‘She was up against it’
The family of Australian breakdancer Raygun have slammed Olympic judges after she scored zero in all three rounds of heats.
Raygun whose real name is Rachael Gunn went viral for her unique performance on Friday 9 August at the Paris Olympics.
The 36-year-old’s routine consisted of moves such as the kangaroo hop and showed her writhing around on the floor.
The family of the University lecturer, who has a PhD in Cultural Studies, have now spoken out about the judges decision to award her zero points.
Andrew Free, Gunn’s father-in-law posted on social media over the weekend: “It was a pretty stacked competition and the judges were clearly looking for a certain style of breaking which is not Rachael’s.
“Although they are supposed to mark five different aspects with each having the same weighting, in my obviously biased opinion they did not reward originality and musicality so she was up against it.”
He went on to say that Gunn had represented Australia with ‘courage and dignity’.
Yesterday, one of the judges MGbility praised Raygun for her ‘originality’ saying: “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.”
MGbility went on to say that her ‘level was maybe not as high as the other competitors’.
Gunn herself admitted that her moves were original saying: “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.”
Raygun qualified for the Olympics when she won the WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.
