Olympics 2024 : Targeted by many mockeries on social networks after her performance in the first round of the breaking event on Friday at the Olympics, Australian Rachael Gunn was keen to defend her “creativity”.
She says she has no regrets. And it doesn’t matter if she lost all her battles without collecting a single point from the judges. Soundly beaten in the qualifying stages on Friday, for the (mixed) debut of breaking at the Olympic Games, the Australian Rachael Gunn, alias Raygun, was not spared on social networks. Target of criticism from Internet users and very harsh mockery for her style and her figures considered unacademic, the one who was eliminated by the French b-girl Syssy wanted to defend her performance.
“I wanted to offer something new”
“All my movements were original. Creativity is really important to me. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn’t. But I did my thing. I wanted to come here and come up with something new. That’s my strength. I knew I couldn’t beat these girls on what they do best, so I wanted to move differently, be creative. I was an outsider and I wanted to leave my mark in a different way,” she reacted in comments reported by The Guardian.
Professeure d’université et titulaire d’un doctorat en études culturelles, Rachael Gunn, âgée de 36 ans, étudie notamment au quotidien les spécificités et l’évolution du breakdance, cette discipline née dans les années 1970 aux États-Unis et donc intégrée pour la première fois à Paris au programme des JO. L’expérience ne sera toutefois pas reconduite à Los Angeles en 2028.
“What is an Olympic sport? It’s such a broad question… What are the similarities between dressage and artistic swimming? Between the sprint and the pentathlon? I have the impression that breaking meets the required criteria. In any case, it’s not the end of breaking, the culture of this sport is strong,” said “Raygun”, who was above all proud to have represented at the Games and not disturbed by the mockery she received on social networks.
“I look forward to the same level of demand tomorrow for the b-boys,” she concluded on Instagram. “Don’t be afraid to be different. Go ahead, you never know where it’s going to take you.”