The head judge for the first ever breakdancing competition at the Olympics defended Australian B-Girl Rachael Gunn after she was cruelly mocked online.
Gunn, a.k.a. “Raygun,” captivated the worldwide audience. But many people mocked her breakdancing style.
“I still don’t understand how she qualified,” one person wrote on X.com. Others didn’t understand how breakdancing became an Olympic sport.
The bunny hop ?? I have not laughed this hard in so long. Thank you Australia.
I still don’t understand how she qualified or who let her into the Olympics, But thank you. ?
If you haven’t gone down the Australian breakdancer rabbit hole you’re truly missing out #olympic2024 pic.twitter.com/IjgPYUIsxe
— BravoUniversitea (@BrvoUniversitea) August 10, 2024
Raygun, 36, scored zero points for her efforts. But Martin Gilian, the head judge of the breaking competition, applauded Raygun for drawing inspiration from a kangaroo for part of her routine.
“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” Gilian said. “This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.”
Raygun responded to the criticism, saying, “I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best: their power moves. What I bring is creativity.”
She said she was trying to bring art and creativity to the Olympics.
“Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about,” said Raygun, who has a PhD in “cultural movement.”
Performers were scored based on the difficulty and creativity of their dance moves.
The Breaking Federation offered mental health therapy to Raygun to help her cope with the criticism.
The feminist breakdancer has become a meme. I cannot stop laughing. pic.twitter.com/4SsImUTNuH
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 12, 2024
We now live in a SNL sketch.
Rachael Gunn, the Australian breakdancer with a “PhD in cultural movement” giving us her performance at the Olympics.
There’s so much to unpack here. pic.twitter.com/eqb2InYVrl
— HilesFiles (@MichaelHiles) August 10, 2024
