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For Australia, the 2024 Paris Olympics marked our best performances in history. Of the 53 medals our athletes secured, 18 of them were gold which set a new country record. But it was 36-year-old Australian lecturer and breaker Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun, who shifted the world’s focus away from our great feat.
Selected to be one of just 16 women to compete in the first ever break dancing event at an Olympic games, Gunn—with her “creative” moves—failed to score a single point with the judges leaving many to wonder how she qualified for the games. Was she a serious contender or intentionally making a mockery of the code? Do we applaud her for ‘having a crack’? And is Raygun really the best breaker Australia had to offer? One thing is for certain, Gunn has experienced one of the most brutal social media backlashes of the games, which is never OK. Ahead, some answers to the biggest questions the world is asking.
What Did Raygun Do At The Olympics?
The breaking competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games comprised of two events—one for men and one for women—where 16 B-Boys and 16 B-Girls faced off in spectacular solo battles. Each breaker had three rounds to score with the judges and thus qualify for the finals. Between her ‘kangaroo hops’ and what appeared to be ‘a fish out of water’ and ‘the sprinkler’ moves, Raygun failed to score a single point in all three rounds. Take a look at Raygun’s full performance video here.
Is Raygun A Real Breakdancer?
Having represented Australia at an Olympic level, Raygun is undeniably a real break dancer. While her performance earned concerns from viewers about her ability to breakdance, it must be acknowledged this isn’t Raygun’s first foray into the discipline having previously competed at an international level including battles across Europe.
In an interview with The Project in June, Raygun revealed she first became a ‘B-Girl’ 12 years ago after being introduced to it by her now-husband, Samuel Free. Raygun is also an academic and university lecturer. She obtained a PhD in 2017, officially making her a doctor, too.
How Did Raygun Qualify For The Olympics?
The QMS 2023 WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships, which took place in Sydney on October 27 and 28 2023, was the official qualifying event for any B-boy or B-girl from Australia and New Zealand vying for a ticket to Paris. It was an event sponsored by the Australian Olympic Committee.
“Leading up to that, there were a lot of other events in which breakers were competing,” Lucas Marie, a breaker and anthropologist who co-authored an article with Gunn, told ABC News. “She won those battles fair and square and won the qualification in Sydney. And it wasn’t really a surprise to anyone.
“She’s been fairly consistent, winning or coming second or third at a lot of breaking events in Australia for the last five to 10 years.”
That maybe so. But, if we look a little closer, it would appear the WDSF (World DanceSport Federation)—along with AusBreakers —were one of the bodies organising the event. And according to some, this didn’t make a lot of sense.
“The WDSF is a competitive ballroom dance organisation. It has absolutely no connection or credibility with any legitimate entity in the worldwide breaking community,” Serouj “Midus” Aprahamian, assistant professor of dance at the University of Illinois, said in 2018 when the IOC (International Olympic Committee) wanted to include breakdancing in the 2018 Youth Olympics in Argentina. Aprahamian is reportedly one of the leading voices against breaking’s inclusion at the Olympics.
“Would the IOC allow the Badminton World Federation to oversee baseball?” he continued. “Would it allow the Federation for Equestrian Sports to oversee auto-racing? Why would the Olympics accept such a polar opposite and illegitimate entity as the WDSF to have anything to do with breaking?
“This action is immoral, illogical, and insulting to the hundreds of thousands of B-boys and B-girls worldwide who live and breathe this culture.”
The IOC didn’t seem to mind. And cut to 2023, Gunn, who has beat off rumours she founded Ausbreakers, told the Sydney Morning Herald of her elation at winning the golden ticket.
“I won the Oceania qualifier, and by winning that competition, I got the direct spot to Paris,” she said on August 12. “That was a really intense, really stressful but really amazing competition.”
Interestingly, and just to make everything more confusing, Aprahamian also co-authored a paper with Gunn in 2023.
competes during the B-Girls Round Robin – Group B on day fourteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Place de la Concorde on August 09, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
What Is Raygun’s PhD In?
A university lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australian breaker Raygun has a with a PhD in cultural studies. One of her published papers includes The Australian Breaking Scene and the Olympic Games: The Possibilities and Politics of Sportification. In it, Gunn and co-author Lucas Marie “examine the themes of legitimacy, culture and agency as markers of some of the local tensions around breaking’s Olympic inclusion.” Access it here.
Did Raygun Score Any Points?
