Paris Olympics

Don't think we're getting an Eddie the Eagle like movie about Raygun.

I briefly popped back on Twitter (I’ll be dead in the cold cold ground before I call it X) to watch a video someone posted on here, and god knows why but my feed was wall to wall abuse for this poor woman.

Does no one understand the Olympics is traditionally an amateur competition? If anything people should be more pissed off at the inclusion of professionals like Djokovic or LeBron James.

And it’s been a long standing tradition to have an Eddie the Eagle or Eric the Eel thrown in for a bit of light relief. She didn’t kill the sport. The fact that it’s not a sport killed the sport.

And you know what… I didn’t think she was that bad.

It's easier said than done but I think the best way out of this for the Aussie breakdancer is to own it, laugh it off and be in on the joke. In this weird world of ours there is probably even a fuck load of money to be made if she can capitalise on it

As far as I'm aware, she's a compus mentis healthy adult who qualified and did the routine she wanted, how she wanted. Maybe she's been let down by the Aussie selection process for it getting that far but unless she's a vulnerable individual in some way that's where my sympathy ends.

Obviously what she was doing was not what the other girls were doing and surely this can't have only dawned on her at the 11th hour? She even said she can't compete on athleticism by way of justification as to why she makes up her own moves. I can't compete on athleticism either which is why I didn't attempt to qualify for the gymnastics team despite being able to do a passable forward roll and waggle my arms around.

If she just owns the joke there's probably a lot of money in it. Think of the endorsements and appearance fees. She may never have to work again if she plays this right.

Or she can continue to be all Liz Truss about it, which makes it funnier.

Wait, she wasn't in on it?

Someone's going to make a film... probably Netflix.

Wow.

Sorry I assumed it was obvious that this was just a topical reference given Truss's response to a joke this week. Kind of amazed that comparison would ever be taken at face value for precisely the reasons you point out...

"Raygun" did something fairly ridiculous (but entirely harmless) and whilst she certainly doesn't deserve any hate for it, she also can't reasonably expect people not to make jokes.

It's sad if she's upset but this is part of the culture of sport, especially in the UK and Australia. Fair play to her if she never enjoyed watching a player make a tit of themselves or retweeted a meme. Most of what I've seen was in good fun and not from a place of hate.

I love a wow response to a long post.

Yeah exactly. You’d think they could have one event where someone has a laugh.

Don’t see any British people ragging on the girl who got lapped in the 10k final and had to run a lap after everyone else had finished.

Funny you use the word amateurish as that’s what the Olympics is supposed to be about. Literally “lover of” the sport.

If she’d come out with a million pound endorsement from Hungry Jacks launching the new Ray-Burger I’d be suspicious.

the guardian article from a few days ago (was linked here, i'll drag it out again edit: here) suggested selection strangeness was down to late, last minute, running of that process, the fact that many of aus's top dancers had aus residency but not citizenship, the fact that few had a passport or could get one in time

the article further had quotes from many suggesting she's known, loved, respected, and accepted within the scene in aus

all that said, i've not gone looking for hate, but sure i've seen plenty of joyful mockery - of which she is entirely the subject, sure, but done with some of that same spirit as i think may have visited eddie the eagle back in the day

all i'm really seeing are posts like this:




... which don't strike me as hateful bullying. like i say, i've not gone looking for hate, i'm sure plenty exists

There will be a minority who are misogynists but I don't think the fact she's a women makes a difference to the majority. If Ray, a male dancer, had called himself Raygun and done those moves with the same presentation and comments I think the reaction would be similar.

'Ledge' status is usually conferred for intentional jokes, or someone acknowledging their own ridiculousness.

From the bits I've seen she was very earnest and then defensive rather than owning it. Which is entirely her prerogative of course but shapes people's reactions.

With a thesis entitles "Deterritorializing gender in Sydney's breakdancing scene: a B-girl's experience of B-boying." I am inclined to think she seized the opportunity as a platform for exposure rather than genuinely competing.

I've no idea what the vetting process was for selection but given the performance it suggests the committee either weren't qualified or simply didn't think it important enough to put in place standards.

Online abuse is as always idiotic but her actions really undermined the credibility of the event, I'd imagine she is intelligent enough and experienced enough know how this would play out.