Social media reactions to Raygun’s groundbreaking performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics
The story of breaking began in the Bronx and is now celebrating its Olympic debut
Londoner “B-Boy London” Reyes explains the origins of breaking in the Bronx and why he had his sights set on the Olympics from the start.
Breaking, better known as breakdancing, made its debut as an Olympic sport this week at the 2024 Games in Paris. 17 B-girls and 16 B-boys made their way to France with the hope of winning a gold medal.
On the first day of competition, spectators from all over the world were offered a different kind of introduction – not to the sport itself, but to one of its athletes.
Although she was still a long way from a gold medal, perhaps no breaker captured the imagination of the international audience more on Friday than Rachael Gunn, an Australian breaker who competes under the name “Raygun”.
REQUIRED READING: Follow USA TODAY’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics
Raygun went 0-3 in her head-to-head matches on Friday – losing to Logistx of the USA, Syssy of France and eventual silver medalist Nicka of Lithuania by a combined score of 54-0 – and failed to score a single point in those three matches, but what she lacked in smooth movements she made up for in the hearts she won with her performance.
Raygun’s short-lived Olympic experience made her a celebrity, and people fell in love with her even more the more they learned.
Gunn, 36, who was one of the oldest qualifiers in the breakdancing competition, has a PhD in cultural studies and is a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney. Her research focuses primarily on breakdancing, street dance and hip hop culture, while her work draws on “cultural theory, dance studies, popular music studies, media and ethnography”.
“In 2023, many of my students didn’t believe me when I told them I was training to qualify for the Olympics and were shocked when they looked on Google and saw that I was qualified,” Gunn told CNBC earlier this month.
Unlike many of her competitors in Paris, Gunn started breakdancing later and did not take part in her first competition until 2012.
On Friday, a person who began the day as a little-known academic ended it as a viral, global sensation.
Here is a selection of reactions to Raygun and her performance:
OLYMPIC GAMES 2024 IN PARIS: Meet the members of the US team competing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
Social media reactions to Raygun’s breakthrough performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics
