Australian breakdancer Raygun has explained how she got zero points at the Olympics, as she spoke out for the first time since her performance.
Raygun, real name Rachael Gunn, was part of breakdancing's debut at the Olympic Games, but went viral after her unorthodox performance scored exactly zero points across three rounds.
Social media has since ridiculed the Aussie performer, though this has been followed by a petition that has been signed by over 54,000 people calling for an apology from Raygun and the nation's Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares.
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But the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has since come out and defended the 36-year-old, who is a university lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney.
The breaker has also spoken out for the first time since the Olympics on Instagram:
In the video, Gunn showed appreciation to those supporting her during and after the games, saying that she didn't know that the 'joy she brought' to people would also result in relentless online abuse.
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She stated: "I really appreciate the positivity and was glad I was able to bring some joy in to your lives. That's what I hoped.
"I didn't realise that would also open the door to so much hate which has frankly been pretty devastating.
"I went out there and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off working for the Olympics. I gave my all, truly.
"I'm honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and breaking Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has been phenomenal."
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However, she also hit back at the critics by clarifying something about her sport, as she lost each of her three round-robin matches by 18-0.
The university lecturer revealed: "Bit of a fun fact for you: there are actually no points in breaking.
"If you want to see how the judges scored me compared to my opponents, you can actually see the comparison percentages across the five criteria on Olympics.com - all the results are there."
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The way breaking is scored in the Olympics is actually a little more complicated than points being awarded.
Judges score competitors on five criteria: technique, vocabulary, originality, execution and musicality. Rather than award points, they give 'a percentage figure indicating the strength of their vote in favour' of each athlete, according to the Olympics website.
Some judges did score Raygun higher in originality and vocabulary than her competitors Logistx (USA), Nicka (Lithuania) and Syssy (France).
But ultimately, every judge sided with Raygun's competitor in each heat overall in both rounds, which is why it's been reported she had scored zero points.
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In her Instagram statement, Raygun also addressed the hate directed elsewhere in the video: "I'd really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the broader street dance community.
"Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this, so I ask you to please respect their privacy."
Raygun won't be seen at the 2028 Olympics, in breakdancing anyway, as it has already been announced that the sport will not be part of the Los Angeles games.
Topics: Olympics, Australia, Viral, Social Media, Sport
Joshua Nair