Snoop Dogg helped usher in a new era for breakdancing as the street-popular dance made its Olympic debut in Paris.
On Friday, fans filled up the iconic Place de la Concorde for day one of the breakdancing competition, and the legendary West Coast rapper repped his country with a red, blue, and white tracksuit. To kick off the festivities, Snoop performed a coup de baton, a French tradition where a wooden baton is slammed on the ground to start an event.
16 B-girls took center stage on day one, and some of the sets were filled with viral moments. One of the first came from 17-year-old Lithuanian champion Dominika "Nicka" Banevič, who entered the competition sporting a black durag that caught many by surprise on social media.
Her stage name and choice of headwear had people wondering if Nicka was trolling, but the 16-year-old was seriously focused as she walked away with the silver medal. Another moment came from Afghanistan's first female Olympic breakdancer, Manizha Talash, who ripped her outfit during her set to reveal a cape with a powerful message: "Free Afghan Women."
The title of showstopper belonged to 36-year-old Australian breakdancer Rachel "Raygun" Gunn, whose performance had social media blowing up with polarizing reactions. Raygun's set saw her pull off several moves that weren't typical breakdancing moves.
However, Raygun won fans over with her confidence and determination to compete in the inaugural event. In a post-event interview, Raygun explained that she knew she wasn't going to beat the much better B-girls, but she wanted to do something special, which, in fact, she did.
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic power moves,” said Raygun. “So I wanted to move differently. I wanted to do something artistic and creative. Because how many chances can you get in a lifetime to do that on the international stage?”
Japan's Ami Yuasa secured the gold medal in an incredible matchup with Nicka. The men's competition will take place on Saturday with B-boys such as Japan's SHIGEKIX, USA's Victor, China's LITHE-ING, and more.
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