Rachael “Raygun” Gunn isn’t going viral at the Paris Olympics for the usual reasons.
On August 9, breaking (often referred to as breakdancing) made its Olympic debut, with B-Girls from all over the world showing off their moves in a series of one-one-one battles set to hip-hop music. According to USA Today, competitors “try to land power moves–acrobatic spins, flips and the like–while also mixing in what is called ‘top rocking,’ or dance elements performed while upright.” However, the breakers don’t what the DJ will play ahead of each round and are judged for their originality, as well as their technical skills.
Ultimately, Japan’s Ami Yuasa took home gold in the women’s final while the male competitors (aka B-Boys) will face off on August 10—but the only breaker people seem to be talking about online is Rachael Gunn, the 36-year-old Australian breaker who scored zero points in all three of her battles in the B-Girls’ round robin.
“This would be me trying to breakdance at the Olympics,” one viewer posted on X.com alongside a clip from one of Raygun’s battles.
Here are just some of the online reactions to Raygun on X.com:
Though Raygun certainly caught viewers by surprise, she didn’t fall out of coconut tree and find herself at the Paris Olympics. Here’s everything we know about the B-Girl behind the memes.
She’s a lecturer at Macquarie University, where she researches breaking culture.
Born in Sydney, Australia, Dr. Rachael Gunn earned her PhD in Cultural Studies from Macquarie University in 2017 after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Music in 2009. She now works at Macquarie as a researcher and lecturer in the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature.
According to her official Olympic bio, her research interests are “dance, gender politics, and the dynamics between theoretical and practical methodologies.” In 2016, she published an article titled “Don’t Worry, it’s Just a Girl!”: Negotiating and Challenging Gendered Assumptions in Sydney’s Breakdancing Scene” for the Journal of World Popular Music.
Raygun was introduced to breaking by her husband and coach, Samuel Free.
According to her Olympic profile, Raygun is a former jazz and ballroom dancer. “I got into breaking through my boyfriend, who’s now my husband, but he was always very encouraging of me to try it out and to learn the moves,” she said in an interview with the Australia and New Zealand online fashion retailer, The Iconic, in April.
However, she said she was inspired to “start training breaking seriously” after watching “a girl in a room full of guys get down and break.”
Here’s an interview with Raygun’s partner ahead of her Olympics debut:
Gunna and Free both belong to a breaking crew called Vanguards of Style.
She’s Australia’s top-ranked B-Girl…duh
Raygun qualified for the Olympics by winning the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney, which she has described as a “career highlight.” Australia’s top-ranked individual B-Girl has also represented her country at the WDSF World Championship Breaking in 2021 and 2022.
“Don’t be afraid to be different,” she said ahead of the Olympics, according to a post by WDSF Breaking for Gold’s Instagram account. “Go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.”
