Japan's Ami Yuasa won the women's breakdancing gold medal at the World Games on Sunday as her compatriot Ayumi Fukushima, last year's world champion, claimed bronze.
Yuasa beat Fukushima in the semifinals and Sunny Choi of the United States in the final, both by a 4-0 score from the panel of judges. Fukushima defeated China's Liu Qingyi 4-0 in the bronze medal battle.
"I'm super happy," said the 23-year-old Yuasa, who combined her spinning power moves with a variety of skills and performed stronger as she progressed through the rounds.
"It doesn't look good if I don't raise my performance toward the end. I was aware of it," the 2019 world champion said.
Fukushima denied Yuasa's back-to-back world titles at last December's final and beat her at the national championship final this January, but the 39-year-old fell short on this occasion.
"My body didn't quite move, and it feels like I was soundly beaten," said Fukushima after the inclement weather on Saturday saw the round-robin held earlier Sunday.
"There might have been some fatigue, but everyone's competing under the same conditions. I'll do my best in the next event."
Yuasa stated she knew the semifinal against Fukushima was "crucial" in claiming the title and vowed to perform her best at any stage possible as the 2024 Paris Olympics debuting sport continues to gain attention.
"I really respect her, but I was absolutely determined to win," she said. "My stance is to be at full tilt, whether it's a domestic or even regional event. I already want to go train."
Shigeyuki Nakarai came third in the men's category as Toa Matano exited the tournament in the preceding round robin. Victor Bernudez Montalvo overcame his fellow American Jeffrey Louis 3-1 for the gold medal in the final.
