How did breakdancer Molly Chapman lose to RayGun in the Olympic qualifiers?

RayGun has become the unexpected breakout star of the Paris Olympics, after going viral on social media after her performance while failing to pick up a single point from the judges over the course of three rounds.

What started as a simple online obsession with one of the biggest talking points of the games has taken a more worrying turn, though.

A petition criticising RayGun has racked up more than 45,000 signatures accusing her of “manipulating the selection process for her own advantage” as well as questioning the “fairness and integrity of the process”.

Accusations made against RayGun and her husband online surrounding her Olympic selection process have been debunked after the petition was launched. Various claims have been circulating online that Gunn, her husband and coach Samuel Free were the founders of the Australian Breaking Association - the organisation that chose who would take part in the games. However, that has since been debunked by the Sydney Morning Herald.

People have now been focusing their attention on the Olympic qualifiers in which RayGun secured her place at the Olympics, and watching routines from the dancer Molly Chapman (who goes by the name Holy Molly) who went up against her.

Footage of Chapman performing has been widely shared online and people are wondering how she could have missed out on the chance to represent her country when RayGun failed to score a point.

Well, the answer is RayGun beat her “fair and square”.

The pair competed against each other at the 2023 WDSF Oceania Championships, which was a qualifying event that took place in Sydney back in October.

One of the 10 judges who chose to award RayGun the win was Te Hiiritanga Wepiha, who goes by the name Rush.

Speaking in a livestream on Instagram this week, he explained the context of RayGun’s win, which came after she won 51 points to Chapman’s 50.

“She rocked up like everybody else. She won fair and square. She won by majority decision, she battled like everyone else … it’s not that deep."

It comes after the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) Chief Executive Officer Matt Carroll has hit out at the “appalling” petition criticising RayGun and called for the “vexatious, misleading and bullying” petition to be “immediately withdrawn”.

Carroll released a statement, saying that the petition contained “falsehoods” made against Gunn, who was selected “through a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process”.

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