Rachel Cunningham
Two Dublin-based dancers have found themselves one step closer to fulfilling their dreams in light of the announcement that breaking, or breakdancing, has been made an official Olympic Sport for Paris 2024.
B-Girl Threadz, Katie Talpa, 18, and B-Girl Liga, Leigha Foley, 17, have just returned from representing Ireland in breaking at the European Championships in Russia. They have been selected to once again represent Ireland this December in the World Breaking Championships, which will be held in Paris, France.
The House of Swag, the dancing school of these future Olympic hopefuls, stated: “This is a huge opportunity for the girls and Ireland in the world of Breaking. Breaking is a huge sport worldwide but has a very small Irish community, which Threadz and Liga want to change to inspire other kids to get involved in Breaking.
“The girls speak passionately on the impact breaking has had on their mental health and overall lives. It is also predominantly a male-orientated sport, which the girls hope to impact by inspiring other girls and women to take part.”
At the Irish qualifier they were chosen as the top two “B-Girls”, or breaking girls, in Ireland, with Katie placing first and Leigha placing second. Both women are members of House of Swag, a dance club with locations around Dublin, Louth and Meath. They attend the main dance studio in Swords, Katie is from Malahide, Dublin, while Leigha travels to Dublin every day from Athy, Co.Kildare.
Their success in Russia and France will not be counted as Olympic qualifiers, as the Breaking qualifier process will only begin in 2022. They are now in training seven days a week with the aim of qualifying next year to represent Ireland in the upcoming Olympics.
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