Canada’s Phil (Wizard) Kim wins gold in breaking

globalnews.ca:

PARIS – Phil Kim was the first, and for the foreseeable future, the only Olympic champion in men’s breaking.The 27-year-old from Vancouver, known in his breaking circles as B-Boy Phil Wizard, captured gold at Place de la Concorde on Saturday.The Canadian dominated his final battle with host-country favourite Danis Civil (Dany Dann) of France by winning all three rounds and taking 23 of a possible 27 votes from the judges.The 2022 world champion and reigning Pan American Games champion Kim was a favourite in the performance sport making its Olympic debut in Paris.It isn’t on the menu in Los Angeles in 2028 nor is it certain to return in Brisbane, Australia, in 2032.The sunny, charismatic Kim was that throughout his bouts Saturday, but he shed tears both on the podium during O Canada, in interviews afterward and when he embraced his mother Gilsoo, father Byung Tae and brothers Daniel and John.“I was stressed out of my mind,” Kim said. “Yesterday, I cried my eyes out because I was so scared to do this.“There’s been a lot of pressure and a lot of expectations.

I’m glad I was able to deliver. More than anything I’m glad I just enjoyed the moment.

I truly had a lot of fun today.“This is history in the making for us, so it’s incredible.”The Olympic Games brought from its urban hip-hop roots to a broader international sport stage a sport that pushes the limits of human body movement performed to a beat.“I hope it opens doors for people,” Kim said. “I’ve dedicated my life to this and so have all of us competing today, and it’s an underappreciated sport.”The breakers were not forewarned of the beat provided by DJ’s Phlash One and Fleg, but expressed the music when they heard it through footwork, freezes, transitions, power moves,