The Olympic Games are a great showcase of physical prowess but also a mine of icons. Paris 2024 was no exception. For one reason or another, through sporting success, controversy, and simple curiosity, the Olympic Games made stars of athletes who until recently were unknown outside their countries, such as boxer Imane Khelif or the shooters Kim Yeji and Yusuf Dikec. In its final phase, Paris raised another anonymous star: Raygun, the nickname of the B-girl Rachael Gunn, who, despite herself (or not), marked the Olympic debut of breakdancing.
The reason: her “kangaroo dance.”
Rachael Gunn (Raygun). From anonymity to stardom. And all in a few days, with the speed and resounding effect that only the combination of the Olympic Games and social media platforms can achieve. Raygun is an Australian B-girl who participated in the breakdancing competition on Friday in La Concorde during the Paris Olympics. She earned her place months ago in the Olympic delegation of her country, Australia, during the Breaking Oceania Championships held in Sydney.
Considering the importance of the Olympic event for breakdancing, her participation in the Paris Games has given Raygun remarkable visibility in her country and among breakdancing enthusiasts. “Since breaking was first confirmed as an Olympic sport back in 2020, I was doing a lot of media interviews, so I’ve always kind of been front and center,” she recently told her country’s Olympic committee. However, her fame has gone far beyond Australia, breakdancing, and the Olympics.
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Why? Because of her performance. Despite qualifying for the Olympics and competing in La Concorde, Raygun, 36, with a Ph.D. in cultural studies and professor at Macquarie University, had a modest result regarding athletic performance. When it comes to popularity, things are completely different.
Gunn was eliminated in the initial stages without scoring a single point. However, the moves she performed during the event soon went viral worldwide. The reason? During her exhibition, the B-girl left behind a collection of jumps, pirouettes, spins, and other steps that are, at the very least, unorthodox in breakdancing. The most striking, or at least the one that caused the most surprise, was “the kangaroo,” in which Gunn imitated one of the marsupials of her country.
Betting everything on originality. Aware of the expectations (and ridicule) generated by her fleeting passage through the Games, Gunn has come clean and acknowledged what her strategy was to beat rivals like Ami Yuasa, the 25-year-old Japanese breakdancer who won gold: She may not have had the best technique nor was she the most agile in the competition, but the Australian could win in originality.
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get that in a lifetime to do that on an international stage,” she said. But Gunn bet on something else: “Something new, different, creative. That’s my strength, creativity.”
From social media platforms to politics. Her jumps and moves in Paris were flashy enough to catapult Gunn to unexpected stardom, eclipsing even gold medalists Ami or Phil Wizard. Her moves went viral on TikTok, spread like wildfire on X and Instagram, and generated all kinds of comments, including those who mocked her moves or even called them a “mockery” of breakdancing.
Criticism of her style and attire, apparently an Australian Olympic uniform, unlike the outfit of most of her competitors, who showed an urban aesthetic, has raised some voices in her defense.
Among them was Gunn’s fellow Olympian Anna Meares, who praised her “bravery.” Even Australia's prime minister Anthony Albanese had kind words for the woman: “That is in the Australian tradition of people having a go. She’s had a go representing our country, and that’s a good thing.”
These aren’t just any Olympics. Raygun’s dance has become so popular not only because of its shocking steps. Paris 2024 wasn’t just any sports event. As the organization pointed out, it marked the “debut” of breaking at the Olympic Games. However, breaking is unlikely to be repeated in Los Angeles 2028.
After the first international competitions in the 1990s and the success of the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, people expected the Paris event to mark a historic moment for breaking: 16 B-boys and 16 B-girls competed for the judges’ votes and the honor of an Olympic medal.
However, the result didn’t convince everyone, not only because of Raygun’s performance. In the last few days, media outlets such as Associated Press or Euro News have published articles that left some questions hanging: What is the future of this discipline in the Olympics? Are the Olympics really geared to it? Did this discipline take advantage of the opportunity offered by the French event?
“There were significant organizational and governance shortcomings that could have been easily reconciled but, unfortunately, negatively impacted breaking’s first touching point to a new global audience,” breakdancing authorities told Euro News. And not just because of the Raygun dance and its viral effect.
The Olympic debut of the break has left other episodes: Lithuanian B-girl Nicka decided to wear a durag, a garment that has become a symbol of black pride, inciting criticism during her performances. Another moment was when Manizha Talash wore a cape with the phrase “Free Afghan Women” during the competition. The jury disqualified her for violating the Olympic Games’ rule against political statements.
This article was written by Carlos Prego and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.
Images | Australian Olympic Committee
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