Ami of Japan in action in Paris on Aug. 9.Angelika Warmuth/Reuters
Japan’s b-girl Ami won gold at the Olympics’ first breaking event by spinning, flipping and toprocking past a field of 16 dancers Friday in a high-energy competition that may not return for future Games.
Ami, legally named Ami Yuasa, won all three rounds in a battle against b-girl Nicka (Dominika Banevi) from Lithuania to clinch the gold, wrapping up a long day of flow, rhythm and skill at Place de la Concorde stadium.
B-girls stunned the crowd with power moves like headspins, windmills and backflips. Fans remained energetic throughout the evening, which began in the afternoon and ended just before 10 p.m.
Beginning in the quarter-finals phase, eight b-girls from the original 17 squared off in knockout battles of three rounds each to narrow down to the finals. Banevi won the silver medal, and China’s b-girl 671 (legal name Liu Qingyi) took the bronze after battling with b-girl India from the Netherlands (legal name India Sardjo) to “Boom!” by The Roots. Qingyi is a relative newcomer to the breaking scene.