Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn rigged Olympic choices by organising her personal governing physique, working the Olympic qualifiers, and putting in her husband as a coach for the nationwide breakdancing crew.
In August 2024, rumors unfold on social media in regards to the qualifications of Rachael Gunn (also referred to as “Raygun”), an Australian breakdancer who competed within the 2024 Paris Olympics. Gunn’s breakdancing — also referred to as breaking — got here underneath fireplace on the Video games as clips of her failed routine went viral on social media, with quite a few customers creating memes or mocking the dancer’s strikes.
In accordance with some reports, Gunn scored zero factors on all her rounds. One decide said in a information convention they used a “comparative judging system,” whereas Gunn defined they’d “comparability percentages” as scoring. The Olympics website famous Raygun obtained no votes from judges in all three of her occasions, and thus didn’t advance previous the primary spherical.
Numerous rumors flew alleging Gunn by some means “rigged” the Olympics-selection course of to get in. A few of these alleged she and her husband had been the “founders” of the Australian Breaking Affiliation (ABA, additionally referred to as AUSBreaking) — the group liable for growing breaking and hip hop within the area — that her husband was a part of the choice committee and later coached the nationwide crew, and that Gunn denied funding to a gaggle of proficient breakdancers to attend the qualifiers.
One of many largest sources of the rigging rumor was a Change.org petition that claimed corruption within the breaking choice course of. Titled, “Maintain Raygun Rachel Gunn & Anna Mears [head of the Australian Olympic mission] Accountable for Unethical Conduct Olympic Choice,” it stated:
Rachel Gunn, who arrange her personal governing physique for breakdancing, has manipulated the choice course of to her personal benefit. Regardless of the clear expertise and qualification of different excellent feminine breakdancers like G Clef and Holy Molly, they had been unfairly ignored. The NT Youlong Boys, a gaggle of extremely proficient and underprivileged youth from the Northern Territory, had been denied essential funding by Dr. Gunn to attend the qualifiers—a call that instantly impacted their probability to showcase their abilities on a nationwide stage.
Disturbingly, Dr. Gunn went on to win her personal qualifier, defeating different phenomenal breakdancers, elevating critical questions in regards to the equity and integrity of the method. If Dr. Gunn’s husband is certainly the Australian coach and a part of the choice panel, this represents a blatant battle of curiosity that can’t go unchecked.
Who’s Behind Australian Breaking Affiliation?
Gunn and her husband, Samuel Free, haven’t any function in AUSBreaking. The present president is Lowe Napalan. Gunn and Free should not on the governing physique, in accordance with the website.
Breaking was included as a sport within the 2018 Summer season Youth Olympic Video games in Buenos Aires, and after its success, was formally included within the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Napalan based AUSBreaking in 2019, in accordance with Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald. By then, he was already a two-time Australian/Oceania Battle of the 12 months Champion.
Napalan registered the AUSBreaking as a charity and employed main Australian breakers for the crew because the nation didn’t have a longtime physique to appoint for the Olympics crew. Per their registration documents, Gunn and Free had been by no means a part of the group.
After the Olympics confirmed breaking could be a part of the competitors in 2020, AUSBreaking introduced it will be holding competitions and launched a nationwide rating system.
How Was Gunn Chosen for the Olympics?
Gunn and Free weren’t linked to the choice course of. In August 2022, the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) — the governing physique for dance sports activities — introduced the qualification timeline for breaking. On its schedule, the group famous the Oceania Championship as a acknowledged occasion for Australia’s qualifiers.
Gunn was chosen on the Oceania Championship in October 2023. A press release from AUSBreaking condemned the later bullying of Raygun and shared how the choice course of occurred:
The choice course of for Australia’s Breaking crew heading to Paris was carried out over two days, and open to all individuals within the Oceanic area. Adhering to World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) laws, which align with Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) requirements, the method aimed to make sure a good and clear final result.
The Oceania Olympic choice occasion (The QMS 2023 WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships) in October 2023 introduced collectively the highest Breakers, each Bgirls and Bboys. A panel of 9 worldwide adjudicators, a head decide and a chairperson who oversaw the competitors, utilizing the identical judging system on the Paris Video games and educated to uphold the very best requirements of impartiality. These judges are all extremely revered of their respective communities and within the worldwide Breaking scene.
