Paris Olympics: Here's why breakdancing might be one of sports at 2024 games

BREAKDANCING has been proposed as one of the new sports to be included in the 2024 Olympic Games, organisers have announced.
Pro breakdancer Sasha Biloshitsky entertained the crowd in Portsmouth's Guildhall Square. Picture: Will CaddyPro breakdancer Sasha Biloshitsky entertained the crowd in Portsmouth's Guildhall Square. Picture: Will Caddy
Pro breakdancer Sasha Biloshitsky entertained the crowd in Portsmouth's Guildhall Square. Picture: Will Caddy

The summer games are set to take place in Tokyo next year and the torch will then be passed on to Paris. 

The International Olympic Committee will consider proposals from four sports looking to be added to the 2024 games including breakdancing, surfing, climbing and skateboarding. 

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They must reach a decision by December 2020 on which to include for the Paris games. 

Surfing, sport climbing and skateboarding will make their Olympic debuts in Tokyo next year.

Breakdancing was included in the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018.

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Russia's Sergei Chernyshev won the first breakdancing - known as 'breaking' - gold medal for boys, with Japan's Ramu Kawai winning the girls' title.

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Paco Boxy, director of the British Breaking League which organises competitions across the UK, said he was delighted by the news.

‘For me personally I think it's fantastic news, not only for the young generation but also for the credibility of breakdancing to be classed as a sport,’ the 35-year-old told Press Association Sport.

‘A lot of people will look at breakdancing as just spinning on your head or doing the worm, but the people that I know train like athletes. They go to the gym swimming, train every day.

‘For this to go in the Olympics is massive, absolutely humongous.’

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The governing bodies of karate and squash have expressed their disappointment at not being considered for Paris 2024.

Karate was one of five sports, along with baseball/softball, skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing, added to the programme for Tokyo.

Surfing, climbing and skateboarding have also been proposed for 2024, but karate has missed out and squash continues to be excluded.

A statement from World Karate Federation president Antonio Espinos read: ‘Our sport has grown exponentially over the last years and we still haven't had the chance to prove our value as an Olympic sport since we will be making our debut as an Olympic discipline in Tokyo 2020.

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‘Over the last months we have worked relentlessly, together with the French Federation, to achieve our goal of being included in Paris 2024.

‘We believed that we had met all the requirements and that we had the perfect conditions to be added to the sports programme. However, we have learned today that our dream will not be coming true.’

In a joint statement, the World Squash Federation and PSA World Tour said they heard the announcement ‘with great disappointment’.

‘The proposed list of four sports only, of which three sports are already confirmed by the IOC on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic programme, leads to a belief that Paris 2024 and the IOC favoured sports already in the Olympic programme, leaving practically no opportunity for other sports,’ the organisations added.