Breaking community defends b-girl Raygun and is hopeful for return to Olympic program

PARIS — The breaking community wants the world to give b-girl Raygun a break as the Paris Olympics wrapped up. The sport made its Olympic debut in Paris — it might never be back — and one of the lasting images was the performance of an Australian b-girl known as Raygun who did a "kangaroo dance" and scored zero points. In a show of support on Sunday, the head judge of the breaking competition said 36-year-old university professor Rachael Gunn was just trying to be original. And the breaking federation says it has offered mental health support in the wake of online criticism. "Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region," head judge Martin Gilian — known as MGbility — said at 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." The breaking and hip-hop communities "definitely stand behind her," he added. "We have five criteria in the competitive judging system and just her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors," MGbility said. "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." Sergey Nifontov, general secretary of the World DanceSport Federation, said they've been in direct contact with Gunn and Australian Olympic team officials "We offered (the) support of our safe-guarding officer. We are aware about what has happened, especially on social media, and definitely we should put the safety of the athlete, in this case, mental safety in first place," he said. "She has us as a federation supporting her." Breaking — known to many break dancing, a term its performers dislike — is not on the program for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The next Summer Games after that will be in Brisbane, Australia. "We believe that this has nothing to do with our chances for Brisbane 2032," Nifontov said when asked about the criticism of Raygun and getting back into the Olympics. Japan's Ami Yuasa, known better as b-girl Ami, won the gold medal and said she wished Los Angeles organizers had waited to experience the energy between the athletes and the crowd at Place de la Concorde. "I feel so sad about it not happening in Los Angeles, because breaking was born in the USA," she said Sunday. "Breaking is not just a sport, it's also expressing myself and art." Federation president Shawn Tay defended the evolution — from what started as an art form in the 1970s in the Bronx to an Olympic appearance. Critics have questioned the commercialization of the sport. "Right from the beginning we were warned that some of the breakers — the top breakers — may not take part," he said. "But now we have achieved to bring them all in — we have all the best breakers. Now they are fighting for the glory of their country — it's a totally different thing. And that's actually pushed them to improve so much, to work so hard in a more scientific way."