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Did RayGun actually score zero points at the Olympics after break dancer claims she didn't?

Did RayGun actually score zero points at the Olympics after break dancer claims she didn't?
Raygun says breaks silence on Olympic controversy: "I didn't expect so much …
Rachael Gunn

RayGun broke her silence after going viral at the Olympics recently, speaking about the controversy surrounding her appearance in the breakdancing in Paris.

The breakdancer was speaking after a petition criticising her racked up more than 50,000 signatures.

It accused RayGun of “manipulating the selection process for her own advantage”. However, accusations made against RayGun and her husband online surrounding her Olympic selection process have been debunked after the petition was launched.

However, one of the points she made in a new Instagram video statement concerned the scoring system – after it was widely reported that RayGun, real name, Rachael Gunn, had been awarded zero points across three rounds.

"Bit of a fun fact for you, there are actually no points in Breaking. If you want to see how I compared to my opponents, you can actually see the judges' percentages across the five criteria on Olympics.com. All the results are there.”

So, did RayGun actually score points during the games?

Getty Images

Firstly, we need to take a closer look at how the (admittedly pretty convoluted) scoring for the sport works.

The unique scoring system allows judges evaluate the participants in the dance battles on six criteria – creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality.

There were nine judges at the Olympics, and they all submitted their votes via a slider system, and the breaker with the most points was the winner.

So, technically, for RayGun to have scored zero points, all of the judges would have had to put the sliders to zero when scoring her performance.

A scorecard from one of RayGun's heats at the gamesOlympics.com

As it was, their combined scores were added up for a total result, with the winner decided by percentage.

So, technically, RayGun likely didn’t score zero points. We can't be sure, though, as the scores don't show individual categories where Raygun might have won, or not won.

But the fact remains that all of the nine judges awarded her opponents, not RayGun, the majority of their votes in every single aspect of the adjudication, with RayGun failing to win the overall percentage of votes from the judges in any category across three rounds.

So, whichever way you look at it, the scorecards for all three of her dance battles don't make for great reading for RayGun.

Getty Images

Speaking in the video message, RayGun also said: "I just want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me. I really appreciate the positivity and I'm glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That's what I hoped.

"I didn't realise that would open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating.

"I went out there and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly. I'm honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of Breaking's Olympic debut. What the other athlete's have achieved has just been phenomenal.

"In regards to the allegations and the misinformation floating around, I'd like to advise everyone to please refer to the recent statement made by the AOC as well as the posts on the AUS Breaking Instagram page, as well as the WDSF Breaking for Gold page.

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