SEATTLE - The sport of Breaking, or break dancing, is one of the sport making its debut at this year's Paris Olympics. One of the members of Team USA, a Mexican-American, is looking to add an Olympic gold medal to his already stacked résumé that includes two Red Bull BC One medals as well as a first place finish during last year's world championships.
Born in Orlando, Florida on May 1, 1994, Victor Montalvo started to get immersed in breaking when his father began teaching him at the age of six. Since then, Montalvo has become one of the best breakers, also known as B-boys, across the world. His first major victory came in 2011 when he won first place at the Red Bull BC One Cypher in Tampa.
He earned his spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics after winning the gold medal at the World DanceSport Federation's World Breaking Championship last year.
"Without my community's support, I would not be where I am today," Montalvo, 30, said in a past interview. "My family moved here from Mexico to put me on the path to success, and alongside our friends, they've spent long hours helping me train, looking out for me, and lifting me up when I've been down," Montalvo said.
Breaking is the first dancesport discipline to appear in the Summer Olympics, following its succesful debut at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. Breaking earned one of the three additional sports spots for 2024 along with sport climbing and surfing. The competition will count with a total of 32 breakers, divided evenly in men's and women's that will face each other in single battles.
Each participant will use a combination of dance moves that include windmills and other power moves, improvising to the beat of DJ's tracks in an attempt to accumulate the highest score. The breaker with the highest number of points in each solo battle will advance to the next round.
"I'm representing my roots," Montalvo said in an interview. "My uncles always told me to be proud of who I am and where I come from. They're always reminding me, 'Hey, you're Mexican. You're an Aztec warrior. Don't forget that.'"
Montalvo will be one of two Americans competing at the B-boys event at this year's Olympics, along with Jeffrey Louis also known as "Jeffro."
Montalvo says his style is "a traditional style of breaking while adding a new school twist." Breaking at the 2024 Paris Olympics begins with the women's competition on August 9 while Montalvo and 15 other B-boys will compete in the men's division on August 10.
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