A judge at the Paris Olympics has explained why Australian breakdancer Raygun received a grand total of zero points for her unique performance.
The Paris 2024 Games saw the introduction of breakdancing as a competitive event for the first time ever, with athletes from around the world descending on the French capital to show off their best power moves.
However, the event has since gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock – or spent the last couple of weeks with no internet connection – you’ll be more than aware of who Australian breakdancer Raygun is.
Raygun, AKA Sydney university lecturer Rachael Gunn, failed to impress the judges with her kangaroo hopping, leaving the competition without scoring a single point – and becoming the face of a brutal wave of memes online.
Raygun – real name Rachel Gunn – gave a polarising performance. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Now a judge from the breakdancing event has weighed in on Gunn’s brutal score, explaining that the 36-year-old was just ‘not as high as the other competitors’.
Expressing sympathy with Gunn over the reaction she’s received, judge MGbility said: “I feel personally very sorry.”
“The breaking and hip hop community definitely stands behind her. She was just trying to bring something new, something original and something that represents her country,” he told News Corp.
“We stay with her. We have five criteria in the comparative judging system. Just her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors.
“Again, we’re using a comparative judging system. Her competitors were just better but it doesn’t mean that she did really bad. She did her best.”
MGbility – real name Martin Gilian – went on to add that he believed Gunn’s moves were representative of her country, saying: “She was representing Australia and Oceania and did her best.
“She won the Oceania qualifier officially. If some people are wondering how she got into the Olympic Games, she qualified from her region.
“Unfortunately for her, the other b-girls were better. That’s why she didn’t score any votes in her rounds.”
One of the judges has since revealed they feel ‘personally sorry’ for the 36-year-old. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Speaking about her Olympic performance, Gunn said: “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.”
It has also been revealed that Gunn’s mental health is being monitored, following the online reaction to her routine.
Meanwhile it has since been confirmed that the breakdancing category will not be returning for a second run at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
However anyone wanting to dust off their rest kangaroo hops may have a chance in eight years time, as the World DanceSport Federation is hoping the sport could make a comeback for Brisbane ’32.
Raygun received zero points for her unique performance. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
“Our campaign to be added to Brisbane 2032 has already begun and is being ably led by our first vice-president and resident Australian Tony Tilenni,” WDSF President Shawn Tay said in a statement.
“Initial reactions from all participants to the breaking presentations, including Brisbane officials at the Australian Olympic Committee’s one year to go to Paris 2024 celebrations, have been highly optimistic about our chances of being added to these Games.”
Olympics 2024 highlights – the biggest moments
The 21-year-old French pole vaulter attempted to clear the 5.70 metres on 3 August when his knee – along with his private parts – got in the way, shattering his Olympic dreams.
Iconic shooter Yusuf Dikec wins silver medal with ‘no equipment’
Yusuf Dikec became a viral sensation. (Eurosport)
Turkey’s Yusuf Dikec took a laid back approach when he was spotted looking incredibly relaxed with one hand in his pocket and without any shooting gear on.
It all paid off though as he took home the silver along with his partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan.
Noah Lyles’ 100m victory
He set a personal best (Eurosport)
Setting a new personal best, Lyles came out on top at the finish line by a margin of just 0.005 seconds, with a final time of 9.784.
The final also marked the fastest race of all time, with all eight athletes crossing the finish line in under 10 seconds.
George Mills and Hugo Hay’s 5000m bust up
Chaos erupted when a total of five athletes found themselves face down on the track after an incident left several runners stumbling on top of each other, including Team GB’s George Mills and French runner Hugo Hay.
Mills looked as though he had some harsh words for Hay after the tumble which he admitted he was ‘probably not allowed to say’.
Ana Carolina Vieira gets sent home for breaking athletes’ village rules with boyfriend
The swimmer was sent home after her actions. (Instagram/_anavieeiraa)
Ana Carolina Vieira was sent home after she and her boyfriend Gabriel Santos – also a swimmer competing in the Olympics – left the village without permission, which is against the Olympic Village rules.