Raygun was not awarded any points in any of her three battles against France’s Sya Dembélé (AKA Syssy), the US’s Logan Edra (AKA Logistx) or Lithuania’s Dominika Banevič (AKA Nicka). Points are awarded based on five categories; technique, vocabulary, execution, musicality and originality. Each criterion makes up 20 percent of the judges’ final score. Nine judges award a point to their preferred breaker over two rounds, with all 18 points given to Raygun’s competitors for each of her dances.
What Did Raygun Place In The Olympics?
Raygun placed last in the Olympics breaking competition and failed to progress out of the round-robin stage in Group B. She was the only B-Girl to not earn a single point throughout the entire division. Raygun was up against fierce competition, however, battling Lithuania’s Nicka who eventually placed second. Japan’s Ami Yuasa (AKA Ami) earned gold wand China’s Liu Qingyi (AKA 671) took home bronze.
What Was Raygun Wearing During Her Performance?
Raygun drew additional criticism for opting to wear an Australian uniform tracksuit instead of regular ‘street clothes’ often preferred by breakers. She drew comparisons to the Australian cricket team or a sports teacher with the emerald polo tucked into her trousers, New Balance sneakers and cap. Raygun responded to the scrutiny over her outfit by writing on her Instagram Story on August 9.
“Looking forward to the same level of scrutiny on what the B-boys wear tomorrow,” she wrote.
What Did The Judges Say About Raygun?
The head judge of the Olympic breaking competition came to the defense of Raygun, claiming the Australian was just trying to be original.
“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” Martin Gilian—known as MGbility — said at a press conference on August 11. “This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.
“We have five criteria in the competitive judging system and just her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors,” Gilian said on scoring Raygun with zero across all categories. “But again, that doesn’t mean that she did really bad. She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier. Unfortunately for her, the other B-girls were better.”
Is Raygun The Best Breakdancer In Australia?
Australia’s Chef de mission Anna Meares said Gunn should be applauded for her courage, rather than trolled for her performance at the Paris Games.
“Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team,” she told reporters in a press conference in Paris on August 11. “She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit, with great enthusiasm. And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has.
“She is the best breakdancer female that we have for Australia.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also weighed in.
“The Olympics is about people participating in sport. That’s a good thing and Raygun had a crack,” he said. “Good on her and a big shout-out to her. That is in the Australian tradition of people having a go.”
How Has Raygun Responded To Criticism?
Raygun’s performance divided the internet. Snoop Dogg, the unofficial celebrity Olympic mascot, even subtly shaded Raygun by excluding her in a reel of “Olympic breakdancers who understood the assignment.” In saying that, she also received a shout-out from Adele during a recent performance. The newly-engaged singer said it was her “favourite thing” to happen at the Olympics.
Raygun herself responded to criticism during a press conference on August 10. “I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best—their power moves—What I bring is creativity,” she said.
“All of my moves are original,” she added. “Creativity is really important to me. 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.”
She subsequently made an Instagram post on August 15 which addressed the criticism in further detail. She began her video message by thanking those who supported her and extending her appreciation for their “positivity”.
“I’m glad I was able to bring joy into your lives, that’s what I hoped,” she said. “I didn’t realise that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating,” she added.
“I went out there and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all, truly.
“I’m honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team, and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal.”
Raygun also addressed the “allegations” and “misinformation” spread about her in relation to qualifying, asking everyone to address a recent statement made by the AOC on the Oceania qualifying process for breaking. You can read the post, which condemns an anonymous Change.org petition accusing Raygun of manipulating “the selection process to her own advantage”, here.
Has Raygun Apologised For Her Performance At The Olympics?
Raygun officially broke her silence a month after the Olympics on September 4 during a sit-down interview with Australian television show The Project. Conducted virtually, Raygun made a public apology for accusations that her divisive performance ruined breakdancing’s reputation. “I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced, but I can’t control how people react,” she said, adding, “It is really sad to hear those criticisms.”
Raygun also answered whether she genuinely believes she’s Australia’s best female break dancer. When asked her thoughts on the matter by the show’s host, the 37-year-old replied: “I think my record speaks to that”.
Will breakdancing appear in future Olympics?
Unfortunately for fans of the discipline, the 2024 Paris Games was the first and last time breaking would appear on the Olympic schedule. The sport will be replaced by cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, and there’s no confirmation it will return for the 2032 Brisbane Games in Raygun’s native Australia.
