Canada B-boy pips home favourite to breaking gold - RTHK
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Canada B-boy pips home favourite to breaking gold

2024-08-11 HKT 04:49
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  • Phil Wizard watches on as Dany Dann unleashes a series of moves in the gold medal battle. Photo: Reuters
    Phil Wizard watches on as Dany Dann unleashes a series of moves in the gold medal battle. Photo: Reuters
Canada's B-Boy Phil Wizard won the inaugural Olympic men's breakdancing gold in Paris on Saturday, beating home favourite Dany Dann of France in the final.

Phil Wizard, whose real name is Philip Kim, triumphed amid the opulent grandeur of the Place de la Concorde, with B-Boy Victor of the United States taking bronze.

Also known as breaking, the street dance is making its first and possibly last appearance at the Games, having been left off the programme for Los Angeles 2028.

The men's competition saw 16 dancers - or B-Boys - going head-to-head in a series of battles, starting with a round robin before moving to a knock-out stage.

Phil Wizard, a 27-year-old former world champion, had the crowd against him in the final against Dany Dann, a 36-year-old with blue hair whose real name is Danis Civil.

But the Canadian soon had them eating out of his hand thanks to his incredible routine, for which the nine judges awarded him a 3-0 victory.

Phil Wizard explained 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 Nicka in the final. (AFP)

Canada B-boy pips home favourite to breaking gold