But seriously, how is she the best Australia has to offer??
I think ever since seeing the now infamous breakdancing athlete Raygun perform at the Olympics, we’ve all been collectively scratching our hands and wondering how exactly she managed to get to the Olympics in the first place.
Well, it looks like we finally have some answers after the official Australian breakdancing sporting body, AusBreaking, explained exactly how Ragyun got selected for the Olympics.
The sporting body explained: “The selection process for Australia’s breaking team heading to Paris was conducted over two days, and open to all interested participants in the Oceanic region. Adhering to World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) regulations, which align with International Olympic Committee (IOC) standards, the process aimed to ensure a fair and transparent outcome.
“A panel of nine international adjudicators, a head judge and a chairperson who oversaw the competition, using the same judging system at the Paris Games and trained to uphold the highest standards of impartiality. These judges are all highly respected in their respective communities and in the international breaking scene.
“Ultimately, Rachael Gunn and Jeff Dunne emerged as the top performers in exactly the same process, securing their spots to represent Australia in Paris. Their selection was based solely on their performance in their battles on that day. In the lead-up to Paris, Raygun used her platform as the Australian Breaking representative to consistently advocate in the media for breaking’s history, artistic and athletic values, and its cultural origins.”
They added: “We condemn the global online harassment and bullying of Raygun. The pressure to perform on the Olympic stage is immense, especially against the opponents in her particular group. We stand in solidarity with Raygun.”
After three rounds of heats, the dancer managed to score zero points, but the judges did offer some positive feedback, calling her moves “original.” Can’t help but feel like that’s a nice way of saying it wasn’t very good to be fair.
Judge Martin Gilian commented during a press conference: “Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region. This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.”
As for her thoughts on her own performance and final score, Raygun admitted: “All my moves are original. 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.”