Adam Peacock: Australia Correspondent on the abuse faced by Rachael Gunn after her performance at the Olympics

It was a successful Olympic Games for Australia, with their highest ever Gold Medal count, but it was one of their worst performers to make the news. 

Rachael Gunn stole the headlines around the world with her performance in the breakout sport of Breaking, scoring zeros across the board. 

Adam Peacock, our Australian Correspondent, joined Piney to discuss the Olympic highs and lows from our neighbours across the ditch. 

“Everyone’s got an opinion.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from newstalk ZEDB Buzz.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
He correspondent Adam Peacock with a quick review of the
Olympic Games. Adam eighteen goals. Fourth on the middle table
a resounding success, surely yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
For us and you we spoke last week how happy
our respective nations are in unison and yeah, finishing fourth
on the metal tally speaks of a number of things
going right. And yeah, you know it wasn't the I
think John Coates, who's a heavy hitter with the AOC,
said before, oh yeah, we can win up to sixty medals.

(00:43):
We didn't quite get there, but happily we converted a
lot to actually winning, as opposed to the US, who
made a habit of finishing second and third in that
first week, but got things going to finish on top.
But overall, there weren't too many Australian stories of disappointment
or missing out or not performing at their absolute best,

(01:04):
apart from one that's got all kinds of debate, which
we'll get to in a second, but aside from that,
it was pretty much a tale of athletes coming home
with big spots on their face because they would fall
to expectations like good example being the seventh program, the
Rugby seventh, the hockey program, both men and women falling

(01:25):
out a little short of a metal where they wanted to.
But across the board there were some fantastic performances and results.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, every time we looked up on the screen, that
seemed that there was somebody in green and gold somewhere
near the top of the podium. The Australian though, who,
as you say, went viral probably more than any other,
was Raygun your breakdancer. Where does the weight of public
opinion fall with regards to her?

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Yes, a few people getting strangely fired up about this
because I wouldn't have thought that their day to day,
their day to day being was centered around being critical
or praising of break dancing. But that's where we're at
at the moment. Everyone's got an opinion. My personal opinion
is that she's just the product of the process that

(02:07):
was in place, and if you're going to blame anything,
blame the process. If you're unhappy about someone getting through. Look,
I'm going my girls are in dance, so I'm going
to a night tonight, which is a hip hop theme
I'm sure as he'll not getting out of a seat,
by the way, and I'm going to see some unbelievable
I know, I'm going to see some incredible dancing. Especially

(02:29):
there's some troops out from the west of Sydney which
just blow your mind every time you say it. Maybe
they might have been the go. Maybe one or one
or two representatives from there might have been the go
rather than someone who saw the process converted through the process,
didn't do anything untowards you, just kind of let get
everything by the book, cutting at her personality and everything

(02:52):
like that is or with out of order. In my opinion,
she's just done it because she could. She didn't.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
I feel like there needs to be a father daughter
segment that there's dance recital you're going to tonight. I
feel like there needs to be some video footage of
that as well.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
Well. Yeah, strangely, Omalia might might find herself with a
new father all of a sudden. I'm press playing the music.
That's about it.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
We're reading from the same page there. Let's go to Perth,
the center of the Australian sporting universe this weekend Wallaby
spring Box Tonight, spring Box one thirty three seven last
week in the first Test. How confident are you the
Wallabies can reverse that across in Western Australia.

Speaker 3 (03:33):
We'll be more confident about my dancing ability. They're not
great Piney South having you were good and they'll get better.
We know, I mean you guys have probably know that
there's there's room for little improvement which might change the
result the Wallabies in one week. I've got to make
big improvement and you're there say that South Africa actually
going to improve off that. So they got destroyed in

(03:56):
the set piece and all of that. So it's going
to take something extra special. But I think there's one
of these hands over here. We're a little bit patient
at the moment. You can see that this improvement is
going to have to come over years, not months, not weeks,
and as long as there's some more rays of hope

(04:17):
like they were towards the end last week. And I
know I'm clutching here, but I think they're playing the
longer they've got to play, the longer they've got no option.
I do believe that for every Test match, Australia players
and have long held this belief that rugby is so
big now and with the money on offer in Europe.
You need to be calling back your best every week,
every time the wall of is player. You've got to
be calling back your best. That means your camps are

(04:38):
going to be a higher overstandard. Then you pick your
super RUPI guys, and they're going to be surrounded by
the best of the best who have already gone overseas.
None of this, I'll just select the local use that's
going to end. So whether or not that happens underfield
war that the management of rugby Astralia. It makes me seen.
But you're hoping for something a little bit better than
last week, but not holding much I do.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
I know exactly what you mean. And then tomorrow, same city,
UFC three oh five the Octagon, Beck and Perth for
a second straight year, a fight eight Australians in action
as UFC got cut through over in Australia.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, they keep on coming down here.
I think they signed a deal to do in Sydney
over four years, to do three big pay per view events.
These are these monthly every six week excoaganza that the
UFC put on. I think that up for three oh
five over there in Perth, Key we're interest of course,
the great Israel Adasanya up against Dude Pussi, the South

(05:33):
African champ, and oh we've got a bit nasty. We
know these things in the fight game, in combat sports,
that they do anything they can to say, anything they
can to spike Interestful they've done it. But I think
this was beyond the pale a bit when when Duke
Plus how to go at Adasanya about going back to
Africa and you're going to take your servants in Adsagia

(05:55):
took it the way you might expect a man of
proud African heritage to take it, you know what I mean. So, yeah,
he got into him a bit. But whether that manifests
himself they do anything underward in the ring, I'll be
gone tomorrow, I doubt it. But yeah, it is the
over massive over here, and they make a stack of
money every time they come here, and they'll probably continue.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
To do so indeed, And why not got on your mate, Hey,
We'll enjoy your weekend dance, recital, golf and anything else
that hits your radar, and we'll look forward to catching
up again same time next Saturday.

Speaker 3 (06:24):
Bit of football as usual, piney as Welllright, So yeah,
it's perfect.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
We get good on your mate. Thanks indeed.

Speaker 1 (06:29):
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