Breaking star Kim Yeri revealed as honorary ambassador for Gangwon 2024 YOG
The Republic of Korea athlete, also known as B-girl Yell, won bronze at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, will be supporting the next generation of winter athletes at Asia's first Winter YOG in Gangwon.
Breaking star Kim Yeri has been announced as an honorary ambassador for the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games [YOG].
The announcement was made today, 19 January, at an event in PyeongChang celebrating one year to go until the Opening Ceremony of Asia’s first Winter YOG.
The Republic of Korea athlete was joined by figure skating Olympic gold medallist and fellow Gangwon 2024 ambassador Kim Yuna at the event.
Kim, also known as B-girl Yell, was diagnosed with a hearing impairment aged three, but didn’t let that dampen her passion for playing musical instruments.
She started breaking at the age of 14, and left school to become a professional breaker at 17.
"I think those experiences helped me a lot. When I couldn’t listen to music properly due to issues with my hearing aids, I still managed to dance to the beat and the melody that I could hear, like small noises,” she told Olympics.com.
The Seoul native’s dedication was rewarded with bronze at the Buenos Aires 2018 YOG and a year later she took the 2019 Red Bull BC One Cypher Korea title.
These successes saw Kim’s profile boom, and in 2021 she took part as the only B-girl in Street Woman Fighter, a TV dancing competition.
Today, Kim boasts hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, but her focus remains the same: to win breaking’s first Olympic gold medal at Paris 2024.
In addition to personal glory, she wants to bring more eyes to her sport and create history for her country.
"I want to be on the Olympic stage because it will help to raise public awareness [about the sport]. As the Paris 2024 breaking competition will be broadcast all over my country, many people are sure to recognise Team Korea - even on the streets."
“Obviously, I’m hoping to win a medal, but above all, I want to be part of some memorable Olympic moments."