Brussels' Maxime Blieck wins silver in breaking world championship

Belgian b-girl Madmax is the second-best female breakdancer in the world. The 22-year-old won silver at the Red Bull BC One 2020, the world championship of breaking.

Maxime Blieck, known by her breaker name Madmax, was one of just eight women invited to the world championships in Austria. Women arrived from all over the world to compete in and celebrate a cultural phenomenon with roots in the 1970s New York hip-hop and street culture.

While “breakdance” is the popular term in the media, “breaker” is the correct term according to the community. Breakers are also called b-boys and b-girls.

Madmax had already impressed judges by winning the Red Bull BC One E-Battle last month. The E-Battle invites anyone in the world to send in breaking videos, which are whittled down to a top 16. The finalists then compete in livestreamed battles. Madmax emerged victorious, ensuring her a place in next year’s BC One world championships.

The final between Madmax and Kastet

And if this year’s performance is any indication, she will be a force to be reckoned with. In Austria, she was beaten only by the reigning champion, Russian B-girl Kastet.

“I could cry from happiness!” she told Bruzz. “This was such an amazing experience. I never thought that I would wind up here. First winning the E-Battle and now runner up at the world final. Next year I’m coming home with the title.”

Madmax lives in Brussels but is originally from Bruges, where she started breaking when she was 14. She had seen young people doing it outside a train station. She is now part of Sport Vlaanderen’s breaking team, which has its eye on the summer Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. It will be the first time that breaking is part of an Olympic Games.

Photo ©Little Shao/Red Bull