Sun Chen (Chinese: 孫振; pinyin: Sūn Zhèn, 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.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Quake |
| Born | 21 September 1999 Hsinchu, Taiwan |
| Education | University of Taipei |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Chinese Taipei |
| Sport | Breakdancing |
Biography
editSun was born on 21 September 1999, in Hsinchu, Taiwan, on the day of the deadly Jiji 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 the Central News Agency, 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]
Sun 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, Sun won the Red Bull BC One Taiwan tournament, and he defended his Taiwan title in 2021.[1] The following year, Sun participated in the team event at the FISE de Montpellier.[5] 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.[6][7] He was selected as the Taiwan co-flagbearer at the Olympic opening ceremony, along with Tai Tzu-ying.[8] At the Olympics, he was eliminated in the preliminary round of 16 after placing third in his group.[9][10] After appearing in the 2024 Olympics, Sun became the first Taiwanese breakdancer to reach the final of The Notorious IBE,[11] and won the 1 vs 1 competition in the 2024 edition of Outbreak Europe.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "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" [National breakdancer Sun Zhen learned from self-taught to challenge the Olympics, aiming to become the strongest one-on-one B-Boy]. PTS Plus TV (in Chinese). 25 December 2023.
- ^ Siru, Zeng (18 July 2024). "奧運霹靂舞／921大地震寶寶 孫振準備震撼巴黎" [Olympic Break Dancing/921 Earthquake Baby Sun Zhen Prepares to Shock Paris]. United Daily News (in Chinese).
- ^ a b c d Guanyin, Ye (24 October 2023). "自學之路開出霹靂舞的火花 B-Boy Quake的挑戰自我之路" [The road to self-teaching opens up the spark of break dancing B-Boy Quake’s road to challenging himself] (in Chinese). Central News Agency.
- ^ a b c d "FEATURE/Quake alert! Taiwan B-Boy Sun Chen hoping to give Paris a shake". Central News Agency. 19 July 2024.
- ^ "Taiwan dancers take first place in France X sports festival team event". Central News Agency. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Lee, Charlotte (25 June 2024). "Taiwanese breakdancer secures nation's first ticket for Olympic breaking". Taiwan News.
- ^ Chen, Jung-chen; Lo, James (24 June 2024). "OLYMPICS/Taiwan B-Boy breaks into inaugural Olympic competition". Central News Agency. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Li, and, Chien-chung; Huang, Chiao-wen; Chao, Yen-hsiang (27 July 2024). "OLYMPICS/Tai, Sun carry flag for Team Taiwan at Paris Olympics opening ceremony". Central News Agency. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Lee, Charlotte (11 August 2024). "Taiwan's Sun Chen eliminated in Olympic breaking debut". Taiwan News.
- ^ Tseng, Judy; Lo, James (11 August 2024). "OLYMPICS/Taiwan breaks onto Olympic dance stage with Quake's seismic moves". Central News Agency. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Huang, Hsiao-wen; Chao, Yen-hsiang (20 August 2024). "B-Boy Quake reaches final at The Notorious IBE dance event". Central News Agency. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Li, Chien-chung; Lo, James (25 August 2024). "Taiwanese Olympic breakout dancer wins Outbreak Europe 2024". Central News Agency. Retrieved 29 August 2024.