An Olympic breakdancing judge admits Raygun’s level ‘was not as high other competitors’ after she failed to score a single point in Paris.
Australian B-girl Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn scored zero in all three of her heats during the event on Friday but became a global sensation after her performance went viral on social media.
The 36-year-old was unable to impress the five-strong judging panel with her moves, which included the now-infamous kangaroo hop.
However, Olympic breaking head judge, Martin Gilian, who performs as MGbility, has defended Raygun’s performance and insists her score was impacted by the quality of her rivals on stage.
‘I feel personally very sorry,’ MGbility said.
‘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.
‘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.’
Raygun finished above Manizha Talash, who was disqualified, but MGbility insists the Australian, who is a university lecturer in Sydney, brought ‘something new to the table’.
‘She was representing Australia and Oceania and did her best,’ MGbility said.
‘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.
‘Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table from your country or region and this is exactly what Raygun was doing.
‘She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was you know, kangaroo, the animal.
‘For breaking, when you look for innovations or originality, you always search outside of dancing. Martial arts, how the animals move, anything.’
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