Sunny Choi has received clear instructions from her fellow New Yorkers: Bring home a gold medal, to where her sport began.
“I don’t know how often people are like, ‘You don’t have a choice.’ Like, you have to bring it home to New York,” said the 35-year-old wrestler, who was born in Tennessee but now lives in Queens.
Choi is one of four Team USA b-boys and b-girls, as competitors are known, compete on Olympics in Paris 2024. At a press conference on Tuesday, they all expressed their pride in being able to represent the roots of the sport, also known as breakdancing, in its Summer Games debut.
“[We] try and respect where we come from, where this dance comes from, and want to bring some of that shine back to the community as we go into this on the big stage,” Choi said.
Although the sport has its roots in 1960s New York, there have been international competitions since the 90s and the sport appeared in 2018 at the Youth Olympics. Now, in 2024, it goes on its biggest stage yet.
“We’re going to have all eyes on us, so I just want to make sure everyone understands what this dance is about and what hip-hop is about, because it’s about peace, unity and having fun,” said fellow Team USA breaker Viktor Montalvo.
A DJ will spin the music – breakers will not know the selections in advance – as the competition takes place on the Place de la Concorde.
“It’s going to feel like a party,” said breaker Jeffrey Louis, “from the DJ providing the music, the vibe, we’ve got the dancers, we’ve got the crowd.”
As Montalvo puts it: “We’ve already made history, so why not enjoy it?”
What is the schedule for mining and when does it start?
The ladies’ competition starts at 10 a.m. ET on Friday, and the final battle takes place at 3:23 PM ET. The men’s events take place at the same times Saturday.
During the five hours of competition, the 16 wrestlers will start in groups of four with one-minute bouts. Dancers are judged by a panel of judges on their musicality, vocabulary, originality, technique and execution. The top two from each group advance to the quarterfinals and then the semifinals, with the best-of-three medal round deciding who takes home the gold.