EGN NEWS DESK
Victor Montalvo, or “B-Boy Victor,” already the highest-ranked American male within the sport of breaking, achieved a brand new feat final week, changing into the primary U.S. athlete to win a medal in Olympic breaking, which debuted on the Paris Games.
The 30-year-old introduced bronze again to the United States, the birthplace of the game, after a sequence of one-one-one showdowns on Aug. 10 at Place de la Concorde in Paris.
Montalvo instructed CBS News that he by no means might have imagined attending to this second.
“I simply did it for enjoyable. This was my ardour,” he stated. “Now I’m right here with a bronze medal.”
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Olympic breaking is judged based mostly on method, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality. One of the maybe lesser-known guidelines of the competitors is that b-boys and b-girls cannot repeat strikes. Most of the time, they’re improvising.
That wasn’t a difficulty for Montalvo, who likes to lean into his inventive aspect.
“I like the liberty of expression,” Montalvo stated. “You’re mainly an artist on the dance ground and also you’re creating these masterpieces.”
Even earlier than heading to the Paris Games, Montalvo was a family title within the breaking world. He’s a two-time Red Bull BC One champion, and winner of the 2022 World Games competitors, which occurred in Birmingham, Alabama.
Originally from Kissimmee, Florida, B-Boy Victor discovered the ropes of breaking from his father, Victor Bermudez, and his father’s twin brother, Hector, described as “breaking pioneers.”
The two picked up the craft within the early eighties in Puebla, Mexico. They have been impressed by “Beat Street,” Montalvo stated, a movie about hip-hop tradition in Eighties New York.
Montalvo began his personal breaking journey on the age of six, and has been busting energy strikes, flips and signature tips ever since.
“I fell in love with it,” he instructed CBS News. “It was simply so superior to observe and do.”
As he acquired extra severe in regards to the sport, Montalvo’s dad knew his son wanted an area to apply. He did not have the funds for on the time, so he borrowed $2000 to construct a studio within the household’s yard.
“He was behind on hire however he did it for me,” Montalvo stated. “He simply noticed how a lot ardour I had for this.”
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During the Paris Games, Canadian “B-Boy Phil Wizard” in the end took residence gold after a 3-0 victory over Danis Civil, “Dany Dann,” of France, who received silver.
The sport didn’t make it onto the roster of sports activities for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. But Montalvo is not letting that dampen his spirit.
“I’m simply so grateful we had our alternative to showcase our dance in Paris 2024,” he stated. “Now there’s folks tuning into breaking and truly watching the entire competitors.”
