Australian B-Girl Raygun competes during the B-Girls Round Robin. Source: littleshao, X.
Australia’s breakdancer Rachael Gunn — also known as “Raygun” — has become an internet meme after receiving major ridicule on her performance at the Paris Olympics Games.
On Friday, Raygun did a “kangaroo dance” as part of her routine and was eliminated with zero points in all three rounds, 0-18.
The 36-year-old Olympic breakdancer went viral overnight for her questionable moves, that many people on social media called “hilariously ridiculous”.
One comment on X said: “I’d like to personally thank Raygun for making millions of people worldwide think ‘huh, maybe I can make the Olympics too’.”
Despite the criticism and backlash the breakdancer has received, the head judge of the breaking competition showed Raygun his support.
“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” head judge Martin Gilian said in a press conference on Sunday.
“This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.”
Breakdancing is a completely new sport that has been introduced to the Olympics as of this year.
The judges grade dancers’ performances according to six criteria, including creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity, and musicality.
“We have five criteria in the competitive judging system and just her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors,” Gilian said.
“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.”
Raygun has also received the support of the breakdancing federation — who have reached out to offer mental health support in the wake of the online backlash — and singer/songwriter Adele.
“I think it’s the best thing that has happened at the Olympics for the entire time,” the sixteen-time Grammy Award winner told her fans mid-concert.
“I can’t work out if it was a joke but either way it has made me very, very happy, and me and my friends have been shitting ourselves laughing for nearly 24 hours.”
Speaking to reporters after her performance, Raygun said that “creativity was really important” to her.
“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 in a lifetime to do that on an international stage?
“I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way.”
Raygun is a lecturer at Macquarie University and has a PhD in breakdancing and cultural studies.
A spokesperson for Macquarie University told SBS News that they were “proud to see [their] academic staff member Dr Rachael Gunn represent Australia in her sport at the Paris Olympics”.
