Added to the program for the Paris Olympic Games, breakdancing will have left its mark. The performance of the Australian Rachael Gunn, known as “Raygun”, was widely commented on and mocked. In an interview with Ouest-France, Dany Dann returned to this controversy surrounding the B-girl.
“I blame the media,” replied Frenchman Dany Dann, the men’s silver medallist. “They were the ones who took the images of the weakest athlete in the competition and compared her to karate. This Australian athlete tried to be original, but she lacked a technical background that made it seem ridiculous.”
If Dany Dann talks about karate, it is because the sport, present at the Tokyo Olympics, was not chosen by Paris to appear on the Olympic program. “Even I said to myself: my 6-year-old son can do it too! But since I am inspired by my son,” smiled the 36-year-old b-boy, still talking about Raygun’s performance. “Afterwards, I blame the media a little more than the B-girl.”
Dany Dann defends the place of breakdancing at the Olympics
For his part, Dany Dann confided that his medal had “changed a little bit” his life. “Just a few days ago, I was at a restaurant, and I was offered a glass of champagne,” shared the man who was able to meet his idol Marie-José Pérec at the France club. “She opened her arms to me and said: ‘welcome to the medal family’.”
Dany Dann also defended his sport, criticized for having been included in the Olympic program: “People who say that breaking is not part of the Olympic sport are not athletes or have not been able to watch this sport properly. To reach the final of the Games, there are 15 passages of 30 to 45 seconds. You have to be physically fit, it’s intense.”
- RMC Sport