THE journey of Olympic breaking was a long one that began with a vision — one that early pioneers of the art form in the 1970s in the Bronx had hardly dreamed of.

The 33 breakers representing 15 countries and the Refugee Olympic Team will make their debuts, vying for gold for the first time in Olympic history.

The b-girls were the first to battle each other today, one by one, first through a round-robin phase. They follow rules based on the Trivium judging system, which asks judges to evaluate breakers on their technique, vocabulary or variety, execution, musicality and originality.