Profile | Liu Qingyi: China’s breaking prodigy aiming to make more history at Paris Olympics
- Born in 2005, Liu, who performs as B-Girl 671, is one of the country’s young, hungry talents
When 17-year-old Chinese breakdancer Liu Qingyi beat her Japanese competitor last October, not only did she pocket the first women’s gold medal ever in breakdancing at the Asian Games, she also qualified directly for the Paris Olympics.
Born in 2005 in Huixian City of central Henan province, Liu, whose nickname is B-Girl 671, is one of the country’s young, hungry talents, and sits in the higher echelon of the female breakdancing world.
Her athletic advancement has been just as impactful and ferocious as her dance style.
It took her only six years to claim the country-level breaking competition at the China Games and then earn a spot on the national breakdancing training team in 2021, after first taking up the sport at the tender age of 10.
Less than a year later she started professional training at Team China and proved her world-class calibre in international competitions, which included victorious trips to Europe in 2022.
“China has carved out a place for itself on the global map of breakdancing,” said Max Oliveira, a veteran who presented the global breaking tournament Outbreak Europe in August 2022, when Liu claimed her first European solo B-Girl battle in Slovakia.
