Opinion | How being a big Olympic loser can become a bigger world winner

By Philip Yeung, university teacher

PKY480@gmail.com

The pizzazz of the Paris Olympics has long since died down. But a residual excitement still bubbles after the cheers and tears are gone.

In this latest edition, something strange has happened that has never happened before in the Olympics: unlucky losers suddenly transformed into the world's luckiest winners.

Topping this short list is Rachael Raygun, a 36-year-old breakdancer from Australia, who, by the usual benchmarks, rates as a spectacular failure. A university lecturer in cultural studies, she brought her special brand of breaking to the Games. This is the first time breaking was added to the roster of Olympic games. It is likely to be its last, as it has already been axed from the next Olympics in LA.

For her performance, all nine judges gave Raygun a score of zero. She was mercilessly mocked for her athletically inferior maneuvers. But in her own defense, she says that all her moves are original, some mimicking the kangaroo hop, others the praying mantis, and even the dying fish. Don't laugh, no one has ever breakdanced like this. What's more, she spurned the street clothes that were like the breakdancer's uniform and instead donned her Team Australia tracksuit with pride. That made her stand out like a sore thumb in the breaking community. This is a clever, calculated move.

She might not dazzle like younger dancers with their crazy spins and dizzying pirouettes. But out there, she was unapologetically herself. Despite the razzle-dazzle of breaking, I see a boring sameness to the moves. I much prefer the simple kangaroo, the praying mantis, and the dying fish. You've got to give her this: she dared to be different. She might come home empty-handed, but she returned Down Under a hot household name. Call it notoriety, or whatever. But after the games, no one would remember the gold or silver medal winner. But no one forgets Raygun the kangaroo dancer. She looks set to cash in on her biggest embarrassing failure. In Paris, she might be a flop. But out in the real world, she has flopped her way to commercial gold. She is the first athlete in Olympic history to have successfully turned adversity into opportunity, and stupendous sports failure into economic ecstasy.

A second unlikely heroine came from China via Luxembourg, perhaps the most infertile place on earth for table tennis. Except, 61-year-old Auntie Ni Xialian, has magically turned this infertility into a life-giving hope for all aging athletes. Her never-say-die attitude has earned her a golden name that no gold medal can ever do. She breezed into the round of 32, but it was her misfortune to have run smack into China's world number one Sun Yingsha, 38 years her junior, famous for her killer instinct. Losing to Sun was no shame. Sun was too big a mountain to climb. Auntie Ni had simply drawn the short straw. Otherwise, she could have smashed her way into a fairy-tale finish.

Her setback against Sun is only a blip for short-term memory. Long-term, she will live in our hearts and Olympic history. Already, people are putting her on the pedestal for her sixth Olympics, the oldest Olympian in history. Now you understand why she was picked to carry the flag for Team Luxembourg in the opening ceremony. Salt-of-the-earth Auntie Ni is celebrated not just in Luxembourg but absolutely adored in China, despite competing under the flag of another country. Had she remained in her native China, Olympic participation at her advanced age would have been just a pipe dream. But transplanted to this cute little big-hearted European kingdom, she becomes the darling of royalty. She radiates the noblest Olympic spirit. She might go home medal-less, but she will still shine long after the gold medals have lost their sheen. Auntie Ni, see you again in LA for the seventh time. The Olympics needs you.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

Read more articles by Philip Yeung:

Opinion | Columbia University's President gets an 'F' for her resignation letter

Opinion | Israel normalizes terror as a weapon

Opinion | The incomparable magic of the Olympics

Opinion | A slap in the face of civilization—America's hero's welcome for a convicted war criminal

Opinion | Is Kamala Harris the answer? Not if you hear her cackle