Finally, Rachael Gunn and Jeff Dunne emerged as the highest performers in precisely the identical course of, securing their spots to characterize Australia in Paris. Their choice was primarily based solely on their efficiency of their battles on that day.
Whether or not she was expert sufficient on the qualifying occasion was in the end the judges’ choice. The Sydney Morning Herald spoke to quite a few breakers, a few of whom stated they weren’t followers of the choice course of however had been supportive of Raygun. Some noted the occasion was not unique in any approach, and was open to all dancers, but in addition that breaking as a sport is just not well-funded by the Australian authorities, therefore making it much less accessible to extra various communities. A comparatively small pool of breakers participated within the qualifying occasion.
On Aug. 15, 2024, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) additionally launched a press release debunking quite a few claims within the Change.org petition — which in the end was flagged for misinformation and brought down — together with the declare that Gunn allegedly denied funding to a different group of breakdancers:
- The Oceania Qualifying occasion held in Sydney in October 2023 was carried out underneath the Olympic qualification system decided by the worldwide governing physique, World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) as permitted by the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC).
- The judging panel for the occasion was chosen by the WDSF and consisted of 9 unbiased worldwide judges who had been dropped at Australia particularly to offer truthful, professional and clear adjudication.
- […] Dr Rachael Gunn in successful the Oceania Breaking Championship in October 2023 was legitimately nominated by DanceSport Australia to the AOC for choice within the Australian Olympic Staff.
- Dr Rachael Gunn holds no place with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia in any capability. She is just an athlete who competed within the qualifying occasion which she received. There have been no appeals from any athlete.
- Dr Gunn has no accountability for any funding choices in her sport.
- […] Australian Olympic Staff Chef de Mission Anna Meares was not concerned within the qualifying occasion or nomination of athletes.
- DanceSport Australia and the athletes obtained no Federal Authorities Funding.
- The AOC supplied excessive efficiency funding to DanceSport Australia for Breaking, from its personal monetary sources.
- The Australian Olympic Committee totally funded the Australian Olympic Staff’s marketing campaign to Paris.
What’s Gunn’s Husband’s Function?
Gunn and Free weren’t on the judging panel. Their names should not on the checklist of officers and judges printed on the WDSF for the Oceania Championships. Not one of the judges on the 10-person panel was even Australian.
The AOC additionally stated that Free was not an official coach: “Mr Samuel Free is a coach who holds no place with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia in any capability and was not a decide on the qualifying occasion.”
Free did, nevertheless, coach Gunn on the Olympics, in accordance with a Sydney Morning Herald profile of the couple from July 2023. Gunn said within the interview:
Qualifying for the Olympics has modified our lives; it is this wonderful platform for us to indicate what we do. Sammy most likely would’ve appreciated to have been competing, too, however we had a restricted variety of folks in Australia with the experience wanted to teach. He might not be performing, however his mark shall be in all my strikes.
Generally, he’ll give me suggestions and I will get defensive, however I’ve learnt to dig deep: “What’s actually taking place right here?” And, often, it is that [I’m scared that] he thinks I am s***. So I will say, “Simply inform me you suppose I am whack” and we find yourself laughing as a result of he does not suppose that.
Free didn’t coach the nationwide crew — he solely coached
Gunn did launch a statement on Instagram, and referred folks to the AOC and AUSBreaking Instagram web page statements defending her:
I actually respect the positivity, and I am glad I used to be in a position to convey some pleasure into your lives. That is what I hoped. I did not understand that that may additionally open the door to a lot hate, which has, frankly, been fairly devastating.
I went on the market, and I had enjoyable. I did take it very critically. I labored my butt off making ready for the Olympics, and I gave my all. Actually. I’m honored to be part of the Australian Olympic crew.
[…]
Little bit of a enjoyable truth for you. There are literally no factors in breaking. If you wish to see how the judges thought I in comparison with my opponents, you’ll be able to truly see the comparability percentages throughout the 5 standards on Olympics com. All the outcomes are there.
Provided that the entire claims have been denied and debunked by the official Olympic our bodies and the choice groups concerned within the course of, we charge the above rumor as “False.”
