Canada’s B-Boy Phil Wizard on Saturday won the inaugural Olympic men’s breaking gold in Paris, and said he hoped it “opens doors to people” involved in the high-energy dance sport.
Phil Wizard, whose real name is Philip Kim, beat France’s B-Boy Dany Dann in the final amid the opulent grandeur of the Place de La Concorde, with B-Boy Victor of the US taking bronze.
Breaking, better known as breakdancing, is making its first and possibly last appearance at the Olympics, having been left off the program for Los Angeles 2028.
Photo: AP
Phil Wizard said breaking is “an underappreciated sport” and he hopes its Olympic debut changes people’s minds.
“I hope that today was a perfect example of showing the world how incredible breaking is — that was truly my only goal here,” said the 27-year-old, a former world champion.
“I’m so grateful and so happy to come out with the win, but more than anything I just wanted to show the world what breaking is,” he said.
The competition saw 16 dancers, known as B-Boys, going head-to-head in a series of battles, starting with a pool stage before moving to a knock-out round.
Phil Wizard had the crowd against him in the final against local hero Dany Dann, a 36-year-old with blue hair whose real name is Danis Civil.
However, the Canadian soon had them eating out of his hand thanks to his incredible routine, for which the judges awarded him a 3-0 victory.
“I was stressed out of my mind,” Phil Wizard said. “It’s been a whirlwind of emotion. I cried my eyes out because I was so scared to do this.”
“There’s been a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations — I’m glad I was able to deliver,” he added.
Danny Dann, a former European champion, said he felt like he had “represented breaking” to the world.
“I’m delighted, I really didn’t think I would win this medal,” he said. “I just went there to see how things would go and I’m going home with a silver medal.”
Despite the spectacular moves on show, Phil Wizard said the panel of judges were looking for “something new every round.”
“You may well think it’s the most explosive, crazy dynamic movements that score the most points,” he said. “But in breaking there’s a lot of different categories, and the most important thing is originality and diversity of movement.”
Japan’s B-Girl Ami won the women’s gold on Friday, beating Lithuania’s B-Girl Nicka in the final.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
RSS