South Korean breaker adds third Red Bull title to Asian Games silver

Asian Games breaking silver medallists Kim Hong-yul and Ami Yuasa went one better in Paris on Saturday, taking their respective titles at the Red Bull BC One event in the French capital.

For Kim, who competes as B-Boy Hong 10, it completed a ha-trick of titles stretching back to 2006, while Yuasa, who’s breaking name is B-Girl Ami, won for the second time.

The pair took their crowns in front of 8,000 fans in Roland-Gorros, a venue more used to hosting the likes of tennis grand slam winners Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek.

At 38 years old, Kim said he would not be back to try and win for a fourth time, saying he would “leave that to the young guns”.

“For now, I plan to focus on working with the breaking community instead of competing in battles,” he said.

Still, he out-danced his younger opponents throughout the competition on his way to a final clash with Red Bull athlete Phil Kim, or Phil Wizard as he is known in breaking circles.

“My goal was to get to the final with Phil Wizard, so I was already happy when I got there,” he said. “I’ve practised with Phil loads before and he’s next level, but you never know who will win a battle. It isn’t over until it’s over.”

Twelve years his opponent’s junior, Phil Kim also lost in the final in 2021 to Amir Zakirov.

Kim Hong-yul competed in his first Red Bull BC One final in 2005, winning the following year, and again in 2013. Hi win in Paris makes him the only break dancer, besides Menno van Gorp, from the Netherlands, to win three times.

In the women’s competition, Ami got the better of China’s Liu Quing-yi, B-Girl 671, in a rematch of the Asian Games final in Hangzhou.

Ami, who was crowned Red Bull BC One champion in 2018, in the first edition of the women’s tournament, beat defending champion India Sardjoe, of the Netherlands, to seal a spot in the final, while Li ousted 16-year-old Dominika Benevic of Lithuania in the last four.

Despite winning, Ami said nerves almost got the better of her.

“I was nervous backstage before the competition, but having my sister with me made those nerves go away,” she said. “I try to focus on having fun on the stage and doing my own thing, not just the end result.”

The 32 athletes involved in Paris must now shift their focus to qualifying for next year’s Summer Games, when breakdancing makes its Olympic debut.