Canada’s Olympic breaking hopefuls excited for sport’s Pan Am Games debut

The sport of breaking is entering uncharted territory.

Set to make its Pan American Games debut this week in Santiago, Chile, breaking, also known as breakdancing, will take its place alongside other Olympic sports at a major Games for the first time.

B-boys and B-girls from across the Americas, including four from Canada, will battle to qualify for the first-ever Olympic breaking competitions next summer in Paris. The men’s and women’s Pan Am champions earn Olympic spots.

Vancouver’s Philip Kim, known as Phil Wizard, is part of a new generation of breakers chasing Olympic gold, showcasing the competitive art form as a high-level international sport. He won a world title last year and qualified for the Pan Am Games with gold at the 2023 Pan Am Championships in May.

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The 26-year-old is looking forward to his first taste of the multi-Games experience as he continues his journey to reach the Olympics.

“I’m super excited to be a part of the debut for the Pan Am games,” Kim told CBC Sports. “It will be kind of a good precursor to the actual Olympic Games, going there a week early, feeling the environment, meeting other Canadian athletes as well.

While Kim missed a chance to earn an Olympic berth at this year’s worlds in September, losing in the final, he feels confident about locking it up with a historic Pan Am title in Santiago.

“Coming off of the world championship a couple of weeks ago and just last week doing the Red Bull BC One World Finals, which is also a very high-level competition, I’m feeling pretty confident about my chances going into Pan Am,” Kim said. “I’m also feeling very comfortable and confident on a big stage.”

Canada’s Phil Wizard finishes 2nd at Red Bull BC One World Final

The Canadian breaker came up just short in the final battle to legendary b-boy Hong 10 in Paris.

Canada’s Pan Am breaking team also includes Torontonians Tiffany Leung and Onton See, and Surrey, B.C., native Emma Misak.

The breaking tournaments in Santiago begin Friday, with medal battles set for Saturday at the Gimnasio Chimkowe. Live coverage will be available on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.

Competition format

Sixteen breakers from each gender will compete in one-on-one battles, starting with a round robin before advancing to the top eight and top four. Battles will initially consist of two rounds before shifting to a three-round format from the top four onwards.

Breakers improvise to music and use a variety of moves to outperform their opponent, with judges determining the winner based on creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality.

The four elements of breaking are top rock, down rock, power moves and freezes.

Known as B-girl Tiff, Leung is a former competitive gymnast with a dynamic style that is uniquely her own — something she is excited to deploy on the international stage.

The 28-year-old is coming off a bout with COVID, which forced her to take a week off, but she feels ready to perform her best using a focused and balanced approach. Two opponents she has on her radar are American Sunny Choi and Colombia’s Luma.

“It’s being able to go the distance, but also keeping that clarity of movement and being confident in my mind and focusing on just taking my time and just feeling,” Leung said. “I feel like that’s the approach of how I think I could win.”

Leung fell just short of the podium this year with a fourth-place finish at the Pan Am Championships, earning her a spot in Santiago. She also came close at last year’s World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, finishing fifth.

“I feel like in the past I’ve kind of gotten in my own way, so I just really want to see if I can do it when I don’t put all these mental blocks on myself,” Leung said.

See and Misak, who compete as B-boy Onton and B-girl Emma, qualified for the Pan Am Games based on their World DanceSport Federation world rankings.

Misak, 23, has previous experience competing at a multi-sport event, taking home a historic silver medal in 2018 during the sport’s Youth Olympics debut.

“Since that was a very high-pressure environment, I have a better idea of what the Pan Am Games will feel like,” Misak said in a release. “I feel extremely grateful to be able to represent Team Canada at Santiago 2023.

“It is a great opportunity to be part of the Olympic qualification system and I feel ready. I am training my hardest and I know the hard work will pay off.”

But it’s Kim who is viewed as Canada’s best shot at Olympic breaking gold, with a skill set capable of beating anyone. His decorated resumé also includes silver at the 2021 worlds and gold at a Breaking for Gold World Series last May.

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While the Pan Am Games aren’t the last chance to qualify for Paris 2024, Kim said it would mean a lot to punch his ticket this time around so he can shift his focus to preparing.

Seven athletes from each gender will qualify via the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS), scheduled between March and June 2024. Breakers must be in the top 14 in the OQS rankings to compete.

Kim is currently ranked No. 1 in the men’s rankings, while Leung is 17th on the women’s side. Misak and See sit 30th and 57th, respectively.

Breaking’s momentum as an Olympic sport was dealt a major blow last month when it was left off the program for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, meaning the first Olympic breaking champions could also be the last.

Kim said it will provide even more motivation to put on a show in Paris.

“It was very disappointing to hear for myself and for the breaking community as a whole, especially because I think people will be blown away seeing breaking in Paris next year,” Kim said. “We’re just going to go to Paris pushed to showcase breaking and show this is what we do. I’m certain people will fall in love with it.

“I’m hopeful that in 2032 breaking will come back. And maybe if I’m not too old, and the kids aren’t that good enough, maybe I’ll still be able to do it,” he added with a laugh.