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Raygun: 'I knew people wouldn't understand my style'

September 5, 2024

Rachael "Raygun" Gunn, the 37-year-old Olympic breaker, says the criticism of her performance came from people's ignorance.

https://p.dw.com/p/4kHKH
Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun, during the B-Girls Round Robin breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park in Paris, as part of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
Gunn said in the interview she had not expected to do well at the OlympicsImage: DAN HIMBRECHTS/AAP/IMAGO

Australian Rachael "Raygun" Gunn has defended her controversial performance at the Paris Olympic Games last August.

In her first interview since the Games, the 37-year-old university lecturer on Wednesday told Australia's Channel 10 that much of the criticism she received was due to the fact that "people were not very familiar with breaking and the diversity of approaches."

"I was the top-ranked Australian B-girl in 2020, 2022, and 2023… so there’s the record. But in a battle, anything can happen," she said.

She acknowledged that she didn’t expect to perform well at the Olympic Games.

"As soon as I qualified, I thought, 'Oh my God, what have I done?' Because I knew I was going to get beaten, and that people wouldn’t understand my style or what I was going to do," she said.

What did Raygun do at the Olympic Games?

Gunn competed in the women’s breaking event, where she lost all three battles in the preliminary round by a total of 54-0. Videos mocking her performance went viral within hours. 

Her moves and her official green team uniform became the subject of mockery on social media and TV shows, including a sketch by US late-night TV host Jimmy Fallon.

The breaker said she wasn’t prepared for the level of viral attention: "The energy and vitriol people showed were quite alarming. It was really sad to see how much hatred it provoked."

Do the Olympic rules have to change? Athletes' rights activist Payoshni Mitra speaks with DW

She also apologized for the negative reactions that emerged towards the breakdancing world as a result of her performance.

"I’m really sorry for the backlash the community has faced, but I can’t control how people react," Gunn said.

An online campaign accused Raygun of cheating

A Change.org petition with over 50,000 signatures accused Gunn of manipulating the selection process. The text also raised concerns about her husband being part of the selection committee.

The petition was taken down at the request of the Australian Olympic Committee.

"The conspiracy theories were horrible," said Gunn. "That was really painful because it wasn’t just people who didn’t understand breakdancing being upset about my performance."

Fact check: Fakes target the Paris Olympics

Will Raygun compete again?

Despite the criticism, Gunn received support from her fellow Australian Olympians and the prime minister of Australia. In a video posted in August, she said she had taken her participation in the Olympic Games very seriously.

However, Raygun said she doesn’t think she will compete again anytime soon. "Unfortunately, we need more resources in Australia to have a real shot at becoming world champions," she said.

Gunn says she prefers to focus on the positives and the joy her performance brought to people.

No breaking at Los Angeles 2028 Games

Paris 2024 was the first time in Olympic history that breaking was included as a discipline.

Japan’s Ami Yuasa emerging as the women's champion.

Despite the visibility gained, breakdancing will be replaced by other disciplines in the program for Los Angeles 2028 

fmf/sms (Reuters, AFP)