Breakdancer Sunny Choi reveals when she realized how special it was to represent Team USA at Olympics
Choi is among the first Olympic breaking athletes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sunny Choi will be among the first Americans to appear on Team USA’s breaking team later this summer as the sport takes hold of the Olympics for the first time.
Choi will be wearing the red, white and blue along with three other breaking competitors.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Breaking athlete Sunny Choi poses for a portrait during the 2024 Team USA Media Summit at Marriott Marquis Hotel on April 16, 2024, in New York City. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
But the 35-year-old Tennessee native admitted to Fox News Digital in an interview last week that she "struggled" with the idea of what it meant to represent the United States on the global stage. She said she wasn’t the most patriotic person growing up.
"Growing up, I never really liked wearing USA things or I wasn’t ever very patriotic. So, initially it was a little challenging for me," Choi said.
"But throughout this process, I got to see something really special that sports does that not many other things do in life and it’s that it unites us in a way that almost nothing else does. To see people from all different places all coming together for one cause and to be able to connect and cheer for your favorite people and root for all the other countries. It was just such a beautiful experience to be able to connect in that way that I realized this is what representing Team USA is about. Like, this is what our nation is."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UNITED STATES 'MOST SIGNIFICANT TEAM TO REPRESENT,' OLYMPIC LEGEND DARA TORRES SAYS
Sunny Choi poses during the Team USA Paris 2024 Olympic Portrait Shoot at NBC Universal Studios Stage 16 on Nov. 18, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Choi, who spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of her partnership with Blume, said that while she’s anxious about participating in the Games for the first time, she’s "super proud" to be able to represent the U.S.
"Today going in, I’m super proud to be able to represent Team USA and really proud to be kind of in this movement that really brings people together in a very special way," she said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Breakdancing, better known as breaking, is making its Olympics debut. The competition runs over the course of two days (Aug. 9 and 10). The performers will be scored based on the various combinations of dance moves as a DJ plays music.
Silver medalist Logan Edra, gold medalist Sunny Choi, and bronze medalist B-Girl Mantis pose with their medals after the Breaking For Gold USA regional competition at Industria on April 22, 2023, in Brooklyn. (Elsa/Getty Images)
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Choi won a silver medal in the 2022 World Games and a gold medal in the Pan American Games last year. Victor Montalvo, Jeffery Louis and Logan "Logistx" Edra are on the breaking team with Choi.
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