It should therefore come as less of a surprise that, as Paris prepares in a little over five years’ time to host its third Olympic Games, break dancing looks a shoe-in to be part of the program.

In the modern paradigm of these matters, the local organisers have the opportunity to include a handful of sports of their own choice that they reckon might make their edition a little more attractive or memorable.

For the Japanese when choosing their range of new sports for Tokyo 2020 there were both conservative and groundbreaking elements.

They returned baseball/softball to the Olympic scene and introduced karate knowing the huge following each has in the host country.

But they were prepared to be a bit more adventurous in nominating surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing – each of which much better fitted the International Olympic Committee’s mantra of connecting more with the younger generations around the world.

Squash has been the most persistent of candidate sports but maybe because it is essentially a game of former generations, it lucked out for 2020 and seems to have once again missed the cut.

The message seems pretty clear and with the sport having little profile in the United States, squash’s chances would seem doomed for 2028 when the Games head back to Los Angeles. Its window of opportunity is surely gone.

For baseball/softball and karate though the news that the French organisers are not all that keen must be even more devastating.

Even without the chance to strut their stuff in Tokyo the darkest of clouds is already looming over their moment in the Olympic sun.

But for the trio of 21st century sports the story is vastly different. In reverse in fact – even without demonstrating that they can present well within the Olympic envelope they get another gig.

It was perhaps not a huge leap of faith for Paris to add break dancing to this cohort.

A stroll around the back lanes and railway courtyards of urban France and it’s not hard to find evidence of this ingrained element of modern French culture.

That the likely format will be 'battles' is even more so – for that’s exactly what happens in real life. 

One of the real benefits of the emergence of the Youth Olympic Games is that it provides an opportunity for disciplines like this to be trialled as occurred in Buenos Aires last October.

For the old and crusty traditionalists this will look like a bridge way too far – particularly as they are still recovering from the addition of tennis and golf to the Olympic schedule and the opening up of basketball to the top professionals.

But the challenge for the IOC is to make the Olympics relevant for both today and the future.

Its past product is so strong, even with all its mishaps, that the history speaks for itself.

When television vox pops reveal that a fair proportion of young Australians can’t name the current prime minister, it’s wise for the Olympic movement to be conscious of the fact that those same folk won’t have a clue which sports are up for gold, silver and bronze next time around.

Delivering a decent compact of disciplines that have a better chance of providing a connection is a smart move.

Especially when the vast majority of the program still reflects tradition and respect.

When DanceSport first gained Olympic recognition in the late 1990s, almost certainly it would have had its Latin American genres more in mind.

It’s willingness to adapt has now almost certainly paid dividends.

Given the IOC rubber-stamped the Tokyo 2020 organiser choices, it’s unlikely they will knock the French back.

With a certain proclivity towards being different to everyone else, what the Americans come up with for 2028 may be even more groundbreaking.