Cover 35-year-old Sunny Choi is the first woman to qualify for the American breaking team and the first US B-Girl to qualify for the Olympic Games this year (Photos: _sunnychoi/Instagram)
35-year-old Sunny Choi is the first woman to qualify for the American breaking team and the first US B-Girl to qualify for the Olympic Games this year (Photos: _sunnychoi/Instagram)
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Meet 35-year-old Grace Sunny Choi, the first woman to qualify for the American breaking team and the first US B-Girl to compete at the Olympic Games, where breaking will make its debut this year
“I dance with a really big smile on my face most of the time, and that’s actually not particularly common in break culture, because everybody’s basically trying to rip your head off in a ‘battle’, and here I am, like ‘Hi!” laughed Grace ‘Sunny’ Choi in a May 2024 interview with KSL 5 TV after she qualified as the first B-girl from Team USA to compete in the Paris Olympics.
The terms ‘B-girl’ or ‘B-boy’ date back to hip-hop culture in the 70s in New York City, where the acrobatic dance form of breaking first emerged on the streets of the Bronx. Dancers who performed these high-energy routines were called B-girls and B-boys, in contrast to the term breakdancer that is commonly used by those outside the sport.
Living up to her name, Choi’s journey to the 2024 Paris Olympics is a tale of passion, resilience, and bravery. Choi found her love for movement early as a young gymnast, where her quest for an Olympic gold first emerged. After injuries halted her gymnastic career before college, she discovered breaking—a dance form that perfectly blended physical challenge with artistic expression.
It was during her freshman year at UPenn, where she joined the school’s breaking club, that she fell in love with the art.
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Above 35-year-old Sunny Choi is Team USA's first B-girl to compete at the Olympic Games (Photo: Sunny Choi/Facebook)
35-year-old Sunny Choi is Team USA's first B-girl to compete at the Olympic Games (Photo: Sunny Choi/Facebook)
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Despite a demanding but stable corporate career as director of global creative operations at Estee Lauder, one of the largest beauty companies in the world, she maintained breaking as a passion on the side until it was announced that it would debut as a sport for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
At this point, Choi made the bold decision to leave her corporate role and chase her Olympic dream full-time, moving to Queens, New York.
Her dedication paid off spectacularly. At the Pan American Games 2023, Choi won the first gold medal ever presented in breaking, becoming the first American woman to qualify for breaking at the 2024 Olympics in Paris after clinching the sole qualifying spot for a US B-girl to compete for the first time at the Games.
As Sunny prepares to represent Team USA in Paris, she brings her infectious joy to the sport, inspiring others to express themselves freely and push their own boundaries.
“Being open to change is what allowed me to see new pathways for myself that I never would have thought possible,” said the Tennessee-born Korean-American athlete in Samsung’s Voices of Galaxy video, a series celebrating passion, creativity and determination.
“I graduated and started working in corporate, and then they announced breaking was going to the Olympics. I had to make a decision–keep this life that gave me the semblance of stability? Or make a leap for something very new that I knew would make me much happier?”
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The announcement about breaking’s official debut at the Olympics was well-received by some and rejected by others. Inevitably, alongside words of praise and congratulations in response to the news of her Olympics 2024 qualification on social media, Choi also had to endure nastier comments like, “Take this out of the Olympics,” or “This is not a sport. Sorry not sorry.”
Known for its physically exacting standards and incredibly high skill level, breaking also poses a challenge of surprise as the dancer does not know the music that will be played during their set, requiring them to be prepared for anything and improvise.
Despite bringing her unforgettable megawatt smile to her dance form and media interviews, life was not always sunny-side up for this hardworking and driven athlete. Struggling with depression on and off since her adolescence, Choi resolved to take control of her mental wellness, seeking therapy and counselling services provided free by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee after quitting her corporate job.
“I spent so much of my life hating my body. And then when it breaks down, I sit there wondering why this is happening and what I did wrong,” she said in an Instagram post last September. “Working on reversing this mentality and being grateful for the beautiful and strong body that I have.”
In breaking, and in life, Sunny continues to defy expectations, making her journey one to watch on the road to Paris 2024.
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Previously contributing to Esquire Malaysia, Expat Lifestyle and Newsweek, Tania oversees digital stories across Tatler’s key content pillars, also leading the Front & Female platform exploring issues and topics affecting women today.
