BREAKING AT PARIS 26 July – 11 August 2024. THE OLYMPICS QUALIFICATION SYSTEM EXPLAINED

A new sport will make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024 – and its name is breaking. It’s a mix of youthfulness, cool, thrills and excitement, but before you see it at the Games, another crucial battle must take place: the fight for Olympic qualification.

The revolution is here! At Paris 2024, breaking will make its debut on the programme of the Olympic Games

After the debuts of skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing at Tokyo 2020, as well as other urban disciplines such as BMX Freestyle and basketball 3×3, the Olympic Games in Paris will feature the sport of breaking following its Youth Olympic Games debut at Buenos Aires 2018.

Since the confirmation of its addition to the Olympic programme in 2020, the best B-Boys and B-Girls in the world have had their eyes on winning the first Olympic medals in their sport.

However, before any of that can happen, they will need to battle to qualify for the Games.

Keep reading to find out the answers to the main questions about the breaking qualification process and athletes to watch at Paris 2024.

HOW MANY ATHLETES WILL COMPETE IN BREAKING AT PARIS 2024?

A total of 32 athletes (16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls) will compete for the first-ever medals in Olympic breaking.

There will be a maximum of four athletes per NOC (two per gender), while host country France has secured two (one per gender) and the Tripartite Commission will allocate four Universality places (two per gender). To be eligible for a Universality place, athletes must participate in the Olympic Qualifier Series and finish in the top 24 in the final ranking of the OQS.

That leaves 26 quota places available, which will be allocated to athletes by name during the qualification period.

Although breaking is known as a youthful sport, not every break dancer is eligible to compete at the Games. Among other criteria, B-Boys and B-Girls must have been born on or before 31 December 2008.

WHAT IS THE QUALIFICATION PATHWAY TO PARIS 2024?

There will be three competitions in which the athletes can secure a slot for the debut of breaking at Paris 2024: The 2023 World Championship, the Continental Games/Championships and the Olympic qualifier series.

2023 World Championship

The B-Boy and B-Girl who are named champions at the WDSF 2023 World Championship, which will take place in Belgium from 23 to 24 September 2023, will secure quotas for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Continental Games/Continental Championships [Continental Qualifier]

A total of 10 athletes (five per gender)will obtain their quota from the Continental Games or Continental Championships of their regions. Always respecting the maximum of athletes per NOC, they will be the highest placed B-Boy and B-Girl in the following Continental Games/Championships:

  • Africa – 2023 WDSF African Breaking Championship: 12-13 May 2023, Rabat, Morocco
  • 21 June-2 July 2023: European Games, Krakow, Poland
  • 23 September – 8 October 2023, People’s Republic of China: Asia qualifier, Asian Games
  • 20 Oct-5 Nov 2023, Chile: Americas qualifier, Pan American Games
  • Oceania – Date and location TBD

There are two exceptions to take into account:

If the winners of these events have already secured their quota through the World Championship, the slot will be allocated to the next ranked eligible athlete, not yet qualified, at the same Continental Games/Championship.

If one continent doesn’t have a Continental Qualifier or there are no medal events for breaking in those Continental Games/Championships, the highest placed athlete at the WDSF Continental Breaking Championship 2023 of the respective continent will earn a ticket to Paris 2024.

Olympic Qualifiers Series (OQS)

From March to June 2024 the Olympic Qualifiers Series will take place, with the location yet to be confirmed. B-Boys and B-Girls not yet qualified will have their last opportunity in the OQS, which will offer the final 14 quotas available (seven per gender).

WHAT IS THE PARIS 2024 BREAKING COMPETITION FORMAT AND SCHEDULE?

There will be two breaking events at Paris 2024 – the men’s and women’s inpidual competitions. They will feature 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls who will fight to advance to the next rounds (or for the gold medal in the final) in face-to-face solo battles.

The debut of breaking at Paris 2024 will be long-awaited, not only because of the novelty it brings, but also because it will take place at the end of the Games. The whole breaking competition will take place between the 9 and 10 of August 2024.

