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Who is viral Olympic breakdancer Raygun, earning zero points?
Australia's first-ever breakdancing Olympian, Rachael Gunn, is “not afraid to be different,” and it shows. Some identified with her quirkiness; some mocked her.
Olympic breaker ‘Raygun’ whipped up quite the storm on social media, becoming the latest uniquely controversial sensation after her eccentric Paris 2024 debut at the breakdancing event.
Representing Australia at the Games, Rachael Gunn went head-to-head with other b-girls from the US, France and Lithuania. However, her memorable antics on the dance floor were far from the “Step Up” dreams many dance-loving dilettantes may have been fostering ahead of the launch of this inaugural event.
While throngs of internet crowds had already cast heavy doubt about breaking's introduction to the Olympics, the moment was buried under the hilarity of Raygun's kangaroo moves on the ground.
Although the dance form is often characterised by emancipated and liberated free-styling, Gunn's performance has been registered as an unforgettable theatricality for other reasons. As a result, her Friday debut also concluded with her failing to secure a single point. In the spirit of the generation, the Australian breakdance is yet another overnight sensation whose virality hinges on a bizarre demonstration.
How social media responded to Raygun's breakdancing at the 2024 Olympics
That's not to say the fame coming her way has been warmly regarded. Social media has sent a flurry of messages rife with mockery, with some comparing her “kangaroo hop” to Julia Stiles' Save the Last Dance performance from the 2001 film.
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“I want Raygun, the 36-year-old Australian breakdancer possessed by the spirit of Julia Stiles in Save the Last Dance, to know that I am now her biggest fan and she should never stop doing whatever it is she’s trying to do,” someone wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Meanwhile, others even considered the possibility of Gunn throwing the competition and being “bad on purpose.”
“If this Raygun lady turns out to be a comedian who somehow blagged her way through qualifiers and all the way to the Olympics, and was bad on purpose, it will be one of the greatest bits ever achieved,” a second person quipped.
What especially took netizens by surprise was how Raygun is deemed Australia's “top breaker.” Questioning if her debut was legit, another user wrote, “The kangaroo move — how did she make it this far?! She should’ve swapped the kangaroo for a banana to really stand out. What is this? Seriously, is breakdancing really an Olympic event?”
On the other side of the virtual court, a fourth person identified with Raygun's “level of dorkiness.”
Who is Raygun?
Australia's first-ever breakdancing Olympican, 36-year-old Rachael Gunn, popularly gaining internet fame as B-girl Raygun, competed during the Breaking B-Girls Round Robin Group B battle against USA's Logistx, France's Syssy and Lithuania's Nicka at La Concorde on August 9.
Her Olympics profile sheds more light on her professional background. Gunn graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Contemporary Music in 2009 and has a PhD in cultural studies (2017) from Macquarie University in Sydney.
Born on September 2, 1987, the Aussie Olympian started breaking in her mid-20s and is a former jazz and ballroom dancer. Additionally, Gunn, a university lecturer (Department of Media, Communication, Creative Arts, Language and Literature) in Sydney, studies “the cultural politics of breaking," according to her Macquarie University bio.
Beyond her 2024 Olympic career, the practising breaker was the Australian Breaking Association's top-ranked b-girl in 2020 and 2021. Moreover, she represented Australia at the World Breaking Championships in Paris in 2021, Seoul in 2022, and Leuven (Belgium) in 2023. Gunn is also the winner of the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.
Rachael Gunn's husband is a title-winning breakdancer in his own right
Raygun shares her love for breaking with her husband, who initially introduced the sport to her. Samuel Free, a title-winning breakdancer and Gunn's coach, has dedicated a decade to the sport himself. The breakdancing couple got married in 2018.
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What does the Australian breakdancer swear by in the midst of being barraged by social media ridicule?
Rachael appears to be quick on her feet regarding her philosophy in the unpredictable world of performance. Despite severely meme-laded discourse surrounding her name and ridiculing her on social media, Gunn has maintained her composure and remained unfazed.
One of her October 2023 quotes best describes the situation she is in right now: “I'm just going to try and savour it and enjoy it and let my body take over.” Her past remarks align with her reactions during a recent August 2024 interview with ESPN, where she addressed her unconventional style.
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best — their power moves,” she said of her competitors at the Olympics. "What I bring is creativity." She maintained that all her moves were “original” as she valued “creativity” over everything else. “I go out there, and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn't. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about.”
Meanwhile, Australia's chef de mission, Anna Meares, also backed Gunn, calling out the sexist undertones of the “male-dominated sport.”
“In 2008, she was locked in a room crying being involved in a male-dominated sport as the only woman, and it took great courage for her to continue on and fight for her opportunity to participate in a sport that she loved,” Meares said, per ESPN. “That got her to winning the Olympic qualifying event to be here in Paris. She is the best breakdancer female that we have for Australia.”
