Hong Ten's First Breaking Event Stage Farewell in Group Stage

Hong Ten (39, Dobong-gu Office) failed to cross the wall of the group stage of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Hong Ten won the final third Group C match of the breaking men's group C match between Jeffro of the U.S. and Paris Olympics with a score of 1-1 (3-68-1, total number of votes 11-7) at Concorde Square on the 11th (Korea time). However, due to the lack of winning rounds against Lee (the Netherlands, 0-2 loss, total number of votes, 5-13) and Lazett (France, 1-1 win, total number of votes, 11-7), they were unfortunately eliminated from the group stage. Jeffro (5-1) and Lee (4-2) advanced to the quarterfinals as first and second place in the group, ahead of Hong Ten (2-4) and Lazett (1-5).

The breaking, which was adopted as an official Olympic sport for the first time in history, was held in the form of a one-on-one break dance competition between each player and nine judges who received more votes to win. The evaluation items were technology, diversity, originality, performance and musicality, and the total number of votes cast if the round scores were the same.

Hong Ten is a legend of Korean breaking. He has participated in international competitions since 2001 and has been regarded as a world-class b-boy. He won the 2016 Red Bull BC1 Final, considered the most prestigious international competition, and became the first Korean champion, and also topped the list in 2013. At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held last year, he beat Shigekis, who is 17 years younger than him, in the final and won a silver medal.

Unfortunately, he failed to win the title at the Olympics, and breaking will be excluded from the official event of the 2028 LA Olympics. Even if it is adopted as an official event at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, Hong Ten will not be able to participate in the Olympics eight years later.

However, I feel more relieved than disappointed. "My dancing life is coming to an end, so I don't think I will have many chances to challenge myself anymore. I could understand the mentality of athletes who cry and dance in a situation where defeat is highly likely," Hong said. "When I first started dancing, I never expected that I would come out to the Olympics. Unlike young athletes who are growing day by day, I am proud that I did my best to compete in the Olympics even at an age when I was in a hurry to maintain my skills."
 

BY: 안전놀이터