Organized by the International Dance Sport Federation (WDSF), the competition is one of the highlights of the world ranking, which will be closed at the end of the year: the 14 best of each gender (female and male) will access the Contestation Olympic qualification in 2024. Also called the Olympic Qualification System (OQS), the qualification will distribute 14 places for the Paris Games. In addition to the Brazilians, the event will bring together athletes from the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, China, France, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Spain , Kazakhstan and Colombia.

Among the world stars of the edition of the Breaking for Gold Series in Rio are the Canadian Phil Wizard, world champion last year, and the Kazakh B-Boy Amir, champion of the first stage of the circuit, disputed in February, in Kitakyushu (Japan). Other representatives of the men’s competition are B-Boy Lussy Sky (Ukraine) and B-Boy Xak (Spain). Among women, the athletes most cited for the title are B-Girl India (Netherlands), European champion, and two great Japanese rivals: B-Girl 671 (ranking finalist) and B-Girl Ami.

“After the World Championship and the Continental Championship for the category, which directly [para Paris 2024], the World Series are the main stages in the classification of B.Boys and B.Girls who want to be in Paris in 2024 and Brazil will host one of them. We are very happy to have the privilege of hosting this event and the athletes of the world looking for the Olympic dream at home and, of course, rooting a lot for our Brazil team,” said José Bispo de Assis, Technical Director breaking at the Conselho National de Dança Desportiva (CNDD).

Brazilian team

Brazil will have six athletes (male and female), aged 19 to 35, in the fight for the title in the Rio stage. Among the B-Boys are Luan San from São Paulo (Brazilian champion), Leony from Pará and Rato EVN from Minas Gerais. For women, the selection includes Nathana from Minas Gerais, Mini Japa from Pará and Toquinha from São Paulo.

“Being in this championship is very important for me, because I represent a group, the community where I live, Brazil. It’s a chance that I have to show the result of my training. I go upstairs to get the points I need [nas classificatórias] of 2024”, projects B-Girl Toquinha, who met while working on a social project in Perus, a neighborhood located about 27 kilometers from the capital of São Paulo.

With an eye on Paris

After the Brazilian success in the debut of skateboarding and surfing at the Tokyo Olympics – in the Asian Sea, the country won gold with Ítalo Ferreira, and on the tracks won two silver medals with Rayssa Leal and Kelvin Hoefler – waiting for a medal at the beginning from the station wagon to the Paris Games.

The Games will only have 32 athletes (men and women) from the modality. Each National Olympic Committee will only be entitled to four seats (two per gender). The main criterion for an athlete to fight for an Olympic spot in breaking in Paris is to be born before December 31, 2008.

In addition to the Breaking for For Gold Series stages that award leaderboard points, check out the calendar this year – the definition of vacancies will take place in three competitions. The world championship – between September 23 and 14, in Belgium – will give two places, one per gender, to the winners. The continental championships (Africa, Europe, Asia, Pan American Games and continental Oceania) will define another 10 places. Finally, the last chance for the B-Boys and B-Girls to stamp their passport to the Paris Games will be in the qualifier – the Olympic Qualification System (OQS) – in the first half of 2024, which will distribute 14 places.