Peter FitzSimons raised eyebrows after comparing Australian breakdancer Raygun to a national hero as he defended her performances at the Paris Olympics.
While some viewers questioned why Dr Rachael Gunn was ever put on the international sporting stage after watching her ‘interpretive’ dance last week, FitzSimons saw her unique style as a positive lesson for Australians back home.
He said the 36-year-old Sydneysider, who has a PhD in cultural studies and is “interested in the cultural politics of breaking news”, is “the talk of the town in much of the world”.
FitzSimons highlighted Gunn’s existing talent in the newly established Olympic sport, citing her victory in the Oceania qualifying events and her participation in two world championships for Australia.
The most controversial reason for FitzSimons’ love for Gunn, however, was that she “could unite us as a nation beautifully.”
“How long has it been since we all spoke, usually fondly, about a fellow countryman, an underdog, who plays the sport differently?” he wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘I say it goes back to Cliffy Young, and yet in that one, brief Olympic feat this 36-year-old and her running shoes have outpaced the great man who once trudged all the way from Sydney to Melbourne, chasing sheep and cows in wellington boots after training!’
Young was a Victorian farmer who stunned the public when he won the 875-kilometre Sydney to Melbourne ultramarathon in 1983 at the age of 61.
Peter FitzSimons has shared his unique take on Australian breakdancer Dr Rachael Gunn’s infamous Olympic performance
FitzSimons (pictured with partner Lisa Wilkinson) called Gunn’s performance an inspiration
His incredible achievement earned him the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1984.
Many social media users responded to FitzSimons’ article, immediately laughing when the journalist tried to save Gunn. They called her performance “terrible” and questioned how he could compare her to Young.
“A laughable performance in a pointless “sport”. Goodbye breakdancing, we won’t miss you at all,” one person wrote.
“She was awful and the judges judged her accordingly. Since when do we celebrate failure?” wrote another.
“It discredits all the exemplary athletes. The blame lies with her selection. Crazy,” said another.
“I wondered when we would get to this point, the point where talent developed through discipline and hard work is replaced by a wave of righteous mediocrity. Everyone gets a medal for just being themselves. Here we go,” wrote another.
A fifth wrote: ‘Cliffy Young, and yet this 36-year-old and her tracksuits outshone the great man in that one, brief Olympic performance.
‘Cliff Young won his race and beat all ultramarathoners. RayGun lost her three matches 0-18.
‘Raygun has not surpassed Cliff Young.’
FitzSimons acknowledged there had been “some virulent reactions” to Gunn’s performance, but stressed that her participation showed that “the Olympics still have a place for people who aren’t necessarily elite athletes.”
“She was excellent at bringing what the world needs most right now: joy. Her routine has spawned literally thousands of memes and gifs, most of which are hilarious and essentially good-hearted,” he wrote.
‘She was brilliant at embodying the most cherished Australian slogan of all: go for it, idiot! And by God, she did it, in a way we’ve never seen before.’
Perhaps FitzSimons’ most controversial reason for her love for Gunn was that she was “excellent at uniting us as a nation”
Commentators were quick to bash FitzSimons’ interpretation of Gunn’s performance, instead calling it “terrible”
We thought we could never love an Olympian again the way we loved Eddie the Eagle and Eric the Eel.
“We thought that in this ultra-serious, super-professional, and too often numbing era, the days of the fun contestant we could love so much were over. We were wrong.”
FitzSimons urged Australians to be proud that they are represented by someone who has created a “joyous” routine and “heartily laughs at the critics”.
“You and your routine were the very best of us, the joy that we all have inside us but that we rarely show in public – and then only very late at night, at wedding receptions,” he said.
‘From jumping like a kangaroo to spraying, you were all us, all at once, and you had every right to wear that Australian uniform with pride.’