Breakdancing Debuts in Olympics, Viewers Share Mixed Reactions and Memes

Breaking, or breakdancing, made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, sparking considerable buzz on social media.

The competition kicked off on Friday with a special introduction by Snoop Dogg, an iconic figure of the Olympics. B-girls from around the world were the first to hit the international dance floor, with the men’s competition scheduled for Saturday, August 10.

Despite some viewers being uncertain about what to expect, the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. The event has generated numerous viral memes, entertaining commentary, and highlighted exceptional dancers like Team Australia’s Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun.

Actor-rapper Ice-T expressed his enthusiasm on social media, stating, “Olympic BreakDancing starts Today! 10am Eastern Time… This is gonna blow the minds of people that haven’t seen breaking in a while… INCREDIBLE All Respect to HIPHOP.”

Team USA was represented by Victor Montalvo, Sunny Choi, Logan Edra, and Jeffrey Louis. However, it was Gunn who captured significant attention online, especially for her performance against Edra, Lithuania’s Dominika Banevič, and France’s Sya Dembélé.

Videos showcasing Gunn’s dance moves rapidly circulated on social media. Sports commentator Pat McAfee joined the conversation, remarking, “We’ve all been kind of intrigued by this Breaking being an Olympic sport because we believe this potentially sets a precedent for other artistic forms.” After watching a video of Gunn, he added, “Maybe my new favorite sport. I did not know there was going to be a fish flop as one of the moves, fish on the boat flop. … Congrats on being an Olympian.”

Comedian-actor Roy Wood Jr. noted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that some videos of Gunn had been removed from the platform, though the reason for this wasn’t immediately clear. He humorously commented, “That breakdancer called Twitter on y’all.”

Before the competition, Gunn, who is also a university lecturer, spoke to CNBC about her intense preparation for the Paris Games. “In breaking, you just never know what’s going to happen on the day. You always have to be prepared. I knew the stakes were higher for the Olympic qualifiers, and prepared 10 different sets and made sure I included all the elements and moves in the rounds,” she said. “I really, really, wanted it, and so I fought really hard throughout the competition and just put everything out there.”

Ultimately, Japan’s Ami Yuasa won the gold medal in the B-girls competition, with Banevič taking silver and China’s Liu Qingyi earning bronze.

Source: Variety