Breaking at Olympics live updates: Japan's Ami beats Lithuania's Nicka to win gold medal

PARIS — A 25-year-old from Japan won the first Olympic gold medal in breaking Friday night at the 2024 Paris Games .

B-Girl Ami, whose legal name is Ami Yuasa, defeated B-Girl Nicka of Lithuania in the gold-medal battle at La Concorde, drawing oohs and aahs from the crowd with a combination of power moves and top-rocking style.

B-Girl 671 of China defeated B-Girl India of the Netherlands to win bronze, while the two Americans in the 16-woman field, B-Girl Sunny and B-Girl Logistx , both failed to advance past the round-robin stage. The competition started with a round-robin tournament, four groups of four breakers, with each one going two rounds against the other three in their group. From there, the top two B-Girls in each group — as determined by who won the most rounds — advanced to the quarterfinals. The quarters, semis and finals were three rounds in a traditional bracket style.

The B-Boy competition is Saturday.

B-Girl Ami was the No. 1 ranked breaker in Olympic qualifying and showed why throughout the course of the evening, emerging from the round-robin portion without losing a single round and then toppling B-Girl Sissy of France, who had the advantage of the hometown crowd. The 25-year-old had previously been a force on the Red Bull circuit, which has historically been the pinnacle for competitive breakers. She won the Red Bull BC One event in both 2018 and 2023, when it was held in Paris.

Here are highlights from the full night of breaking.

Japan's Ami wins breaking gold medal battle

It was B-Girl Ami of Japan against B-Girl Nicka of Lithuania in the gold-medal breaking battle. And if you were watching or following along throughout the competition, that won't come as a big surprise.

With International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach bobbing his head and clapping from the stands, Ami defeated B-Girl India in the semis, while Nicka's smooth, patient approach to her battle with B-Girl 671 of China put her through. Ami ultimately came out on top.

Where did breakdancing originate?

In the Bronx in the 1980s, DJ Kool Herc elongated the breaks in the beat – hence the term breaking – long enough for people to drop to the floor and start dancing. The breaks he invented became known as the "go off," a phrase that has found life generations after its origination. Read Chris Bumbaca's feature on the origins of breaking and how it spread globally.

Why is breakdancing an Olympic sport?

Breaking is part of the new wave of sports that the International Olympic Committee has ushered in as part of a broader effort to appeal to younger fans and add an urban flair to the Summer Games. It follows the addition of sports such as skateboarding and surfing, which debuted at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

When is breakdancing competition in the Olympics?

The B-Girls are competed Friday, the B-Boys go Saturday, Aug. 10. The breaking competitions at the 2024 Paris Games will all be televised live on E!, with the women's competition slated to begin around 10 a.m. ET on Friday and conclude with the finals, which start at 2 p.m. ET. The men's competition will take place at the same times Saturday.

Breaking bracket, semifinal results

We got down to the final four B-Girls as the sun began to set at La Concorde. B-Girl Ami (Japan) and B-girl Nicka (Lithuania) both coasted into the semifinals after dominant quarterfinal wins and went on to win their semifinals, too. They faced B-Girl India of the Netherlands and B-Girl 671 of China, respectively, in the semis. Each battle was three rounds.

• Japan's Ami def. Netherlands' India, 2-1
• Lithuania's Nicka def. China's 671, 2-1

Breaking bracket, quarterfinal results

Here are the scores for the quarterfinals. Each battle was three rounds.

• Japan's Ami def. France's Syssy, 3-0
• Netherlands' India def. Japan's Ayumi, 2-1
• China's 671 def. Ukraine's Kate, 3-0
• Lithuania's Nicka def. China's Ying Zi, 3-0

What are breakers signaling during battles?

The B-Girls breaking quarterfinals are underway, with B-Girl Ami of Japan having just swept B-Girl Sissy of France to become the first to punch her ticket to the semifinals.

As the competition heats up, it's as good a time as any to explain the reactions you might notice from one dance as the other is competing — specifically two fingers or a wag of one. Breakers sometimes do this to signal to the judges that their opponent is repeating a move or combination of moves. As the competition progresses, the "vocabulary" category should play a larger role — effectively punishing breakers for continuing to do the same moves over and over again.

USA's Sunny Choi, Logan Edra knocked out in round-robin stage

Team USA will miss out on the podium in breaking after both of its B-Girls, Sunny and Logistx, failed to advance past the round-robin stage.

B-Girl Logistx ultimately fell victim to a brutal draw, having to go against two of the clear contenders for medals: B-Girl Nicka of Lithuania and B-Girl Syssy of France. Logistx, whose real name is Logan Edra, lost her battle to Nicka, 2-0, and needed to sweep Syssy in her third round — which was always going to be tough, given Syssy's talent and the support of a hometown crowd. They ended up splitting the two rounds, leaving Logistx just short of the top eight.

B-Girl Sunny, meanwhile, brought some artistry and character to the stage but simply couldn't match the power moves of some of her competitors. She was eliminated from quarterfinal contention even before her third battle, which she won, defeating Portugal's Vanessa, 2-0.

Breaking at Olympics results, scores

Here are the round robin battle results. There were two rounds per battle, 18 total votes up for grabs, nine per round.

• Lithuania’s Nicka 1 (11 votes) vs. France’s Syssy 1 (7 votes), Group B
• USA’s Logistx 2 (18) vs. Australia’s Raygun 0 (0), Group B
• Japan’s Ami 2 (17) vs. Italy’s Anti 0 (1), Group C
• China’s Ying Zi 2 (18) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (0), Group C
• Japan’s Ayumi 1 (10) vs. Ukraine’s Stefani 1 (8), Group D
• Ukraine’s Kate 2 (15) vs. France’s Carlota 0 (3), Group D
• China’s 671 2 (16) vs. USA’s Sunny 0 (2), Group A
• Netherlands' India 2 (15) vs. Portugal’s Vanessa 0 (3), Group A
• Lithuania’s Nicka 2 (13) vs. USA's Logistix 0 (5), Group B
• France’s Syssy 2 (18) vs. Australia’s Raygun 0 (0), Group B
• Japan’s Ami 2 (18) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (0), Group C
• China’s Ying Zi 2 (16) vs. Italy’s Anti 0 (2), Group C
• Ukraine’s Kate 1 (12) vs. Japan’s Ayumi 1 (6), Group D
• Ukraine’s Stefani 2 (12) vs. France’s Carlota 0 (6), Group D
• China’s 671 2 (14) vs. Portugal’s Vanessa 0 (4), Group A
• Netherlands' India 2 (18) vs. USA’s Sunny 0, Group A
• Lithuania’s Nicka 2 (18) vs. Australia’s Raygun 0 (0), Group B
• USA’s Logistx 1 (10) vs. France’s Syssy 1 (8), Group B
• Japan’s Ami 2 (17) vs. China’s Ying Zi 0 (1), Group C
• Italy’s Anti 2 (16) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (2), Group C
• Japan’s Ayumi 2 (15) vs. France’s Carlota 0 (3), Group D
• Ukraine’s Stefani 1 (10) vs. Ukraine’s Kate 1 (8), Group D
• Netherlands' India 2 (15) vs. China’s 671 0 (3), Group A
• USA’s Sunny 2 (13) vs. Portugal’s Vanessa 0 (5)

Team Refugee athlete wears ‘Free Afghan Women’ cape

Manizha Talash, or “B-Girl Talash,” represented the Refugee Olympic Team at these Games and participated in the first battle in Olympic history during a pre-tournament qualifier. During the third round, Talash – who now resides in Spain – donned a “Free Afghan Women” cape.

The cape appeared to be a blatant violation of Rule 50 of the Olympic charter, which prohibits political protests or messaging on the field of play. The IOC, which created the Refugee Olympic Team, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. And Talash was whisked past print reporters in the mixed zone without taking questions.

"What she did on stage I think is enough," a man accompanying her said.

The Netherlands’ India Sardjoe, or “B-Girl India,” defeated Talash in the three-round pre-qualifier to eliminate the Refugee Olympic Team breaker from the competition.

Netherlands' India wins opening breaking battle

Manizha Talash, “B-Girl Talash,” represented the refugee team at these Games and participated in the first battle in Olympic history during a pre-tournament qualifier. During the third round, Talash – who now resides in Spain – donned a “Free Afghan Women” cape.

The Netherlands’ India Sardjoe, “B-Girl India,” defeated her 27-0 in the three-round event.

Snoop Dogg opens up breaking competition

The inaugural breaking competition began in a most fitting way: With Snoop Dogg banging a staff into the ground thrice. Before every event in Paris, a guest of honor is brought out to do what has is called the “les trois coups, s'il vous plait,” which directly translates to “three hits, please.” The ritual is a celebration of France’s theater culture, according to Eurosport. Snoop performed his duties with aplomb before the B-Girls were introduced.

When did breaking start in the Olympics?

It became an Olympic sport for the 2024 Summer Games.

Breaking at Olympics rules, format, scoring

It’s a bit confusing — and completely new in the world of breaking. Rather than a straight-up bracket of one-on-one battles, the preliminary round will be round-robin style: Four groups of four breakers, with each one going two rounds against the other three in their group. From there, the top two B-Girls in each group — as determined by who won the most rounds — will advance to the quarterfinals. The quarters, semis and finals will all be three rounds in a traditional bracket style.

Competitors will be judged on five categories: Technique, execution, musicality, originality and vocabulary. The scoring is fairly subjective, with each judge simply voting for the B-boy or B-Girl who they think performed best in each category. There is no numerical scoring system like you might see in figure skating or gymnastics.

