The family of Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn have sent an explosive message to the Olympics judges who gave her a score of zero.
Without a doubt, the 36-year-old delivered the most viral moment of the Paris Olympics with her performance in the breakdancing category on Friday (9 August).
Gunn, who goes by 'Raygun' in the dance world, also happens to be a lecturer at Macquarie University, with a PhD in Cultural Studies.
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However, Gunn swapped books for breakdancing last week when she delivered - let's call it a unique experience.
She scored zero in all three rounds of heats after her routine consisted of writhing on the floor and hopping around like a kangaroo.
Her family have since spoken out following the judges' decision last week.
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Andrew Free, Raygun's father-in-law, wrote on social media on Saturday (10 August): "It was a pretty stacked competition and the judges were clearly looking for a certain style of breaking which is not Rachael's.
"Although they are supposed to mark five different aspects with each having the same weighting, in my obviously biased opinion they did not reward originality and musicality so she was up against it.
"The main thing is she represented Australia and breaking at the Olympics with courage and dignity."
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Meanwhile, one of the judges, MGbility (real name Martin Gilian), praised Raygun for her 'originality'.
"Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region," 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.
"We have five criteria in the competitive judging system and just her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors.
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"But again, that doesn't mean that she did really bad. She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier. Unfortunately for her, the other B-girls were better."
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Raygun, herself, also admitted: "All my moves are original. Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry.
"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."
The breakdancer made a name for herself after she won the WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.
Top 10 performing Olympic nations
- USA - 126 medals (40 gold)
- China - 91 medals (40 gold)
- Japan - 45 medals (20 gold)
- Australia - 53 medals (18 gold)
- France - 64 medals (16 gold)
- Netherlands - 34 medals (15 gold)
- Great Britain - 65 medals (14 gold)
- South Korea - 32 medals (13 gold)
- Italy - 40 medals (12 gold)
- Germany - 33 medals (12 gold)
Anish Vij