Vancouver breakdancer "Phil Wizard" qualifies for Paris 2024 Olympics

A Vancouver man has danced his way into the Olympics.

Philip Kim, also known as “B-Boy Phil Wizard,” booked his ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games on Saturday after winning Gold in breakdancing at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.

Canada's Philip Kim, known as Phil Wizard, is GOLDEN and qualifies for #Paris2024 🇨🇦🥇

The Vancouver native won gold in breaking's Pan Am Games debut. The sport is set to make its Olympic debut next year 👏 pic.twitter.com/Vn3lPeodOm

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) November 4, 2023

Wizard had a dominant run at the event, not losing a single round in the two-day competition. The win came in a dominant 3-0 win over American B-Boy Jeffro in the finals. This guaranteed he would be competing with the best of the best when breakdancing makes its Olympic debut next summer.

“It means a lot,” Kim told the Canadian Olympic Committee after qualifying. “This whole pathway since the beginning of this year and even last year with the whole Olympics being introduced to breaking, it’s been an incredible experience.

“To be a part of history, for me, that really means the world.”

This won’t be Wizard’s first time competing on the global stage. In 2022, he took home first place at the World Breaking Championships, earning himself the world title.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hold on to the title, losing to American Victor Montalvo in the finals of the 2023 World Championships.

In an interview with Red Bull, the 26-year-old said he first fell in love with the sport when he was just 13 years old after seeing a street show in downtown Vancouver. After he finished high school, he initially went to University for Psychology but only lasted two semesters before dropping out.

Ever since, he has been carving out a career through breakdancing.

The breaking events at the 2024 Olympics are set to run on August 9 and 10.

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