Australian breakdancer Raygun goes viral as the sport makes its Olympic debut
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn has caused a stir on social media following her performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Breaking, better known as breakdancing, made its debut as an Olympic discipline on Friday. The competition consists of two gender-specific events, with 16 B-boys and 16 B-girls vying for gold.
Gunn – who competes under the name Raygun – went viral online after she was knocked out of the round robin stage of the women’s breaking competition on Friday without scoring a single point. The 36-year-old sparked dozens of memes and was criticised by viewers for her unconventional moves while competing against Logan Edra of the USA, Dominika Banevič of Lithuania and Sya Dembélé of France.
“Guys, mistakes were definitely made, but the biggest mistake was communication from (Raygun’s) family and friends,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s rare, but not telling someone they can’t dance can have global repercussions.”
Another user on X wrote: “My dog on the lawn 30 seconds after I bathed him.”
Gunn, who has a PhD in cultural studies, is a university professor at Macquarie University in Sydney. She was named top-ranked B-Girl by the Australia Breaking Association in 2020 and 2021 and won the 2023 Oceania Breaking Championships.
In the end, Japan’s Ami Yuasa won the gold medal in the B-Girls competition at the Paris Olympics, while Banevič took silver and China’s Liu Qingyi took bronze. The B-Boys competition takes place on Saturday.
See more reactions to Gunn’s groundbreaking performance below:
