving the proper context to the conversation.
So then they should never have the chance to perform their sports at the Olympics or on an international stage? Representation matters. It wasn’t just white ladies break dancing at the Olympics.
Whats your argument? Everyone should have their sport at the Olympics even if it’s problematic?
You’re not engaging with the conversation, you’re just saying people will be disappointed if break isn’t an olympic sport.
I’m saying people won’t be represented. Not just disappointed. Representation is important. That’s my argument. I said it very clearly. Representation isn’t problematic and my argument is literally that I think representation is more important than the risk of cultural appropriation and exclusion. Tucking away minorities to save them from cultural appropriation isn’t it. Its infantalizing. Also, we can fight for inclusion and representation and still call out cultural appropriation when it occurs.
Cultural appropriation is bullshit is what I think. Let people adapt and improvise. Anything else is pure conservatism.
Cultural appropriation is not bullshit. Look at the history of black people in america. Their art forms were copied by white people, sanitized, then sold to the masses with zero credit or compensation given to them. I’m not saying that only black people should be able to perform or enjoy those art forms, but there is a significant difference between respectful imitation and theft. Art forms that were created in large part due to the oppression they were put through, were copied with zero respect or acknowledgement, then repackaged and sold to the very people oppressing them. If you can’t see how that is a bad thing then idk what to say.
To be clear I’m not arguing break being included in the olympics is cultural appropriation, that’s for the culture to decide not me.
I’m not convinced cultural appropriation, in the pejorative sense, is a valid concept. In all the examples of cultural appropriation I’ve seen that I agree are bad, there’s a better way to explain why it’s bad. For example, wearing Native American headdresses isn’t bad because a white person does it; it’s bad because it’s something you have to earn, like a medal, and the white people using it as a costume haven’t earned it. It would be equally disrespectful for a Native American to do the same thing.
Man fuck all the downvoters, this is a perfectly valid question. If they started a haka competition people wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss this.
To answer you question, no idea, never thought of it. I’m pretty ignorant of break culture but I’d be interested to hear what those in the culture think of it’s inclusion.
It’s dancing. It’s in the name. It’s not a sport, it’s a dance. I’m expecting next Olympics to have line dancing, maybe Tex Mex and a twerking event, since I guess a dance is a sport now.
I think dance is a valid sport. Synchronized swimming is water line dancing and figure skating can be classified as dancing on ice. All in all if you think it does not require the kind of dedication that other sports take, you are plain wrong.
Ice dancing has been an event in the winter Olympics since 1976. Not just figure skating, it’s literally called ice dancing.
The only reason I wouldn’t be in favor of an Olympic chili cookoff is that the audience wouldn’t be able to taste the chili.
Figure skating is a dance. Hell, gymnastics is basically a dance as well.
Gymnasts and skaters aren’t t rex posing
It is a sport by definition. “An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.”
So fucking is a sport?
Well it won’t be coming back to the Olympics so I guess you can take comfort in that.
Weightlifting
It’s exercise. It’s in the name. It’s not a sport, it’s exercise. I’m expecting the next Olympics to have running, maybe swimming and a jumping event, since exercise is a sport now.
I really don’t know how to reply to 11 year olds
I do
I wish they would break apart events like this vs “serious” competitive sports away from each other and the Olympics. Some events/sports have verifiable results, like somebody ran this fast in this amount of time, somebody lifted this amount of kg of weights, actual results that are in some sense pushing the limits of what humans are capable of.
Then you have the artistic, interpretive events, though they still require alot of talent and skill, you can’t quantify them, you can’t measure them in any meaningful way. They’re judged subjectively using whatever standards were developed probably decades ago. I’m sure they’re great to watch for fans of those events, but they don’t feel like they’re pushing any limits of human expression or anything, the Olympics is way too sanitized for anything like that.
I don’t know what the solution though is, hold two sets of Olympics, the Sports Olympics and the Artsy Olympics (four total with seasonal olympics)? I think it’s too much of a world tradition at this point, but it bothers me that they’re all considered at the “same level”.
How is this a flipping Olympic sport…ffs🤦🏻♂️
It’s just as much a sport as figure skating or synchronised swimming.
Which also shouldn’t be sports. Yes they’re hard to do. But if the scoring is mostly based on style it’s not a sport. That’s a hobby that got out of hand and over competitive.
sport: an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
Physical exertion ✅
Skill ✅
Competition ✅
Entertainment ✅You’re free to dislike judged sports, but they’re still sports.
If it takes a panel of judges to determine style points it shouldn’t be in the Olympics.
Well I think we can all agree not to put you in charge of any important decisions after today.
https://sh.itjust.works/post/23529892
It’s not a hot take to want consistency. When judges determine if your gesticulations were the correct ones it shouldn’t be in the Olympics.
Thank you for your UNSOLICITED AND SUBJECTIVE OPINION.
After brief consideration, I have determined it to be of absolutely no worth to me, but your very singular wit is welcome to it.
That’s literally how the Olympics has always been. You’re basically saying the Olympics shouldn’t be the Olympics.
No it’s not. Wrestling doesn’t involve style points. Track and field don’t either. I’ve never seen judges grade marathon runners on their form.
High jump has judges, so does boxing. I’d say both are sports people would expect in the olympics.
Yes it is because, again, the Olympics have always been like this. You tell me one Olympics where that was not the case.
Style points are awarded in multiple Olympic sports including gymnastics, BMX freestyle, sychronized swimming, certain diving categories, and in winter sports like freestyle skiing, figure skating, and snowboarding.
If you have a problem with that don’t watch those Olympic sports.
I don’t. But it’s still dumb they’re in when other non-judged sports that should be aren’t.
This lemmy will look you dead in the eye and say that skateboarding and surfing aren’t sports because they also use judge based scores.
No I’m saying they shouldn’t be in the Olympics
I really hate this take, the Olympics isn’t just about physical sports, it’s also about human skill, and determination. Both of which can be found in many different areas of expertise, including dancing. Not that the average person could even do this without a certain baseline level of fitness.
Not that the average person could even do this without a certain baseline level of fitness.
And that’s a huge understatement. You need incredible core and upper body strength to do any of those holds. You need to have an elite level of fitness to compete at that level.
Because it takes a shit ton of skill and has been competitive since it started in the late 60s. Yes, it goes that far back.
idk dude, how does anything get to be an olympic sport? it gets popular enough and the olympic committee thinks it’ll draw a crowd and decides to include it. it’s not like there aren’t several other dance sports in the games already.
Can you do it?
No. They do enjoy armchair quarterbacking and back seat driving tho.
Because it’s incredibly athletic, which is what the Olympics is all about
I find it very interesting too that its a sport. Not because its dance but theres so many types of dancing… Salsa, ballroom, river dancing, swing, etc. Why is there only a certain type of dance for the Olympics?
