She was warned, and acknowledged it in an interview before the Olympics. But, she could go to the Olympics. Honestly, it’s kind of weirdly brave to knowingly go and embarrass yourself in front of a global audience. And it’s mostly harmless.
I mean it’s a mortal wound to breakdancing, Australia as a country, and the Olympics as an institution, all of which must necessarily be taken less seriously now. But other than that. 🤣
It’s weirdly an asshole move more like.
The olympics are not accessible to everyone, that’s the whole point. It’s the best in the world at everything, not cool runnings B-reel. I don’t understand why we have to have a war on prestige: some people are working hard to be good at things and they don’t need to share the stage with the everyman. This was walking into a fancy dinner that you KNOW is exclusive wearing jeans and a beater and spitting on the floor when they call your name. Fuck, have the self-awarenees to say “I am not an Olympic athlete” and leave it at that.
Which is all to say your second paragraph is exactly on point lol.
All joking aside, the Oceania board that made the decision, which she was not part of (there’s not a single Australian on it) said she earned her spot through the competition and based on the judges recommendation.
The fact is, Australia doesn’t have a big breaking scene, which is a statement from people in the community themselves. They had to bring people out of retirement just to have enough numbers. So, I guess if your country calls on you and says you’re one of the best we have, you either do it or you don’t.
In that sense, it is kind of like cool runnings. A country with an incredibly small pool of talent for a niche (and brand new) Olympic event didn’t have the time to manifest talent for these Olympic games and didn’t have enough already existent talent that met the qualifications imposed by the IOC and Oceania board. Honestly, it kind of is what it is.
It happens in other Olympic events too, it just doesn’t usually get this much publicity (and isn’t usually quite this silly; I just watched the kangaroo thing 🤣).
I had some time to chill out and I agree with you, by and large, but here’s what gets me:
You can totally differentiate between someone who has excelled at a physical sport. It is apparent in posture, economy of motion, and honestly even pure physique. I did 10 years of competitive ballroom dance at least 10 years ago now, and I guarantee even I could have made a better show. That is not indended to be a humble brag: im pushing 40 and kids tore up my physical prowess lol. I CAN stand up and full space though, and move with my whole body in an intentional way. The selection pool, even if there is not a breaker scene, could have been widened to include people who wouldn’t look ridiculous even with exactly the same routine. It’s just totally wild lol.
It’s probably the only time Breaking will be at the Olympics (already pulled from LA), and instead of the story being about the downright incredible athleticism and art being shown by the other competitors, people are remembering this.
