Afghanistan’s female athlete Manizha Talash unveiled the words ‘Free Afghan Women’ on her cape during her Olympic breaking routine in the pre-qualifiers in Paris on Friday.
Talash, who is originally from Kabul but lives in Spain, is one of the 37 athletes who is competing for the refugee team at the Olympics.
When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 they banned women from universities, public parks, sports and raided the homes of female athletes.
Talash fled Afghanistan with her 12-year-old brother when the Taliban’s arrival forced her breakdancing club to close.
“I wanted to show people what is possible,” Talash said in a brief media interview after receiving a roar of approval from a capacity crowd Urban Park.
Dutch B-girl India Sardjo was the first breaker on the Olympic stage and threw a series of power moves that unanimously outscored Talash to advance to the competition proper.
Scoring for breaking is based on the Trivium judging system which marks technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality on 20 per cent each to make up the final score.
Breaking is making its debut 2024 Paris Olympics but it has not been included in the initial sports program for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Breaking is making its debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics but may not be included during the LA Games in 2028
Breaking results
Snoop Dogg officially opened the competition to the sound of his classic ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’.
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.
Japan’s b-girl Ami won gold by spinning, flipping and top-rocking past a field of 16 dancers in a high-energy competition.
Ami, legally named Ami Yuasa, won all three rounds in a battle against Lithuania’s b-girl Nicka [Dominika Banevic] to clinch the gold at Place de la Concorde stadium.
Banevic won the silver medal, while China’s b-girl 671 [Liu Qingyi] took the bronze after battling with b-girl India [India Sardjo] from the Netherlands.
Both American competitors, b-girl Logistx [Logan Edra] and b-girl Sunny [Sunny Choi], who were strong favourites for the competition, were eliminated in the first round which was a huge blow to the country representing the birthplace of hip-hop and breaking culture.
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app – giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost.