Japan's b-girl Ami wins Olympic breaking's first gold medal

PARIS (AP) — Japan's b-girl Ami won gold at the Olympics' first breaking event by spinning, flipping and toprocking past a field of 16 dancers Friday in a high-energy competition that may not return for future Games.

Ami, legally named Ami Yuasa, won all three rounds in a battle against b-girl Nicka (Dominika Banevič) from Lithuania to clinch the gold, wrapping up a long day of flow, rhythm and skill at Place de la Concorde stadium.

B-girls stunned the crowd with power moves like headspins, windmills and backflips. Fans remained energetic throughout the evening, which began in the afternoon and ended just before 10 p.m.

Beginning in the quarterfinals phase, eight b-girls from the original 17 squared off in knockout battles of three rounds each to narrow down to the finals. Banevič won the silver medal, and China’s b-girl 671 (Liu Qingyi) took the bronze after battling with b-girl India (India Sardjo) from the Netherlands to “Boom!” by The Roots. Liu is a relative newcomer to the breaking scene.

“Now a lot of people outside the breaking scene have seen it and it will only grow from here,” b-girl India said.

Both American b-girls in the Olympics ′ first breaking competition were eliminated in the first round, a blow to the country representing the birthplace of hip-hop and breaking culture in what could be the discipline’s only Games appearance. B-girl Logistx (legal name Logan Edra) and b-girl Sunny (Sunny Choi) both ranked in the top 12 internationally but came up short of the quarterfinals.

“I feel like I still shined and I feel like I still represented the dance and had some moments,” Logistx said. “It was such a big opportunity, it’s such a big platform, and I’m really happy that we’re here.”

A panel of nine judges, all b-boys and b-girls in their own right from around the world, scored the breakers based on the Trivium judging system: on technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality — each accounts for 20% of the final score.

Each of the b-girls began by catching the beat as they danced while on their feet — a series called “toprocking” — before launching into their footwork moves on the floor. The soundtrack to their routines was a surprise for each of them, as two DJs spun records on a turntable set up behind the judges. For anyone doubting the

The judges sat between the circular floor, modeled after a record, and a massive replica of a boombox, in a nod to the musical root of breaking — the breakbeat itself — which is the moment when a song’s vocals drop and the DJ loops the beat over and over. That allows b-boys and b-girls to make their mark on the dance floor.

Breaking is judged qualitatively because of its roots as an art form, and judges use a sliding scale to score each round and battle, adjusting the scale towards the breaker who is winning in each of the above criteria. Throughout, two emcees respond to the personalities and signature moves of each of the breakers to hype up the crowd.

The challenge for organizers was to bring breaking and hip-hop culture to a mass audience, including many viewers who were skeptical about the dance form’s addition to the Olympic roster. But after Friday’s marathon of battles, there’s no doubting the athletic ability and physicality.

Beyond their physical ability, breakers had to make sure to showcase their style and individuality — essential to the culture of hip-hop and breaking. Throughout the evening, two emcees responded to the personalities and signature moves of each of the breakers to hype up the crowd.

In all, 33 breakers representing 15 countries and the Refugee Olympic Team made Olympic history on Friday. On Saturday, the b-boys take the stage in what might be their only shot to battle it out for god at the Olympics in the foreseeable future. Breaking was added as an Olympic sport for Paris, but it is not on the slate for Los Angeles in 2028.

Before the battle began, American rapper Snoop Dogg made a grand entrance into the stadium to the soundtrack of “Drop it Like it’s Hot,” prompting cheers and dancing in the stands. The emcees introduced the 17 b-girls competing on Friday, with the b-girls from France and the U.S. received the loudest applause from the crowd.

Associated Press Race & Ethnicity Editor Aaron Morrison contributed to this report from New York.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Japan's Ami Yuasa, known as B-Girl Ami, reacts after winning gold during the B-Girls gold medal battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

Japan's Ami Yuasa, known as B-Girl Ami, right, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

Japan's Ami Yuasa, known as B-Girl Ami, makes the heart sign after winning the gold medal during the B-Girls gold medal battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

United States Sunny Choi, known as B-Girl Sunny, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

United States Logan Edra, known as B-Girl Logistx, left, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

United States Logan Edra, known as B-Girl Logistx, left, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

China's Qingyi Liu, known as B-Girl 671, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

China's Qingyi Liu, known as B-Girl 671, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Morocco's Fatima Zahra El Mamouny, known as B-Girl Elmamouny, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

American artist Snoop Dogg, center, sits in the audience prior to the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

American artist Snoop Dogg performs a short dance on stage prior to the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Refugee Team's Manizha Talash, known as Talash wears a cape which reads "free Afghan women" as she competes during the B-Girls Pre-Qualifier Battle of the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

United States Logan Edra, known as B-Girl Logistx, right, and Australia's Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, compete during the Round Robin at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

France's Sya Dembele, known as B-Girl Syssy, competes during the Round Robin at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

Refugee Team's Manizha Talash, known as Talash, wears a cape which reads "free Afghan women" as she competes during the B-Girls Pre-Qualifier Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Netherland's India Sardjoe, known as B-Girl India, right, competes during the B-Girls Pre-Qualifier Battle of the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

Japan's Ami Yuasa, known as B-Girl Ami, competes during the B-Girls quarterfinals at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)

BANGKOK (AP) — A construction magnate, builders, designers and engineers surrendered to police Friday on criminal negligence charges for the deadly collapse of a Bangkok high-rise in the March 28 earthquake that hit Myanmar.

Premchai Karnasuta, the president of Italian-Thai Development Co, the main Thai contractor for the building project, as well as designers and engineers were among 17 charged with the felony of professional negligence causing death, Bangkok deputy police chief Noppasin Poonsawat said.

Noppasin said those who met police on Friday formally denied the charges. Several have previously issued public denials in response to allegations in the media.

Ninety-two people were confirmed dead in the rubble of the building that had been under construction and a small number of other people remain unaccounted for. The building, which was to become a new State Audit Office, was the only one in Thailand to collapse in the earthquake that was centered in neighboring Myanmar. The search for victims at the site has been halted, though efforts to identify remains through DNA will continue.

Noppasin said at a news conference that evidence and testimony from experts suggested the building plan did not meet standards and codes. The Bangkok Post newspaper said police had also determined the project showed "structural flaws in the core lift shaft and substandard concrete and steel.”

Thai media have reported allegations of wrongdoing in the project almost every day since the building’s collapse, many of them involving irregular documentation for the project. Their reports have highlighted the role of Italian-Thai’s Chinese joint venture partner, the China Railway No. 10 company, which is involved in projects around the world.

One of the 17 charged Friday was Chinese executive Zhang Chuanling, a director at China Railway No. 10’s joint venture with Italian-Thai Development. He was previously arrested last month on a charge of violating Thai business law by wrongly using Thai nominees to serve as the Chinese firm’s proxies to allegedly control the joint venture. Three Thai executives were also arrested on the charge.

A Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the 17 on the negligence charge on Thursday. Noppasin said 15 turned themselves in at a police station in the morning and the remaining two were expected to do so later Friday.

The epicenter of the quake was in central Myanmar, where it killed more than 3,700 people and caused major damage in Mandalay, the country's second biggest city, and the capital Naypyitaw.

Premchai’s case is his second major tangle with the law. In 2019, he was convicted of wildlife poaching and served about three years in prison.

He was found guilty of killing protected animals and illegal possession of weapons after park rangers found a hunting party at a wildlife sanctuary in 2018 with carcasses of a rare black panther, a kalij pheasant and a barking deer. The panther had been butchered and its meat cooked for soup.

Premchai Karnasuta, the president of Italian-Thai Development Co arrives on a wheelchair at Bang Sue Police Station in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 16, 2025 to surrender to police on criminal negligence charges for the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise during a March 28 earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Premchai Karnasuta, the president of Italian-Thai Development Co arrives on a wheelchair at Bang Sue Police Station in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 16, 2025 to surrender to police on criminal negligence charges for the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise during a March 28 earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Premchai Karnasuta, the president of Italian-Thai Development Co arrives at Bang Sue Police Station in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 16, 2025 to surrender to police on criminal negligence charges for the collapse of a Bangkok high-rise during a March 28 earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

FILE- Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn, File)