Sun Chen (breakdancer) explained

Sun Chen
Nickname:Quake
Birth Date:21 September 1999
Birth Place:Hsinchu, Taiwan
Sport:Breakdancing

Sun Chen (born 21 September 1999) is a Taiwanese breakdancer. Nicknamed "Quake", he competed for Chinese Taipei at the 2022 Asian Games and later qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics, where he served as the Taiwanese co-flag bearer.

Biography

Chen was born on 21 September 1999, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on the day of the deadly 921 earthquake; as such, his breakdancing nickname is "Quake".[1] [2] He is the youngest of three children and was homeschooled until college.[1] [3] In 2010, the film Step Up became popular in Taiwan; according to Focus Taiwan, it "triggered a fad that had the older guys in the neighborhood practicing moves on paperboards, and Sun felt he had to get involved."[4] He said that "I wasn't making any friends if I didn't join them," and so he enrolled in a breakdancing class that year.[3] [4]

Chen enrolled at the University of Taipei for its street-dance department.[4] He won a U18 championship in Australia in 2017 and gained attention in 2019 by rising to a world ranking of 8th.[1] [3] He placed top four at the 2019 Paris BattlePro tournament and top eight at the 2019 OutBreak Europe.[3] In 2020, Chen won the Red Bull BC One Taiwan tournament, and he defended his Taiwan title in 2021.[1] He competed at the Asian Games in 2023.[4] He placed 15th at the Budapest qualifiers for the 2024 Summer Olympics, but had a combined score from a previous event that led to him qualifying for the Olympics, in the first time breakdancing was featured at the games.[5] He was selected as the Taiwan co-flagbearer at the Olympic opening ceremony, along with Tai Tzu-ying.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 霹靂舞國手孫振從自學到挑戰奧運,目標成為最強的一對一B-Boy. PTS Plus TV. 25 December 2023. Chinese. National breakdancer Sun Zhen learned from self-taught to challenge the Olympics, aiming to become the strongest one-on-one B-Boy.
  2. News: 奧運霹靂舞/921大地震寶寶 孫振準備震撼巴黎. United Daily News. Olympic Break Dancing/921 Earthquake Baby Sun Zhen Prepares to Shock Paris. Siru, Zeng. 18 July 2024. Chinese.
  3. Web site: 自學之路開出霹靂舞的火花 B-Boy Quake的挑戰自我之路. Central News Agency. Guanyin, Ye. 24 October 2023. The road to self-teaching opens up the spark of break dancing B-Boy Quake’s road to challenging himself. Chinese.
  4. Web site: FEATURE/Quake alert! Taiwan B-Boy Sun Chen hoping to give Paris a shake. Focus Taiwan. 19 July 2024.
  5. News: Taiwanese breakdancer secures nation's first ticket for Olympic breaking. Taiwan News. 25 June 2024. Lee, Charlotte.
  6. News: 巴黎奧運/戴資穎最後一舞 攜手孫振擔任開幕掌旗官. United Daily News. Yahoo!. Chinese. Zhaoyu, Liu. 19 July 2024.