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Breaking (aka breakdancing) at the Olympics: Huh? Why? How does it work as a sport?

Related Topics: breakdance

PARIS — The last of 45 sports to begin here at the 2024 Olympics is something that many wouldn’t consider a sport at all: Breaking, popularly known as breakdancing, is all set for its Games debut.

It starts Friday with the women’s competition at 4 p.m. here in Paris (10 a.m. ET) and throughout the evening. The men follow on Saturday. The bronze- and gold-medal battles are at 3:15 p.m. ET each day — and yes, “battle” is the official term.

But no, the Olympic B-girls and B-boys won’t be dancing on cardboard boxes. Breaking has evolved a lot from its 20th-century American roots.