Philip Kim, who competes as “B-Boy Phil Wizard,” will make Canadian sports history this summer as the country’s first Olympic athlete.
Canada DanceSport, Breaking Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee confirmed Wednesday that Kim will join Canada’s Olympic team at the Paris Games.
Vancouver’s Kim won the first gold medal in the B-boys breaking competition at the Pan American Games when the dance sport made its debut in Santiago in November 2023.
The win qualified him to represent Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where breaking will make its Olympic debut.
Kim won Canada’s first world breaking title at the 2022 World DanceSport Federation Championships. He also placed second at the 2021 and 2023 World Championships.
The Olympic breaking competition will take place in Paris on August 9th and 10th.
“It’s been a long journey and I’ve learned so much and grown so much along the way,” Kim said in a press release. “I look forward to continuing this growth and doing my best to show the world what I love and make the world fall in love with it too.”
Breaking is an urban dance style that originated in the Bronx in New York City in the mid-1970s.
It was included in the Paris Olympic program as a sport proposed by the organizing committee.
“What sets hip hop apart from many other cultures is that it is a culture that influences other cultures,” said Geoff Reyes, Breaking Canada team leader. “Phil has the ability to inspire other athletes in his approach to braking. We look forward to his impact and influence as he represents Canada on the Olympic platform.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2024.
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