PARIS, Aug 10 — The International Olympics Committee (IOC) and Paris 2024 organisers made no secret of wanting to connect with a younger audience by introducing sports with potential to cut through on social media platforms.
And the debut of breakdancing today at the Olympics, definitely did that – for better or for worse.
In its first appearance, and possibly the last, considering it has been dropped from the Los Angeles 2028 programme — the ‘star’ that emerged from breaking, or breakdancing, was not the gold medal winner Ami Yuasa from Japan.
Instead of the slick moves by her, Lithuania’s Dominika “Nicka” Banevic who won the silver or China’s Liu “671” Qingyi who took bronze – what made the world sit up and collectively gasp, was Australia’s first ever breakdancer to qualify for the Olympics in Rachael “Raygun” Gunn who was….in a league of her own.
A total of 17 female breakdancers known as B-Girls went head-to-head in a series of battles before progressing to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the medal showdowns in three head-to-head battles scored by a panel of nine judges.
The first matchup of the day, also the first incident that stirred the Internet – was between India Sardjoe of the Netherlands and Refugee Olympic Team competitor Talash.
Talash, whose real name is Manizha Talash, who left Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to live in Spain two years ago danced wearing a blue cape with “Free Afghan Women” printed on it – and was disqualified.
But the audience were not prepared for what was to follow.
Australia’s Rachael “Raygun” Gunn walked out for her first battle on world champ and No. 2 ranked breaker Nicka.
The Oceania continental champion, featured a variety of unique moves in her choreography that were liked to, including, but not limited to : a kangaroo hop, the garden sprinkler and many more creatively branded labels for her unusual choices.
The Internet collectively unleashed a tsunami of memes.
And the judges agreed, refusing to award her a single round in her three rounds
As multiple reuploads and edits of her routine were shared on social media, Gunn, a 36-year-old Macquarie University lecturer with a PhD in cultural studies, hit back at her critics.
“Looking forward to the same level of scrutiny on what the bboys wear tomorrow,” she remarked on Instagram late on Friday night from Paris.
“I was always going to be the underdog going in,” she told Australia’s Nine Network after her last Paris performance.
“I was never going to beat these B-Girls at what they do, so I did what I do best and I went out and I showed myself, my creativity, my style, a little bit of Australian character so that I could try and make my mark on this world stage.”
Gunn has however kept her positive approach to criticism via her latest posting on Instagram.
