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Sports

Breakdancing being considered for 2024 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee has the final say, but local organizers are pushing for the old-school form on display for Paris games.

Breakdancing proposed for 2024 Olympic Games

Feb. 22, 201900:43

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Feb. 22, 2019, 4:17 PM UTC
By David K. Li and Associated Press

Is the world ready to pop and lock for gold?

Olympic organizers in Paris formally submitted breakdancing as a new competition they want to introduce to the games when they come to the City of Lights in summer 2024.

The International Olympic Committee has the final say, but won't consider it — or any other proposed new games — until after the 2020 Tokyo Games are completed. The mere proposal making it this far is a major triumph for breakdance advocates.

"It's a victory for us. Even if it goes no further, we'll still have won," said noted breaker Mounir Biba, who lives in France.

In competitive breakdancing, breakers would face off in "battles" as individuals and teams. It's a judged event with competitors busting acrobatic moves to DJ beats.

It was among the sports played at the 2018 Youth Olympics Games in Buenos Aires.

The B-Girls gold at the 2018 Youth Games was won by Japanese breaker Ramu Kawai, best known as "Ram." The B-Boys gold was captured by Sergei "Bumblebee" Chernyshev of Russia.

"There's simply no doubt about the athletic aspects of the discipline," Biba said, firing back at critics who question whether breaking is a sport.

He challenged world-class athletes to pull off breakdance moves.

"I defy Cristiano Ronaldo to do just one of my movements," Biba said, in reference to the world famous Portuguese soccer player.

Backers of breakdancing said their sport would bring in younger fans and take relatively little space to conduct.

Skateboarding, climbing and surfing were also proposed by Paris organizers. Sports that didn't make the cut for Paris included billiards, chess, karate and squash.

"We are pleased to see that Paris 2024′s proposal for new sports to the Olympic programme is very much in line with the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020, which is striving to make the Olympic programme gender-balanced, more youth-focused and more urban," the IOC said in a statement.

David K. Li

David K. Li is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

Associated Press
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