Steve Price: Australian PM Anthony Albanese defends under fire breakdancer Olympian Rachael Raygun Gunn

Published: Aug. 11, 2024, 9:39 p.m.

Australian political leaders have leapt to the defence of Rachael Gunn as the\xa0Olympic\xa0team closes ranks behind the under fire breakdancer.

The 36-year-old,\xa0known as Raygun, failed to score a point when breaking made its debut\xa0as an Olympic sport in Paris on Friday.

Vision of the Macquarie University lecturer\u2019s performance sent social media into a spin and raised questions about the sport\u2019s validity.

Back home, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commended Gunn when asked about criticism of her routine.

\u201cRaygun had a crack, good on her, and a big shout out to her,\u201d he told reporters in Adelaide on Sunday.

\u201cThat is in the Australian tradition of people having a go. She\u2019s had a go representing our country, and that\u2019s a good thing.

\u201cWhether they\u2019ve won gold medals or just done their best, that\u2019s all we asked for. It\u2019s the participating that is really important.\u201d

Breakdancing has been dropped from the programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with no guarantee it will return at Brisbane in 2032 or beyond.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said she had enjoyed watching the sport and suggested Raygun was a champion already as someone chosen to represent their nation on the world stage.

\u201cTo quote Taylor (Swift), let the haters hate and let\u2019s just get on celebrate our Olympians\u2019 success,\u201d she said in Melbourne.

Chef de mission Anna Meares was similarly supportive of Gunn, condemning comments from \u201ctrolls and keyboard warriors\u201d.

\u201cI love her character and I feel very disappointed for her that she has come under the attack that she has,\u201d she said.

Gunn lost all three of her round-robin battles by a combined score of 54-0 and admitted post-event that she couldn\u2019t compete athletically with the tricks and spins of her younger opponents.

\u201cWhat I wanted to do was come out here and do something new and different and creative - that\u2019s my strength, my creativity,\u201d she said.

Gunn has published a doctoral thesis entitled\xa0Deterritorialising Gender in Sydney\u2019s Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl\u2019s Experience of B-boying.

The thesis questioned why so few female participants were part of the male-dominated scene but spoke of the sport as a \u201cspace that embraces difference\u201d.

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