The Australian breakdancer nicknamed Raygun has become a viral sensation due to her performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The video of her moves, which includes the sprinkler, has been widely memed by commenters on X, with many wondering how she even came to represent Australia. Some believe that her showing has turned breaking, a new sport for the 2024 Olympic Games, into a joke. But there’s more than meets the eyes when it comes to Raygun. Here’s a breakdown of who Raygun really is, including her name and past breaking experience.
Who is Raygun at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Raygun is the B-girl name for Rachael Gunn, a 36-year-old lecturer at Sydney’s Macquarie University who has a Ph.D in Cultural Studies.
While her Olympic performance is certainly creative and out of the box, many users on X were left confused by her moves. One is unsure how she was the best breaker in Australia, another called her the best at “comedy improv,” and one giving her respect for getting “an all expense paid trip to Paris.” Ouch.
Despite the jests and japes, Raygun actually earned her spot by winning the Oceania Breaking Championships from a group of fifteen B-Girls at the competition. In the dance battle for the B-girl competition final, her creativity and style won over the judges. In an interview with NBC, Rachael says her dancing is about “style and creativity, not dynamics or power moves like many other dancers,” though she admits that she’s not sure if her dancing is “going to be valued as much.”
Rachael began breakdancing in the early 2010s, pausing for a few years to complete her Ph.D before returning to competitions in 2018. She competed for Australia at the World Breaking Championships from 2021 to 2023, so she’s a well-known figure at elite competitions for the sport.
