The departure from the breakup of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic program, received with sadness and surprise, creates a gap between Paris 2024 and the probable re-entry in 2032, warns Lusa the president of the Portuguese Sports Dance Federation (FPDD).
“[Temos de] We express our sadness at this decision, but this also involves a lot of politics, and politics and money often put the interests of sport first. Better days will come,” says the president of the FPDD, Marina Rodrigues.
Breaking, a type of urban dance that mixes cultural expression and sport, will make its Olympic debut in Paris 2024 but it is the only modality without continuity in Los Angeles 2028, which will have 35 disciplines, five new.
This moment is a setback “especially for the athletes, who were very motivated to make the sport Olympic”, training and “seeking support”, working to represent Portugal there.
“Now, from one moment to the next, the rug has been pulled out from under them. They are very sad. The federation will continue working with these athletes and providing them with conditions, let’s hope that the institutions will help us. Let’s think about 2032,” he says.
A public letter from the international federation of this sport also highlights “that it is almost certain that [o breaking] will return to Brisbane”, the city scheduled to host the next edition, but it is with surprise and surprise that this absence occurs in the United States.
“Breaking was born in the United States. How come they don’t welcome this modality? It is widespread throughout the world, many people practice it. (…) It is a shot in the foot,” he laments.
In Portugal, “everything will continue as planned”, with the athletes “very focused on the Olympic project”, but the interval between one cycle and another will cause the need to receive support “from outside”.
“The financing of the federation depends on the institutions, the Government and the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth. We have no income of our own, nor sponsors, except from our associations and schools, a very low budget that does not allow us to meet the demands of all athletes Let’s hope that the Portuguese State and the institutions linked to sport continue to support this modality,” appeals the federation leader.
Breaking came to the Olympic movement in 2018, when it entered the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, and will also be present in Paris 2024 and the next event for young athletes, the Dakar 2026.
The departure from the Olympic program has an impact on karate, which debuted in Tokyo 2020 and was excluded from the next edition.
Source: TSF
