Banevic and Montalvo Secure Olympic Berth for Paris Games in 2021

LEUVEN, Belgium — Dominika Banevič from Lithuania and Victor Montalvo from the United States have both secured their spots in the 2021 Paris Olympics after winning the World Breaking Championship on Sunday.

Banevič, who is only 16 years old and also known as B-Girl Nicka, became the youngest participant in her category at the event held in Leuven, Belgium. In her final battle, she impressed the crowd by lifting herself up on her right arm and twisting her body almost completely around. Her opponent, Ayumi Fukushima from Japan, known as B-Girl Ayumi, expressed her appreciation with finger-clicking applause.

Montalvo, who is 29 years old and ranked No. 5 in the world, competed under the name B-Boy Victor. He was overjoyed after winning his battle and was lifted up in celebration by his opponent, Philip Kim from Canada, known as B-Boy Phil Wizard.

Breakdancing, a dance form that originated 50 years ago in the United States, will make its official debut at the Paris Games.

Qualification for the Olympics is determined by the rankings of the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), the International Olympic Committee-approved body that oversees breaking battles. Dancers need to win or perform well at WDSF-sanctioned events to earn qualifying points for the Paris Games. The top male and female breakers, known as b-boys and b-girls, competed in head-to-head contests in Leuven.

Unfortunately, none of the American b-girls made it to the top three spots.

Additional Olympic-qualifying competitions will be held in China and Chile through mid-December.

Further trials will be conducted in the early part of next year, running until June 2024. At the end of the process, 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls will compete over two days at Paris’ famous Place de la Concorde.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced three years ago that breaking would become an official Olympic sport.