Olympic Breakdancing: Paris competitors, how breaking was included in the games, and rules explained

Breakdancing, or 'breaking', is making its debut at the Paris Olympics. | Getty Images

Amidst the usual running, swimming, cycling and rowing, there is an eye-catching new sport at this summer’s Olympic Games.

Invented in New York in the late 1970s, breakdancing first came to prominence in the 1980s when it was a key part of the growing hip-hop musical movement.

Since then it has become a competitive sport, with huge competitions such as the annual Battle of the Year held in Montpellier in France attracting competitors from around the world.

And now breaking is to have its largest ever global audience, after being chose to make its debut at this year’s Paris Olympic Games.

Here’s everything you need to know.

How did breaking end up at the Games?

New sports can appear on the Olympic schedule after being approved by the International Olympic Committee following being proposed by sporting bodies.

Breaking was admitted on December 7, 2020, after being proposed by the World DanceSport Federation. Olympic chiefs have said that one of the main reasons for including it was to attract youngers viewers to the Olympics.

What other newer sports are appearing at the Paris Olympics

Alongside breaking, surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and 3x3 basketball are returning for their second Games.

When is the breaking taking place?

The competitions will be taking place at Paris’ Place de la Concorde, with the women’s competition on Friday, August 9, and the men’s event on Saturday, August 10. You can catch all the action on the BBC.

What is the format of the breaking competition?

Breaking competitions use a series of one-on-one matchups, known as battles - and each battle is a best of three rounds, or throwdowns.

Each throwdown last for up to 60 seconds and is performed to music chosen by the live DJ, after which the opposing competitor responds with another dance lasting up to a minute.

The 16 competitors in each competition will be separated into four groups of four, with a round robin of battles in each. The two top breakers in each group at the end of the round robin will advance into the quarter-finals stage, after which it will be a straight knock-out competition, including a bronze medal battle between the two losing semi-finalists.

How is breaking judged?

Five judges will mark the breakers on five criteria: technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality. Each criteria counts towards 20 per cent of the final score.

The judges use a ‘slider’ to judge as the dancing is happening in real time - with the winner being the breaker who does best over the three throwdowns.

Competitors may also be penalised for inappropriate behaviour - with judges having dedicated buttons to punish them.

What are the four elements of breaking?

There are four key components to breaking. Here’s what to look out for during the Olympic battles:

Toprock: Any part of the performance in a standing position - usually at the the start of the battle.

Downrock: Any movement where the hands are supporting the breaker as much as the feet.

Power moves: You’ll know them when you see them - they are the acrobatics moves that require “momentum, speed, endurance, strength, flexibility, and control” to execute.

Freezes: Poses where the breaker suspends himself or herself off the ground, holding in one postion.

Who is competing in the Paris Olympics breakdancing event?

Unfortuntely there are no Brits involved in the competition, but here are all 32 dancers (plus two reserves in case of injury) in the men’s and women’s compeitions who will be battling for gold.

Men’s competition

Victor Montalvo (US)
Bilal Mallakh (Morocco)
Danis Civil (France)
Jeffrey Dan Arpie Dunne (Australia)
Philip Kim (Canada)
Shigeyuki Nakarai (Japan)
Lee-Lou Demierre (Netherlands)
Kim Hongyul (South Korea)
Hiroto Ono (Japan)
Qi Xiangyu (China)
Jeffrey Louis (US)
Amir Zakirov (Kazakhstan)
Menno Van Gorp (Netherlands)
Sun Chen (Chinese Taipei)
Oleg Kuznietsov (Ukraine)
Dominika Banevič (Lithuania)
Gaëtan Alin (France, reserve)

Women’s competition

Dominika Banevič (Lithuania)
Sunny Choi (US)
Fatima Zahra El-Mamouny (Morocco)
India Sardjoe (Netherlands)
Liu Qingyi (China)
Rachael Gunn (Australia)
Ami Yuasa (Japan)
Ayumi Fukushima (Japan)
Sya Dembélé (France)
Logan Elanna Edra (US)
Zeng Yingying (China)
Kateryna Pavlenko (Ukraine)
Antilai Sandrini (Italy)
Vanessa Cartaxo (Portugal)
Anna Ponomarenko (Ukraine)
Manizha Talash (Refugee Olympic Team)
Carlota Dudek (France, reserve)