Let's Break Something
Day 15: Breaking Brings a Breath of Fresh Air to the Games
The day has finally arrived for the much anticipated debut of Olympic Breaking. (Definitely don’t call it breakdancing.)
Breaking is one of the four core artistic elements of hip-hop, along with DJ-ing, emceeing (aka rapping), and graffiti art. It emerged in The Bronx borough of New York City 50 years ago, and has grown and evolved into a global sport.
Breaking in the Olympics will be in much the same format as it is on the streets, albeit with more formal scoring. Athletes will first compete in random groups, with the top performers advancing to one-on-one knockout rounds, similar to street battles. One of the best aspects of Breaking is that athletes don’t pick their own music.
There are a ton of great stories in this inaugural Olympic contest. There’s Afghani Manizha Talash, who was forced to flee her home when the Taliban took control and banned dancing. She now competes for the Refugee Olympic Team. And Team Japan boasts the top to qualifiers - Ami and Ayumi - who have traded titles for years.
What To Watch Today
(All times Eastern. Full event replays available on-demand on Peacock)
There are 35 Gold Medals on the line today, including EIGHT on the track and field. Teams sports are winding down, and Team USA is in the mix with Semi-Finals in Men’s Water Polo and Women’s Basketball, plus our Men’s Volleyball team goes for Bronze.
🇺🇸 = Team USA competing 🥇= Gold Medal Event
1:30 am - Marathon Swimming: Men’s 10km 🇺🇸 🥇
4:05 am - Athletics: Women's Heptathlon Long Jump and Javelin, Women's and Men’s 4 x 400m Relay Round 1, Men's 800m Semi-Final, and Women's 100m Hurdles Semi-Final 🇺🇸
3:00 am - Golf: Women's Round 3 🇺🇸
4:15 am - Sport Climbing: Men's Boulder & Lead, Boulder Final 🇺🇸
6:13 am - Sailing: Men's Kite (rescheduled) 🥇
6:35 am - Sport Climbing: Men's Boulder & Lead, Lead Final 🇺🇸🥇
6:40 am - Canoe Sprint: Women's Canoe Double 500m, Women's Kayak Double 500m, Men's Canoe Single 1000m, and Men’s Kayak Double 500m Finals 🥇🥇🥇🥇
7:00 am - Modern Pentathlon: Men's Semi-Final A
8:30 am - Rhythmic Gymnastics: Individual All-Around Final 🥇
8:35 am - Water Polo: Men’s Semifinal, USA vs Serbia 🇺🇸
9:00 am - Weightlifting: Men's 89kg 🥇
9:00 am - Diving: Women's 3m Springboard Final 🥇
9:00 am - Soccer: Women’s Bronze Medal Match, Spain vs Germany
9:00 am - Table Tennis: Men's Team Gold Medal Team Match, China vs Sweden 🥇
10:00 am - Breaking: B-girls qualis 🇺🇸
10:00 am - Volleyball: Men’s Bronze Medal Game, USA vs Italy 🇺🇸
11:00 am - Modern Pentathlon: Men's Semi-Final B
11:30 am - Basketball: Women's Semifinal, USA vs Australia 🇺🇸
12:00 pm - Track Cycling: Men's Sprint and Women's Madison Finals 🥇🥇
12:00 pm - Soccer: Men’s Gold Medal Match, Spain vs France 🥇
12:15 pm - Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 67kg, Men's Freestyle 86kg, and Women's Freestyle 57kg Medal Matches 🇺🇸 🥇🥇🥇
1:30 pm - Weightlifting: Women's 71kg 🇺🇸🥇
1:30 pm - Artistic Swimming: Duet Technical Routine 🇺🇸
1:30 pm - Athletics: ALL FINALS - Women's 4 x 100m Relay, Women's Shot Put, Men's and Women’s 4 x 100m Relay, Women's 400m, Men's Triple Jump, Women's Heptathlon 800m, Women's 10,000m, and Men's 400m Hurdles 🇺🇸🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇
2:00 pm - Breaking: B-girls Elimination and Medal Matches 🇺🇸🥇
2:00 pm - Field Hockey: Women’s Gold Medal Match, China vs Netherlands 🥇
3:19 pm - Taekwondo: Women’s <67kg and Men’s <80kg Gold Medal Contests 🥇🥇
3:30 pm - Boxing: Men’s 71kg and 92 kg and Women’s 50kg and 66kg Finals 🥇🥇🥇🥇
4:30 pm - Beach Volleyball: Women's Gold Medal Match, Brazil vs Canada 🥇
In Other Olympic News…
Noah Lyles won a Bronze medal in the Men’s 200m, with COVID.
What to expect from Sunday’s Closing Ceremony
Indonesia won its first non-Badminton Gold Medal
The hottest new thing in Paris? The Repechage.
Photo of the Day
