ALL EYES WILL be on Jeff Dunne at the Paris Olympics. Most of those eyes will be attracted out of curiosity, as Paris 2024 will be the sport of breaking’s – what a layman would describe as competitive breakdancing – Olympic debut. Dunne, and his fellow breakers – which we’re told are actually called B-Boys – will have the opportunity to turn that curiosity into amazement. And as one of the best in the world at what he does, Dunne is perfectly positioned to do so.
At just 16 years old, Dunne is already a shot at a medal. He’s ranked 25th in the world and qualified as one of just 16 B-Boys taking to the stage in Paris after winning gold at the 2023 Oceania Breaking Championships, seeing off 37 other competitors. Dunne can pull off power moves and acrobatic manoeuvres with the best of them, but physicality is only part of the challenge. A high level of mental toughness is required for an athlete to succeed at the highest level, which is why the Olympics are adapting prioritising mental health.
For the first time, the Olympic Village will contain an Athlete 365 Mind Zone at Paris 2024, a first-of-its-kind space designed to help athletes relax, recharge and mentally prepare for competitions. In this space, Olympians like Dunne can talk with mental health professionals from the IOC Safe Sport team; jump in a ‘disconnection pod’ for a virtual reality mindfulness experience, or even practise gratitude writing to help focus on the positive influences in their life.
The mind zone will provide Dunne with all the support he needs in Paris, but he has a few tricks up his own sleeve when it comes to dealing with pressure and ensuring he’s in the right headspace. Here, the soon-to-be Olympian chats mentally tackling breaking, the power of meditation and golden dreams.
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On mentally tackling breaking:
“I work with a psychologist; he teaches me how to stay in the present because sometimes we’re too worried about the outcome or we’re too worried about what happened before, and that’s really what gets us nervous or our heart pumping. We’re too focused in other spaces in our head that we’re too carried away. So he’s taught me to just be in the now, just look around and see what’s happening in the now. Control your breathing as well. Just simple things that really matter a lot and it’s really helped me when it comes to dancing because I’m more calm, I’m less nervous, and especially when I’m versing big names, I use a lot of these meditation skills.”
On his favourite meditation technique:
“Just inhaling for three seconds and then slowly exhaling out for three seconds and just thinking about what I’m doing right now, not worrying about what’s happening in the future or what just happened, just thinking about the now.”
On his Olympic goal:
“To make podium. I reckon there are a lot of people that don’t reckon a 16-year-old will make podium, but I’m willing to change their minds.”
The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will screen live and free on the 9Network and 9Now.
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