Australian breakdancer Raygun goes viral as sport makes Olympic debut

Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn has caused a stir on social media after her performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Breaking, better known as breakdancing, made its debut as an Olympic sport on Friday. The competition consists of two gender-related events, with 16 B-boys and 16 B-girls competing for the gold.

Gunn – who competes under the name Raygun – went viral online after her performance Friday in the round-robin stage of the women’s breaking competition, where she was wiped out without earning a single point. The 36-year-old spawned dozens of memes and was criticized by viewers for her unconventional moves as she competed with American Logan Edra, Lithuanian Dominika Banevič and France’s Sya Dembélé.

“There were definitely mistakes made, folks, but the biggest one was the lack of communication [Raygun’s] family and friends,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s rare, but if you don’t tell someone he or she can’t dance, it can have global consequences.”

Another user on

Gunn, who has a doctorate in cultural studies, is a college professor at the university Macquarie University in Sydney. She was named the Australia Breaking Association’s top-ranked B-girl in 2020 and 2021 and won the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.

In the end, Japan’s Ami Yuasa won the gold medal for the B-girls competition, while Banevič scored silver and China’s Liu Qingyi took bronze. The B-boys competition will take place on Saturday.

Watch more reactions from Gunn’s groundbreaking performance at the Olympics below: