B-boy Dany, first Frenchman qualified for the first breaking Olympics in history

B-boy Dany won his ticket to the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, where breaking will make its debut, by winning the European Games men’s tournament held in Nowy Sacz, Poland.

Published on: 06/28/2023 – 15:24

B-boy Dany now has the certainty of writing Olympic history. The 33-year-old from Montpellier qualified on Tuesday June 27 for the Paris Olympics, where breaking will make its debut. To get his ticket, he won the men’s tournament of the European Games organized in Nowy Sacz (Poland).

In an electric final, B-boy Dany dominated the Dutchman Menno, reigning European champion, two sets to one. “It’s the result of a lot of sacrifice and work. My son gave me a big challenge, he told me ‘if you don’t win, I’m going to yell at you’, so I felt a little obliged to win today”, exulted this 33-year-old father to AFP, shortly after his victory.

Dyed blond and all dressed in purple, the 33-year-old breaker, born in Guyana, chained acrobatic figures on the ground and energetic poses in front of a jury of nine largely convinced dancers.

Currently at the top of the world qualification ranking for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Dany is now assured, whatever happens, of being present at Concorde next summer, his victory at Nowy Sacz offering him an Olympic ticket.

“It’s a great pleasure for breaking to enter the Games. I invite all the French people to meet next year at Concorde to encourage us. I now represent them and I’m proud of it”, explained B- boy Dany.

The French miss this first mark

Among the women, however, the French delegation missed a great opportunity: both qualified in the top 8, B-girl Sissy and B-girl Carlota were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Lithuanian Nicka and Ukrainian Stefani .

It was the young Dutch India who validated her ticket to Paris after her victory in the final. The breaking confrontations, called “battle”, see two dancers compete one against one, in turn, on spectacular choreographies.

This tournament was organized as part of the European Games, an event involving 29 sports – including 19 Olympic disciplines – and which is held until July 2 in Poland.

Some events such as artistic swimming acted as European Championships, while others such as breaking made it possible to obtain quotas or points for the Olympic qualification classification.

With AFP