Australian breakdancer Raygun fires back at critics over uniform, viral performance in Paris Olympics
Team USA’s Victor Montalvo, Sunny Choi, Logan Edra and Jeffrey Louis are proudly representing the United States, but it’s B-Girl Rachael Gunn, or better known as “Raygun” of Team Australia, that stole the show.
The 36-year-old athlete went up against Edra, Lithuania’s Dominika Banevič and France’s Sya Dembélé during the breaking competition on Aug. 9.
Full Video: Raygun Performance
Breaking made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics and it certainly got people talking.
Who Is Raygun? What To Know About Viral Australian Breakdancer
Aside from being a professional breaker, the Olympian is a lecturer at Sydney’s Macquarie University with a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies, according to CNBC.
“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 checked Google and saw that I qualified,” she said.
Raygun told the publication that her teaching and research centers on breaking, hip hop and gender stereotypes that surround the dance styles.
Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn fired back at her critics who mocked her viral performance and uniform at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Gunn, 36, lost all three of her group matches in the inaugural breaking tournament, where she fell to the US, France and Lithuania. But she still turned heads in France.
“Looking forward to the same level of scrutiny on what the b-boys wear tomorrow,” Gunn wrote on Instagram on Friday.
The Olympian’s fiery response comes in the wake of social media users ridiculing her green and yellow Australian Olympic tracksuit and a hat while her opponents opted for casual streetwear.
The International Olympic Committee allowed competitors to wear their custom uniform, which was submitted for review before the competition.
Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn fired back at her critics who mocked her viral performance and uniform at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Australia’s first Olympic breaker ‘Raygun’ vows to keep being herself amid online jibes
With the breaking spun, won and done in an Olympics cameo in Paris, Australia’s B-girl Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun, has bowed out on her own terms.
But Australia’s first Olympic break dancer has hit back at critics who have slammed her performance at Paris 24, after she failed to receive a point from the judges and was knocked out at the round-robin stage.
Gunn turned heads with her performance that stood out from the show put on by the other breakers, and won plenty of admirers for her presence on stage as she wore her Australia team uniform in place of typical breaking gear.
“All my moves are original,” Gunn said on the inspiration for her performance. “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.”