Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn’s family have sent an explosive message to the Olympic judges.
On Friday, the sport of breaking made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The women’s competition was won by Japan’s Ami Yuasa, Lithuania’s Dominika Banevic won the silver and Liu Qingyi took the bronze medal.
During the event, Gunn, who goes by ‘Raygun’, went viral after her routine against France’s Sya Dembele scored zero points.
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Now, with the Olympics officially over, Raygun’s family have hit out at the judges.
Her father in law, Andrew Free, wrote on social media: “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 added: “The main thing is she represented Australia and breaking at the Olympics with courage and dignity.”
One of the judges, Martin Gilian said 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.”
He added: “We have five criteria in the competitive judging system and just her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors.
“But again, that doesn't mean that she did really bad. She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier. Unfortunately for her, the other B-girls were better.”
Meanwhile, ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, it has been confirmed that breaking will not be featured.
Reacting to the news, Raygun said: “It was disappointing it was decided that it wouldn’t be in LA, particularly before we even had a chance to show it.
“That was possibly a little premature. I wonder if they’re kicking themselves now? What is an Olympic sport? What are the similarities between dressage and artistic swimming and the 100m sprint and the pentathlon?”
She added: “Breaking is clearly athletic, it clearly requires a whole level of dedication across a number of different aspects. It’s really bringing a new level of excitement.
“Don’t be afraid to be different. Go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.”
Topics: Olympics
Marcus Chan