Ami Yuasa (湯浅 亜実, Yuasa Ami, born December 11, 1998),[1] also known mononymously as Ami,[1] is a Japanese breakdancer and Olympic gold medalist. She is the winner of the 2018 and 2023 Red Bull BC One world championship and the WDSF World Breaking Champions 2019 and 2022. She is a member of the Good Foot Crew.[2]

Ami Yuasa
湯浅亜実
Yuasa in 2022
Personal information
Born (1998-12-11) December 11, 1998 (age 25)
Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Sport
Country Japan
SportBreaking
Medal record
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris B-Girls
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Nanjing B-Girls
Silver medal – second place 2021 Paris B-Girls
Gold medal – first place 2022 Seoul B-Girls
World Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham B-Girls
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou B-Girls

Early life and education

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Yuasa was born in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture.[3][4] She graduated from Saitama Prefectural Kawaguchi High School and Komazawa University, Faculty of Letters, in the Department of English and American Literature.[5]

Career

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Yuasa started learning hip hop in the first grade of elementary school due to the influence of her sister Ayu, who is four years older than her, and started breaking in the fifth grade.[3]

In April 2018, Yuasa won the B-Girl World Final of Red Bull BC One held in Zurich, Switzerland.[3] In 2019, she won the inaugural WDSF World Breaking Championship held in Nanjing, China.[3] In September 2019, Yuasa won the 1st World Urban Championship held in Budapest, Hungary.[6] In November 2020, she won the 2nd All Japan Breaking Championship in the Open B-Girl division.[7] In 2021, Yuasa is the runner up in the 3rd WDSF World Breaking Championship held in Paris, France.[8][9] Although she was unable to win for the second time in a row, she and her sister Ayu, who came in third, made it to the podium together.[10]

Yuasa participated at the 2022 World Games in the dancesport competition where she won the gold medal in the B-Girls event.[1][11][12] In October 2022, she won the 4th WDSF World Breaking Championships held in Seoul, South Korea for the second time, following her victory in 2019.[13][14]

Yuasa represented Japan in Breaking in the 2024 Summer Olympics,[15] winning the gold medal.[16] Dominika Banevič of Lithuania took the silver medal.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "2022 World Games: DanceSports Breaking Results Book" (PDF). World Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  2. ^ RedBull.com. "B-Girl Ami(湯浅亜実)- ブレイクダンス". Red Bull. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "「自分のダンススタイルをとことん貫いて、どこまで通用するのか挑戦したい」ブレイキン 湯浅亜実/ロングインタビュー". MEN'S NON-NO WEB. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  4. ^ "Ami". Olympics.com. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  5. ^ 駒澤大学. "【同窓生の活躍】ブレイキン・湯浅亜実さん 2022.10". Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "ブレイクダンス、湯浅が初代女王 世界アーバン大会". 日本経済新聞. 2019-09-15. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  7. ^ "日本全国からトップBBOY & BGIRLが集結!「第2回全日本ブレイキン選手権」「JOC ジュニアオリンピックカップ ブレイキン選手権」ダイジェスト". FINEPLAY. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  8. ^ GQ JAPAN (August 2021). "ブレイキン・湯浅亜実「何歳でもB-Girl」2021.8.1". Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  9. ^ danceview.co.jp. "「2022年度文部科学大臣顕彰をブレイキン選手が受賞」2022.11.27". Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  10. ^ Olympics. "「世界を魅了するブレイカー湯浅亜実」". Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  11. ^ Berkeley, Geoff (10 July 2022). "Egyptian sumo team banned from World Games over "poor sportsmanship"". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Ami Yuasa wins World Games gold as Ayumi Fukushima finishes third". The Japan Times. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  13. ^ jiji.com. "「湯浅亜実が2度目制覇 男子の半井重は準V―世界ブレイクダンス」2022.10.22". Archived from the original on 2022-10-22. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  14. ^ 多摩区民ニュース. "「B-Girl Amiこと湯浅亜実さんら川崎市に住むブレイクダンサー3人」2022.10". Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  15. ^ Pu, Jason. "6 B-Girls To Watch At The Paris 2024 Olympics". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  16. ^ "Breaking Results". Olympics.com.
  17. ^ "Raygun: Australian professor's breakdancing routine goes viral as she fails to score a single point at Paris Olympics". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
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