Breakdancing (also known as Breaking) made history this summer as the first ever ‘dancesport’ discipline to debut in the Summer Olympic games, writes Matthew Pescod.
The sport first appeared at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and was introduced as one of the three ‘bonus’ sports for Paris 2024, alongside climbing and surfing.
At its best, breaking combines the impressive athleticism of a traditional gymnastic routine with showmanship.
Unfortunately, not everyone was convinced.
Some blame can be put on Australia’s Rachel Gunn (performer name ‘Raygun’) who went viral for her ’embarrassing’ routine, scoring ZERO points from the judges.
Other criticism stems from the opinion that breaking isn’t a ‘traditional’ sport like swimming or track & field events.
Whilst Raygun’s routine went viral for the wrong reasons, it played NO part in getting breaking removed from the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) released their full list of sports for LA 2028 in 2022, approving five additional sports in 2023:
- Baseball/Softball
- Cricket
- Flag Football
- Lacrosse
- Squash
Despite this setback, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) has since stated that they are committed to pushing for the re-inclusion of breaking in the 2032 Summer Olympics held in Brisbane.
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