Victor and Ami crowned World Urban Games champions
B-boy Victor from the USA and b-girl Ami from Japan today became the first ever Breaking champions at a World Urban Games (WUG).
The breakers wowed a large, enthusiastic crowd in Budapest, Hungary, with spirited performances in the finals of many very tight 1vs1 battles, with Victor outlasting b-boy Menno (Netherlands), who is no less than the 2019 WDSF World Breaking champion, and Ami defeating Sunny (USA). Ami and Sunny are reigning World Champion and Vice World Champion respectively.
In the bronze-medal battles, b-boy Bumblebee (Russia) beat Shigekix (Japan) while the youngest b-girl in the competition, 16 year-old Logistx (USA) overcame Kate (Ukraine).
B-boy Victor impressed the judges and spectators alike with his athletic skills, creativity and musicality. After the victory, he said: “It feels amazing. I was so excited after that final round that I wanted to go for more battles. I was really ready for it.” Asked about how he will enjoy his victory, he said: “I will celebrate now, have some fun, enjoy my time with my girlfriend who is here as well and call my family!”
Victor had won the Outbreak Europe event in July, through which he had qualified for the World Urban Games.
B-girl Ami never wavered throughout the day and said after defeating Sunny in the final: “I really enjoyed the final with Sunny, so I was already very happy before even knowing the result. We are all friends!” She added: “I just try to do my best and this time the music helped me a lot. The DJ and the live band were great, I enjoyed every bit of the competition.”
Also making it to the b-boy quarterfinals were Vero (Korea), Lussy Sky (Ukraine), Phil Wizard (Canada) and Icey Ives (USA). On the b-girl side, Ayane (Japan), Sarah Bee (France), San Andrea (France) and Queen Mary (Bulgaria) rounded out the top 8.
Hurricane, one of the three judges for Breaking at the World Urban Games, had this to say about the overall success of Breaking at the World Urban Games: “It was crazy and the tension was so high, even for the judges. We had to react very quickly, be fully concentrated and, at this level of competition, really focus on every detail to be considered for the voting. The battles were extremely tight. But the vibes were so nice, I appreciated this a lot. I think the quality of this event shows the potential for Breaking at the Olympic Games and what we can show to the world.”
For images of today’s Breaking events at the WUG please click here (to be credited to WUG Budapest 2019).
The inaugural edition of the World Urban Games (WUG), organised by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), is taking place in Budapest from 13 to 15 September 2019. The Breaking events featured the world’s best 32 b-boys and b-girls and were livestreamed on the Olympic Channel and breakingforgold.com, while the finals were broadcast live on Eurosport 2 with a replay set to air from 1 p.m. CET on Monday. A list of all the Breakers who competed at the first World Urban Games can be found here.
Other sports on the WUG programme include BMX Freestyle, Roller Freestyle, Parkour, 3X3 Basketball and Flying Disc Freestyle. In addition, indoor rowing and laser run are showcase sports.
Having Breaking featured on the programme of the World Urban Games was another exciting first for DanceSport. It followed the June decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to provisionally include Breaking on the sports programme of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, with a final decision set to be taken in December 2020.
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