“It was thanks to breakdance’s entry into the Olympics that I was able to get my first sponsors”, underlines Carlota Dudek

“We are in the qualifying phase, we don’t know the Olympic experience yet”, excites Carlota Dudek, Italian hope in breakdance. Like most of the 2,000 athletes gathered on the banks of the Lez River in Montpellier until Sunday 21 May for the 26th edition of the Extreme Sports Festival (FISE), he hopes to be part of the adventure of the upcoming Paris 2024 Games.

>>> REPLAY – Urban sports: from counterculture to the Paris 2024 Games. Franceinfo Talk live from FISE in Montpellier

If at the age of 21 she has not yet experienced the excitement of the opening ceremony, unlike some skaters or other riders, both skateborad and BMX present at the Olympic Games from Tokyo, Carlota Dudek has already been able to account for what the Olympic Games “label” they may carry. “Having athlete status is something completely different, you’ve never had it before, she says. AGAINSTThis recognition is important and also gives us access to new tools.

“INSEP is now our training centre, it’s just amazing to be able to be side by side with all these female and male athletes, having access to so many facilities.”

Carlota Dudek, tricolor hope in breakdance

on franceinfo

We focus much more on physical preparation, resumes Carlota Dudek. We are in contact with physiotherapists, osteopaths. There are a whole series of elements that we have not taken into consideration in our discipline so far. The presence of the discipline at the Olympic Games also gives us access to new sponsors. It was thanks to breakdancing’s entry into the Games that I was able to get my first sponsors.”

Multiply the structures to be able to practice

The IOC saw the interest in bringing breakdance into the galaxy of disciplines present at the Games, while focusing on skateboarding and reinforcing the importance of BMX.

This greater visibility can only be advantageous, according to the creator of the Fise of Montpellier, Hervé-André Benoît. “If our region is the one where there are more practitioners in France, it is because the communities have invested massively. In the 80s, the Americans slapped us at every competition because they had created ‘parks’ when we didn’t have any .

“With the Olympics, billions of viewers will see the disciplines and millions of kids will say to themselves: ‘I want to play these sports.

Hervé-André Benoît, creator of Fise

on franceinfo

While in France there are around a thousand skateparks for more than 38,000 football pitches, Hervé-André Benoît is convinced that “mayors of municipalities around the world will have to invest in equipment” to respond to this ever growing popularity of urban sports.