Neighbours in New York have given Sunny Choi very clear instructions: return home with a gold medal to the place where her sport began.
You really have no choice, I’m not sure how frequently people say that. The 35-year-old Tennessee-born burglar, who now resides in Queens, said, “Like, you’ve got to bring it home for New York.”
At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Choi is one of four Team USA athletes, also referred to as b-boys and b-girls. They all expressed their delight at being able to represent the origins of the sport, also known as breakdancing, in its Summer Games debut during a news conference on Tuesday.
“[We] try and pay respect to where we’re coming from, where this dance comes from, and want to put some of that shine back onto the community as we go onto this on the big stage,” said Choi.
The sport first emerged in the Youth Olympics Games in 2018, although it has been around since the 1960s in New York and has been part of international events since the 1990s. It’s already reaching its greatest level to yet, in 2024.
“We’re going to have all eyes on us, so I just want to make sure that everyone understands what this dance is about and what hip hop is about, because it’s all about peace, unity and having fun,” Viktor Montalvo, a teammate, said.
The music for the tournament will be spun by a DJ on the Place de la Concorde; breakers will not be aware of the songs in beforehand.
“It’s going to feel like a party,” said Jeffrey Louis, the breaker, “from the DJ who’s providing the music, the vibe, we have the dancers, we have the crowd.”
“We already made history, so why not enjoy it?” is how Montalvo phrased it.
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When does the break start and what is the timetable for it?
At 10 a.m. ET on Friday, the women’s tournament gets underway, and the championship match is scheduled for 3:23 p.m. ET. On Saturday, the events for men begin and end at the same timings.
Groups of four breakers will begin one-minute clashes over the five hours of play. Judges rate the dancers according to their technical proficiency, execution, creativity, musicality, and vocabulary. Gold will be decided in a best-of-three medal round, with the top two from each group moving on to the quarterfinals and semifinals.