Breakdancing cut from Los Angeles Olympics in favor of flag football, cricket and squash

Korea's Kim "Hong 10" Hong-yul competes in the breakdancing competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 7. [YONHAP]

Breakdancing, which was approved as an Olympic sport in 2020 and is set to make its debut at the Paris Games next year, has been cut from Los Angeles 2028, The Guardian exclusively reported on Monday.

The Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Organizing Committee confirmed the news in a statement later Monday, announcing its intention to petition for the inclusion of baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash as it meets the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its 141st session in Mumbai, India early next week.

But their presence in Los Angeles would edge out a number of sports — including breakdancing, along with karate and kickboxing — as the IOC attempts to adhere to its roughly 10,500-athlete limit for the upcoming Games in Paris.

The announcement comes as breakdancing made its medal sport debut at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, which wrapped up over the weekend. A total of 45 B-boys and B-girls — the formal term used to refer to breakdancers — competed across the men’s and women’s competitions.

Korea’s Kim Hong-yul, better known as B-boy “Hong 10,” took silver in the men’s competition, coming behind Japan’s Shigeyuki “Shigekix” Nakarai in the gold-medal battle.

Breaking earlier soft launched as a medal sport, “Dancesport,” at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Three of Monday’s newly announced sports — flag football, lacrosse and squash — would make their Olympic debuts, and The Guardian reports that all three are set to be accepted.

Baseball and softball were medal sports at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics following a five-Game baseball run between 1992 and 2008, with softball beginning in 1996 before both were dropped for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

The last time cricket was featured at an Olympic Games was in 1900, in Paris, when it was included as part of the World’s Fair.

Thanks from each of the sport’s official governing bodies poured in following the Los Angeles committee’s Monday announcement.

“We are delighted that LA28 have recommended cricket for inclusion in the Olympics,” said Greg Barclay, the chairperson of the International Cricket Committee, in a statement Monday. “Whilst this is not the final decision, it is a very significant landmark towards seeing cricket at the Olympics for the first time in more than a century.”

Cricket is, by some estimates, the second-most popular sport in the world after football, thanks to its immense popularity in countries like India, Pakistan, Britain and Australia. The version competed at the Olympics would be Twenty20, a fast-paced edition of the game that is considerably more appropriate for the multi-sport tournament format than the traditional days-long Test format.

The proposed sports are “relevant, innovative and community-based, played in backyards, schoolyards, community centers, stadiums and parks across the U.S. and the globe,” Casey Wasserman, the chairperson of the LA28 organizing committee, said in the statement Monday.

“They will bring new athletes to the Games, engage diverse fanbases and expand the Games’ presence in digital spaces, further amplifying LA28’s mission to deliver an unparalleled experience.”

The World DanceSport Federation, the international governing body of breakdancing, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]