"Let's stir up who", the host of the breaking event shouted at Place de la Concorde in central Paris. But the cheering crowd was somewhat cautious.
After that, the DJ increased the volume and opponents B-girl India (from the Netherlands) and B-girl Talash (representing the Olympic childhood team) stepped onto the dance floor, ready to face off.
Just like that, the latest Olympic sport began, with one of the followers being American rapper, Snoop Dogg.
"It felt really amazing, I was so happy to be the first to win the breaking battle at the Olympics," B-girl India, real name India Sardjoe, said when asked how it felt to make history.
"I tried to take it as a normal competition. Of course, we know it's the Olympics and it's different. I tried to keep it as normal as possible."
At the end of this competition, the former world champion Sardjoe ranked fourth. B-girl Ami of Japan won the gold medal, B-girl Nicka of Lithuania won the silver medal. The bronze medal went to China's B-girl 671.
The inclusion of Breaking, formerly known as breakdance, in the Olympic program 6 years after its debut at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires is part of an effort to attract younger audiences to the Olympics.
At first, that tactic seemed effective. Therefore, surprisingly, breaking is a "one-time," situation. This sport was eliminated from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to make way for baseball, softball and badminton, sports that brought more money and prestige to the US market.
Of course, some have questioned why breaking was included in the Olympics.
The majesty of the urban sports park at Place de la Concorde, with 19th-century statues, is certainly a major change from the origin of Breaking, a cultural phenomenon that formed on Bronx Street in New York in the early 1970s, emerging from the poverty and race that the district's colorful residents had to go through.
However, international judge Sophie Lindner believes that this sport deserves a place in the Olympics.
"From the beginning, breaking has always had a real competitive energy," Lindner said, "It was created by children who wanted to compare themselves."
The sport has become much more professional in recent years, with a series of contests and energy drink companies such as Red Bull and Monster flocking in as sponsors.
Lindner also realized that some in the community are concerned that the soul of breaking is "fading and becoming over-commercial". Those people, she said, thought that breaking "had to be underground and not an Olympic sport".
For them, "the main goal is to get to know each other and interact," Lindner added.
Having said that, she is confident that if handled properly, both sides - culture and competition - can develop strongly with the new position of this sport.
"Fate has had a huge positive impact on the dancers," Lindner said. " Breaking is being respected as a profession and a sport, not just something badass.
It pushes back all barriers. We have a lot of children starting to break. We want more people to experience this art form".
The World Sports Dance Confederation, the event organizer at the Olympics, has previously said it is extremely disappointed that the sport is not on the Los Angeles program, but still in the race to be included in the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.
