Anish Vij
The Australian sporting body that sent Raygun to the Olympics has defended their decision after her zero-score display in Paris.
Raygun - real name Rachael Gunn - set the Games alight in her own way when she took to the breakdancing podium on Friday (9 August).
The lecturer at Macquarie University, who happens to have a PhD in Cultural Studies, shared a unique dance routine.
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It mainly consisted of hopping around like a kangaroo and writhing on the floor like a snake, along with a series of unexplainable moves.
After three rounds of heats she scored zero points, despite some praise from the judges, who called her moves 'original'.
"Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region," judge Martin Gilian (MGbility) said in a press conference.
"This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo."
Assessing her own performance, Gunn said: "All my moves are original. Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry.
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"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."
Meanwhile, Australian sporting body AusBreaking, who were responsible for sending Raygun to the Olympics, has explained how she was selected.
"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," they said.
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"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."
AusBreaking continued: "These judges are all highly respected in their respective communities and in the international breaking scene.
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"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."
The sporting body also said they '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," they added.