Canadian breaker B-Boy Phil Wizard (Philip Kim) on Saturday conjured up a gold medal and a ticket to the Paris Olympics, taking top spot on the podium in the first Pan American Games breakdancing competition.
The US’ B-Girl Sunny (Grace Choi) is also going to Paris after she claimed the women’s gold on a historic day for a sport that is facing an uncertain future.
Break dancing’s addition to the Paris Olympic program raised eyebrows among traditionalists, but its status as an official sport might be short-lived after being passed over for inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Photo: AP
With the possibility of break dancing being one-and-done as an Olympic sport, the Pan American Games took on greater significance with gold medalists getting a coveted quota spot and a chance to perhaps go down in history as the sport’s only Olympic champion.
“Honestly the Olympic place means more to me, I want to be there, I want to be part of history,” said Kim, after adding Pan American gold to his world championship title from last year.
“To be completely honest I had already secured my spot because Victor [Montalvo] from the US had already won the world championships, so two US people cannot get a direct quota in breaking,” Kim said. “Going into the finals I had already secured my spot, but it gave me more of push because it would have been bitter sweet to secure my place and lose the battle.”
Known for his creativity Kim blended artistry and athleticism in his gold medal battle with the US B-Boy Jeffro (Jeffrey Lewis) earning a perfect 3-0 score from the nine judges.
“My focus has always been respecting myself,” the 26-year-old Canadian said. “The way I approach breaking is always originality and creativity first, because that is just what I like doing and I think I presented that today.”
“To be a part of history for me really means the world,” he added.
The Rakuten Monkeys on Sunday downed the CTBC Brothers 2-1, handing the hosts their second consecutive loss in the best-of-seven CPBL Taiwan Series at the Taipei Dome. Monkeys’ ace starter Pedro Fernandez of the Dominican Republic dominated on the mound, cruising through six scoreless innings before giving up a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning. He gave up only three hits and walked two batters in a 93-pitch outing, giving his Taoyuan-based team an edge. Offensively, the Monkeys’ leadoff batter Lin Li hit Brothers starter Brandon Leibrandt’s pitch over the center-field wall in the game’s first at-bat,
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
Rafael Leao on Sunday shot AC Milan to the top of Serie A with a brace in a 2-1 win over ACF Fiorentina who were enraged by the “scandalous” awarding of the penalty that decided the game. Portugal winger Leao pushed Milan one point ahead of local rivals Inter, SSC Napoli and AS Roma with a coolly taken spot-kick, given for what looked like a soft foul on Santiago Gimenez by Fabiano Parisi, with four minutes remaining. That goal capped a fine first league start of the season for Leao and came after he drew the hosts level with a brilliantly struck
Sean Dyche on Thursday achieved in his first game with Nottingham Forest what predecessor Ange Postecoglou could not in eight matches in charge: Win. Under its new coach, Nottingham Forest presented a concentrated display resulting in a 2-0 victory over Porto in the UEFA Europa League. It was the first victory for Nottingham in the competition and only the second overall this season, while Porto were defeated for the first time this season. Morgan Gibbs-White converted from the penalty spot in the 19th minute at the City Ground in West Bridgford, England. Igor Jesus doubled the advantage from another penalty in the 77th
RSS