Australian Prime Minister gives his two cents on Raygun ‘having a crack’ at Olympic breaking
Anthony Albanese praised the dancer for having ‘a go representing our country’
Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has spoken out about Raygun – his country’s viral 36-year-old breakdancing uni lecturer turned Olympian.
Her bizarre performance that earned her zero points from Olympic judges featured kangaroo hops and other questionable moves and has produced thousands of online memes.
The Prime Minister responded to questions shouted at him about her Olympic debut from reporters in Adelaide, saying: “Raygun had a crack, good on her, and a big shout out to her.”
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He added: “That is in the Australian tradition of people having a go. She’s had a go representing our country, and that’s a good thing.”
Other Aussie politicians have waded into the furore. The Premier of the Australian state of Victoria even quoted Taylor Swift when she praised Raygun, saying: “To quote Taylor Swift, let the haters hate and let’s just get on celebrate our Olympians’ success.”
Raygun’s family have also defended her since performance last Friday. Her father-in-law, Andrew Free, said: “It was a pretty stacked competition and the judges were clearly looking for a certain style of breaking which is not Rachael’s.
“The main thing is she represented Australia and breaking at the Olympics with courage and dignity.”
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As clips of her performance are being wiped from the internet, it has been revealed that breakdancing will not feature in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
After having made its debut at the Olympic Games for the first time ever in 2024 on a trial basis, breaking was confirmed as one of the sports which will not be featured in the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
While we’ll miss the memes, and we’ll miss Raygun, we’re not sure if breaking every really belonged in the Olympics.
For more like this explainer of what the Australian Prime Minister said about Raygun and all the latest news, drops, quizzes and memes, like The Tab on Facebook.
Related stories recommended by this writer:
• So who actually is Rachel Gunn aka Raygun, the 36 year old lecturer turned breakdancer?
• Breakdancing officials reveal how Raygun actually managed to get selected for Olympics
• As *that* breakdancer breaks her silence, here are the best memes about her eccentric moves
Featured image via YouTube and Caroline Blumberg/epa-efe/Shutterstock