Team GB star becomes first ever Olympian to win medal in both male and female events
Henry Fieldman (bottom left) made history. (henryfieldman/Instagram)
Coxswain Henry Fieldman made history when he won bronze at the women’s crews event off the back of his bronze win in Tokyo on the men’s team.
Fieldman was able to achieve the feat because of a rule change back in 2017 that allows coxes of either gender to steer the eights.
The River Seine drama
Tyler Mislawchuk threw up after his race (BBC)
While Canada’s Tyler Mislawchuk vomited after swimming in the river, Belgian triathlete Jolien Vermeylen admitted she ‘felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much’.
It came after health concerns were raised over the pollution levels in the river, with the country splashing out a cool £1.18 billion on cleaning it up in time for the games.
Freddie Crittenden jogs for entire race on purpose
The Team USA star purposely put on a leisurely performance in his first heat of the Men’s 110m hurdles and ended up being the last one to make it across the finish line with a time of 18.27 seconds.
The athlete said it was a calculated move to avoid aggravating a sore muscle in his leg and due to the introduction of repechage rounds, he knew that he’d have another chance at glory.
‘Slow pool’ accusations
The pool at the Paris La Défense Arena is 2.15 metres deep which is short of the minimum of 2.5 metres that World Aquatics recommends for an Olympic competition, prompting backlash from viewers.
As a result of the difference in depth, an issue called ‘slow’ swimming is created where the water is more volatile when dispersed than in a deeper pool.
Imane Khelif’s opponent quits boxing match 46 seconds in
Italy’s Angela Carini has since apologised (Eurosport)
The Algerian boxer faced Italy’s Angela Carini in the round of 16 match on 1 August when Carini – who has since apologised – decided to abandon the match after 46 seconds.
Khelif – who was born and raised a girl – was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi amid claims from the International Boxing Association that she was not able to meet their unspecified eligibility criteria.
Khelif has since been at the centre of a gender row, and has urged people to ‘refrain from bullying all athletes’ amid abuse online.
In the end, she silenced her critics in the best way possible: with a gold medal in the welterweight division.
Luana Alonso ‘kicked out’ of Olympic Village
Luana Alonso took to social media to break her silence (Instagram/@luanalonsom)
The Paraguayan swimmer was said to have been asked to leave the village amid accusations of creating an ‘inappropriate environment’, according to a statement from her team.
Alonso – who also announced her retirement from the sport – has since denied the claims and urged people to ‘stop spreading false information’.
Gold medal winner Thomas Ceccon spotted sleeping in park amid village complaints
Ceccon having a cheeky snooze. (Instagram)
The athlete, who won gold in the men’s 100m backstroke, was spotted taking a nap outside by Saudi rower Husein Alireza who posted it to his Instagram account, tagging the spot as a location within the official Olympic Village.
Speaking about his accommodation, Ceccon said: “It’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Usually, when I’m at home, I always sleep in the afternoon. Here I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”
Steven van de Velde booed while making his Olympic debut
Steven van de Velde is a convicted child rapist (Eurosport)
The convicted child rapist was booed as he competed in the preliminary phase of the beach volleyball men’s tournament at the start of the games last month.
In 2016, Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old girl in August 2014, with many furious that he has been allowed to compete in the Olympics.
George Mills squares up to opponent
The men’s 5,000 metres heats erupted into chaos on Wednesday (7 August), with Team GB’s George Mills accusing France’s Hugo Hay of pushing him.
The two athletes even shared a tense exchange at the finish line.
Four runners ended up on the floor in the tumble, with three of them put through to the final.
But Mills ultimately didn’t end up with a medal, finishing 21st in the final with a time of 13:32:32.
Jordan Chiles stripped of medal
It was a heartbreaking Olympics for Jordan Chiles (Instagram/@jordanchiles)
It was a heartbreaking Olympics for Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles.
After she’d walked away with a bronze medal on the women’s floor exercise gymnastics, a court ruled that a Team USA inquiry that secured her podium finish came four seconds too late.
As such, Romania’s Ana Barbosu was reinstated in third, with Chiles potentially having to hand back her medal.
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