Who can beat Victor Montalvo at Paris 2024, dubbed the LeBron James of breakdancing?

Simply named 'breaking', here's what to know about the sport ahead of its Olympics debut

Follow the latest news on the 2024 Paris Olympics

Dancing is coming to the Paris Olympics with breaking set to make its debut.

Olympians, who hail from countries such as the US and Papua New Guinea, will face off in the event, which is known to most as breakdancing. It is held at the outdoor venue La Concord.

There will be four rounds held across five hours in which the athletes, known as B-Girls and B-Boys, will compete in on Friday and Saturday at the Games.

Judges will look out for executions of manoeuvres including the "top rock" (moves performed while standing up) and "down rock" (ones performed on the ground) as well as "the freeze", where the dancer suddenly stands still in an unusual position (on their hands or heads) in the middle of their routine.

The world’s top breakdancers are in Paris, with most competitors winning a string of national competitions in their respective countries to qualify.

Here are the main things to know.

Who is the favourite?

All eyes are locked on American Victor Montalvo, who is the reigning WDSF World Breaking Championship champion. Aged 30, his breaking career is akin to basketball superstar LeBron James. He seems to get better with age, having won the Red Bull BC One competition in 2015 before repeating the feat again in 2022. That year, he also won the breaking gold as part of the World Games in Birmingham.

Born in Florida to Mexican parents, he entered the scene after joining a local dance crew as a teenager. With Florida traditionally a breakdancing hotspot, Montalvo cut his teeth on the circuit and competed in local competitions known as cyphers. "I would sneak out of my house to go to different events around Florida, sometimes out of state, and [my father] would let me get away with that because I was doing something positive," he told Esquire. "My dad was always on the sidelines. He supported me 100 per cent. He tells me all the time: ‘I’m living my dreams through you.’”

In an interview with Red Bull’s website, Montalvo cites his disappointments as his biggest inspiration.

"I loved losing because it pushed me to do more,” he said. “I remember training hard, going to all these events and not placing and I’m like: 'I gotta go back and train harder.' Then I’d go into another event and place but lose. I’d be like: 'I gotta get better.' The more I started losing, the better I started getting.”

Who are the big three, the favourites for gold in breaking?

Montalvo is part of a group of elite B-Boys viewed as the big three of the scene.

Others vying for gold in Paris are former Canadian world champion Phil Kim, who goes by Phil Wizard, and Japan's star in the making Shigeyuki Nakarai, also known as Shigekix.

Phil Wizard of Team Canada. Getty Images

Phil Wizard began his dancing career in 2009 at 12 after being inspired by a breakdancing crew performing at a family wedding. He climbed the rankings in competitions before landing gold at the WDSF World Breaking Championships in 2022 in Seoul.

He also won the WDSF Pan American Breaking Championship in Santiago last year. "At any event that I go to, I’m going to do my thing. The majority of us are like that," he told Wired. "It’s your style versus someone else’s style, you know?"

Nakarai Shigeyuki, known as Shigekix, was the flagbearer for Team Japan at the Paris Olympics. AFP

Shigekix, Team Japan's flagbearer, is well on his way to becoming a world champion. Known for his dazzling footwork and ice-cold freeze technique, Shigekix established himself amongst the elite after winning gold at the 2022 Asian Games.

"I want to make breaking history," he told Myth interview. "I want to be someone that people talk about for ever."

Who will represent the Mena region?

Considering the vibrant state of North Africa’s dance scene, it is no surprise that Moroccan and Algerian dancers represent the region in breaking. Tawfiq Armani, who goes by TawqfiQ, hails from the popular Moroccan dance crew The Ruggeds. "I started dancing in 2006. The first ever move that I saw was a head spin and I just wanted to learn all those crazy power moves until it became a part of my life," he previously said.

Also from Morocco is Bilal Mallakh, 20, who dances as B-Boy Billy.

Representing Algeria are Mohamed Chakib, also known as B-Boy Chakib, and Fouad Ambelj, dancing under the name B-Boy Lil Zoo. Ambelj made his name winning the 2018 Red Bull BC One World Final in Switzerland. Chakib, meanwhile, won the 2019 Red Bull One Cypher competition in Algeria.

On the women's side, Salma Assmi, who goes by B-Girl Alma, is from Morocco. She came in fourth at last year's African Continental Championships. Also representing the country is Fatima El-Mamouny, 23.

How is the winner decided?

Breaking has athletes facing off against each other in multiple rounds lasting up to sixty seconds. Each battle is conducted in front of a panel of nine judges usually comprised of respected dancers. Unique to breaking is that the music competitors dance to is random, meaning they have to improvise moves on the spot.

Athletes are judged on six equally weighted criteria: originality (innovation and personality), technique (athleticism and control), vocabulary (the variety of each dancer's moves), execution (performing distinctly without mistakes) and musicality (synchronisation to the song playing).

The judges submit their score at the end of each round and the dancer with the highest points at the end is declared the winner.

What time and where to watch the breaking competition in the UAE?

The competition will take place at 6pm UAE time on Friday and Saturday and can be watched on Tod, an app from beIN Sports.