The iconic Place de la Concorde will be the venue in which breaking will make its Olympic debut. It will be the epicentre of urban sports during the next Olympics as it will also host the BMX Freestyle, skateboarding and 3×3 basketball competitions.

Japanese breaking star Shigekix: “My goal in Paris 2024 is victory”

B-BOYS AND B-GIRLS TO WATCH AT PARIS 2024

Historically, the USA (where breaking was born in the 1970s), Japan and France are powerhouses of breaking, but little by little other countries have shown that their athletes are also ready for the battle. B-Boys and B-Girls from Latin American countries, Belgium, Spain and Italy – to name just a few – are also among the favourites when they compete in international competitions.

At Buenos Aires 2018 and the last World Championship, which took place in Paris in 2021, the medals were spread among athletes from several countries. And since the 2020 announcement that breaking would be a new Olympic sport, the NOCs have put more effort into developing the sport, meaning the competition in Paris 2024 is even more open.

At Buenos Aires 2018, B-Girl Ram of Japan was the star of the sport, winning every round she competed in during the women’s competition to take gold. Her first medal came when she topped the podium in the mixed competition alongside B-Boy B4(Vietnam), beating a team formed by B-Boy Broly (Argentina) and B-Girl Lexy (Italy) in the final.

At the World Championship 2021, female Japanese break dancers were again dominant.

B-Girl Ayumi (Japan) topped the women’s podium, after defeating compatriot B-Girl Ami in the final, who couldn’t defend the title she won in 2020. B-Girl Jilou (Germany) captured the bronze medal after a strong battle with B-Girl Anti (Italy).

However, Ami proved she is still among the B-Girls to watch after winning the gold medal at the recent World Games in July 2022, where she beat USA’s Sunny Choi.

Other B-Girls to take into account on the pathway to Paris 2024 are Madmax(Belgium), Sunny (USA), Paulina(Poland) and Furia (Spain), among others.

On the men’s side, the current world champion is B-Boy Victor (USA). The American won his first major title when he was 14 years old when he topped the podium at the 2011 Red Bull BC One Tampa Cypher. Since then, Victor’s career has been all about success, including winning the world crown in 2021, the 2019 World Urban Games title and the recent World Games title in 2022.

He won the gold medal in the World Championships in Paris ahead of Phil Wizard(Canada), who came second, and B-Boy Amir (Kazakhstan), who finished third. 

At the World Games in 2022 he battled against his compatriot Jeffrey Louis in the final.

Other competitors that you’ll want to keep an eye on include Luan San(Brazil), XAK and Johnny Fox (Spain), Dany Dann (France) and Mini Joe(Venezuela).

Although the qualification process for Paris 2024 does not start until 2023, there are some big competitions to mark on your calendar if you don’t want to miss the performances of the best B-Boys and B-Girls, including the 2022 World Championships (21-22 October, Seoul).

BREAKING QUALIFICATION TIMELINE TO PARIS 2024

  • 12-13 May 2023: WDSF African Breaking Championships, Rabat, Morocco
  • 21 June-2 July 2023: Europe Continental Qualifier
  • 22-24 September 2023, Belgium: WDSF World Championships
  • 23 September – 8 October 2023, People’s Republic of China: Asia qualifier, Asian Games
  • 20 Oct-5 Nov 2023, Chile: Americas qualifier, Pan American Games
  • Date and location TBD: Oceania Continental Qualifier
  • March-June 2024, locations TBD: Olympic Qualifier Series
  • Within three days after the event: The WDSF publishes the event results on their website
  • Within five days after the event: The WDSF confirms in writing to the NOCs the quota places obtained
  • Two weeks after the event: The NOCs to confirm to the WDSF the use of the allocated quota places
  • Within five days after the previous step: WDSF to reallocate all unused quota places
  • Date TBC: The Tripartite Commission to confirm in writing the allocation of Universality Places to the NOCs (where applicable)
  • Day TBC in June 2024: WDSF reallocate all unused quota places
  • 8 July 2024: Paris 2024 Sport Entries deadline
  • 26 July – 11 August 2024: **Paris 2024 Olympic Games **