Yahoo Lifestyle An Olympic Breakdancing Judge Just Broke His Silence on Raygun’s Zero-Point Score
Idk about you, but I—and likely the rest of the world, tbh—am totally still recovering from Rachael Gunn’s iconic performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Like, the breaker (also known as Raygun) was truly delightful as she took center stage during the Olympic debut of breakdancing in this year’s competition series.
And though she left the city an internet sensation after being praised by millions of people on social media, she sadly didn’t make the same impression on the judges, who awarded her a total of zero points during her performance on Saturday, August 10. (FYI, in the end, Japan’s Ami Yuasa won the gold medal, while Lithuania’s Dominika Banevič and China’s Liu Qingyi took home silver and bronze, respectively.)
Fast-forward a few days from her highly-watched routine, and the top judge of the breakdancing competition has opened up about the harsh assessment. “We have five criteria in the comparative judging system. Her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors,” Martin Gilian, whose stage name is MGbility, revealed during a press conference (via the Daily Mail).
“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. 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,” he continued before adding, “Unfortunately for her, the other b-girls were better. That’s why she didn’t score any votes in her rounds.”
During a separate interview with the BBC, however, the judge had a slightly more, erm, praiseful tone when discussing Raygun’s routine. Ahem: “Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table...and this is exactly what Raygun was doing.”
Someone else who lauded the breakdancer’s routine? That would be Anna Meares, a former professional cyclist/Australia’s chef de mission, who told reporters the following (via CNN): “If you don’t know Rachael’s story, in 2008, she was locked in a room crying being involved in a male-dominated sport as the only woman, and it took great courage for her to continue on and fight for her opportunity to participate in a sport that she loved.”
“That got her to winning the Olympic qualifying event to be here in Paris. She is the best breakdancer, female, that we have in Australia…She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit, with great enthusiasm and I absolutely love her courage. I love her character, and I feel very disappointed for her that she has come under the attack that she has,” she added.
Honestly, we (and Adele, apparently) ride at dawn for Raygun!
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