Vocabulary is one criteria to keep an eye on as the competition progresses. The judges want to see breakers display a variety of moves and styles across rounds. If they're doing the same stuff in the final battle that they did in the first battle, they would theoretically be dinged for that.

Breakdancing Olympics 2024 Team USA

Sunny Choi (or B-Girl Sunny) and Logan Edra (or B-Girl Logistx) will represent Team USA on the women's side. Choi won the 2023 Pan American Games, while Edra has had past success in Red Bull's international breaking competition, BC One. Sunny came in ranked 10th, while Logan clocked in at 14th, according to World DanceSport Federation .

Who picks breaking music at Olympics?

The DJ, as you would imagine, is pivotal to every breaking competition.

“The DJ is everything,” B-boy Jeffro, whose legal name is Jeffrey Louis, said in a news conference this week. “The DJ is the vibe provider. The DJ is the one that's going to challenge you on the floor.”

The DJs for Olympic competition are DJ Fleg of the United States and DJ Plash of Poland.

The International Olympic Committee has licensed about 400 songs for use during competition this weekend, USA Breaking officials said. And Fleg and Plash said in a social media post that the songs range in variety and style, from old-school hip-hop to funk and even newly-created beats.

Sunny Choi: B-girl to watch

Sunny Choi was drunk when she first encountered breaking. She was in her first year at Penn and was feeling a bit lost, as most college freshmen do. She was out late after imbibing and she saw some dancers breaking on campus and thought, “Oh, that looks fun.” The group of dancers invited her to practice and she quickly immersed herself in the scene at Penn and in the greater Philly breaking community. The former gymnast loved being upside down, but there was more to it for her.

“Over time, I really fell in love with exploring my body’s physical limits and artistic expressions,” the 34-year-old first-time Olympian said. “I had never really done anything creative in my life before.”

Despite her love for breaking, she stuck to a corporate track for the job and financial security and worked her way up to being a creative director at Estée Lauder. But when breaking was announced as an Olympic sport, she decided to bet on herself, quite her corporate job and went all in on breaking. She's now headed to the Olympics at 34 years old. After the Games, she wants to work to open up a dance studio/community center in Queens.

Breaking moves: What to know

There’s more to it than you might think.

The most obvious moves are known as power moves -- big flips, spins and other acrobatic elements. Then there’s “top rock,” which is the dancing and posturing that you’ll see when breakers are upright. But there are also a bunch of little elements in between -- footwork, floorwork, freezes and “get down,” which is how a breaker transitions from top rocking to the floor.

Much of breaking is in the nuances and transitions between elements. The best will be smooth in their dynamics, which is how they transition from standing up to the floor and back. And they’ll be able to do different components in opposite directions, or with slight variances to make them new.

Breaking results: Round robin Group A battles

• China's 671 2 (16) vs. USA's Sunny 0 (2)
• Netherlands' India 2 (15) vs. Portugal’s Vanessa 9 (3)
• China’s 671 2 (14) vs. Portugal’s Vanessa 0 (4)
• Netherlands' India 2 (18) vs. USA’s Sunny 0 (0)
• Netherlands' India 2 (15) vs. China’s 671 0 (3)
• USA’s Sunny 2 (13) vs. Portugal’s Vanessa 0 (5)

Breaking results: Round robin Group B battles

• Lithuania’s Nicka 1 (11) vs. France’s Syssy 1 (7)
• USA’s Logistx 2 (18) vs. Australia’s Raygun 0 (0)
• Lithuania’s Nicka 2 (13) vs. USA's Logistix 0 (5)
• France’s Syssy 2 (18) vs. Australia’s Raygun 0 (0)
• Lithuania’s Nicka 2 (18) vs. Australia’s Raygun 0 (0)
• USA’s Logistx 1 (10) vs. France’s Syssy 1 (8)

Breaking results: Round robin Group C battles

• Japan’s Ami 2 (17) vs. Italy’s Anti 0 (1)
• China’s Ying Zi 2 (18) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (0)
• Japan’s Ami 2 (18) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (0)
• China’s Ying Zi 2 (16) vs. Italy’s Anti 0 (2)
• Japan’s Ami 2 (17) vs. China’s Ying Zi 0 (1)
• Italy’s Anti 2 (16) vs. Morocco’s Elmamouny 0 (2)

Breaking results: Round robin Group D battles

• Japan’s Ayumi 1 (10) vs. Ukraine’s Stefani 1 (8)
• Ukraine’s Kate 2 (15) vs. France’s Carlota 0 (3)
• Ukraine’s Kate 1 (12) vs. Japan’s Ayumi 1 (6)
• Ukraine’s Stefani 2 (12) vs. France’s Carlota 0 (6)
• Japan’s Ayumi 2 (15) vs. France’s Carlota 0 (3)
• Ukraine’s Stefani 1 (10) vs. Ukraine’s Kate 1 (8)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Breaking at Olympics live updates: Japan's Ami beats Lithuania's Nicka to win gold medal