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BREAKDANCING MAY BECOME OLYMPIC SPORTS

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BY MICHAEL PAVITT

Breakdancing, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing have been touted as the favourites to be included as additional sports on the Olympic Games programme for Paris 2024.

French radio station France Info has claimed a final decision is expected to be made by organisers on Thursday (February 21).

This has reportedly been denied by Paris 2024.

Paris 2024 are due to submit their recommendations for new sports before the International Olympic Committee Executive Board is due to meet in Lausanne from March 26 to 28.

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The IOC Session in June will then offer provisional approval before the new additions are officially confirmed by the Executive Board in December 2020.

Sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing were all included on the Tokyo 2020 programme as additional sports.

The trio are hoping to remain on the programme, along with baseball/softball and karate, which were also added by Japanese organisers.

Breakdancing’s prospects are believed to have been boosted by the sport’s appearance at the last year’s Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. 

The Games in Argentina’s capital city marked breakdancing’s debut at an Olympic competition.

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A proposal for breakdancing’s inclusion was put forward by the French Dance Sport Federation led by Charles Ferreira.

Breakdancing’s potential inclusion has earned criticism in some quarters, however, with a debate over who represents the sport emerging.

The World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) were responsible for overseeing the sport’s inclusion at Buenos Aires 2018.

Erwin Mahroug, President of breakdancing media company bboyworld, has claimed the community have not been involved in any attempts to include it at Paris 2024.

The company, which claim they have over five million subscribers, helped in the selection of breakdancers at Buenos Aires 2018.

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Mahroug wrote that the “breakin community was quite angry on how the Youth Olympic Games unfolded and voiced their negative opinion throughout various global media platforms”, adding that a lobbyist and owner of an investment company have been behind the effort.

“These two individuals have projected to the WDSF and the IOC that they are the voice of the breakin community,” Mahroug wrote.

“However, this is not the case.

“Up until the leak of the news that the IOC will be voting on whether breakin will be included in the 2024 Games, the breakin community has been in the dark.

“We will not engage, again, to support these two individuals.”

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Mahroug claimed the break dancing community do not have a vote within any national governing body or the WDSF, while they claim to have no ability to present to the IOC.

A request to meet with the IOC to discuss the potential inclusion was suggested by Mahroug.

Other calls have been made for the breakdancing to potentially be included at 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, rather than having a potential debut in Paris.

The dispute over who represents breakdancing appears reminiscent of the fractious debate over skateboarding prior to its inclusion on the Tokyo 2020 programme.

The International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) led skateboarding’s bid for inclusion, despite the International Skateboarding Federation (ISF) and the World Skateboarding Federation claiming to run the sport.

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FIRS and ISF later merged to form World Skate, who are overseeing the sport’s debut at Tokyo 2020.

Squash is among the sports to have sought inclusion at Paris 2024.

Squash has campaigned for Olympic inclusion for some time, having been rejected for London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

Other sports to have already launched campaigns for inclusion include snooker, chess and the electric motorcycling format Trial-E.

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Olympics

Olympic rings removed from Eiffel Tower

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The Eiffel Tower and the Olympic Rings

The Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower since June to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games were removed from the Parisian monument early on Friday morning, as confirmed by an AFP photographer. But the Paris City Hall intends to replace them with a more permanent structure until 2028.

The five-coloured rings, measuring 29 metres in length and 15 metres in height, were placed between the first and second levels of the iconic iron structure on 7 June. 

According to Inside the Games publication, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo  wants the Olympic symbol to continue decorating the monument until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

But the descendants of the tower’s creator, Gustave Eiffel are opposing the move. They are insisting that the Olympic rings are aesthetically in conflict with the concept and design of the Tower.

The 30-tonne rings initially installed on the Eiffel Tower were also not designed to withstand winter weather conditions.

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Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul

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Ahmed El-Gendy won Egypt's only gold at the Paris Olympics

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered  a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that  participatedat the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.

The mandate includes a thorough expenditure check and a performance review to better highlight areas of improvement and fund allocation in future Games.

Additionally, the president plans to take necessary measures against federations —such as limiting funds— that had negative results in the Paris Games.

Egypt’s participation in sports where it lacks a competitive advantage will also be limited, as the president aims to direct resources to promising athletes to ensure optimal results. The president also aims to reduce administrative and technical staff within Olympic delegations and task relevant ministries with preparing future Olympic athletes.

Al-Sisi’s Olympic overhaul is to be presented to the cabinet for approval and urged the government to prioritise amending the sports law for the House of Representatives for review. 

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Egypt took home a total of three medals in the Summer Games. Ahmed El-Gendy triumphed in modern pentathlon, Sara Samir claimed the silver in weightlifting, and 21-year-old fencer Mohamed El-Sayed earned the bronze.

-Insidethegames

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Paris 2024 Games break record ticket sales

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Beach Volleyball - Men's Gold Medal Match - Sweden vs Germany (Ahman/Hellvig vs Ehlers/Wickler) - Eiffel Tower Stadium, Paris, France - August 10, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo

Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, beating the Games record previously set by London 2012, organisers said on Sunday.

Some 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and 2.5 million for the Paralympics, which end on Sunday.

In 2012, London organisers set the record for the Paralympics with 2.7 million tickets sold but only 8.2 million were sold for the Olympics.

-Reuters

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