Australian breakdancer ‘Raygun’ goes viral at Olympics and people have absolutely no idea what to think

It’s safe to say there’s been no shortage of memorable moments at this year’s Olympic Games.

There was the controversial 5,000 metre race that saw Team GB athlete George Mills square up to French runner Hugo Hay. And who could forget the pole vaulter whose bulge crushed his medal hopes after it got caught on the bar?

Now, the latest moment to go viral at Paris 2024 has people at a loss for words.

Advert

The Olympic breakdancing event kicked off yesterday and one dancer’s performance left social media rather divided (Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Yesterday (9 August) saw the long-awaited Olympic debut of breakdancing, which sees contestants face off in head-to-head battles over a two-day competition.

Each battle consists of three rounds, or throw downs, with the breakers taking alternating one-minute turns to perform.

The breaker who wins the best-of-three advances until the final two dancers battle for gold.

Advert

And the performance of an Australian dancer called ‘Raygun’ in the qualifiers has left fans rather confused.

In a clip that has since gone viral on social media, the 36-year-old – real name Rachael Gunn – can be seen squirming on the dance floor in a pretty chaotic routine.

Gunn was Australia’s top-ranked B-girl (female breaker) in 2020 and 2021and is a creative researcher at Sydney’s Macquarie University specialising in ‘the cultural politics of breakdancing’.

The video was taken from her throw down against France’s Syssy (Sya Dembélé), 16, in the second of three qualifying matches.

Advert

The Australian ultimately scored no points against any of her rivals and was knocked out of the competition.

Raygun – real name Rachel Gunn – is a dancer and researcher specialising in the politics of breakdancing. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

And X users had a lot to say about Raygun’s performance.

One person wrote: “How did she get qualified? That’s the best Australia has? lol.”

Advert

A second shared the viral clip alongside the caption: “My five year old niece after she says ‘watch this’.”

A third commented: “Never watched breaking before but I can already tell Raygun doesn’t have a chance in this event.”

But the response wasn’t all negative, with many praising Gunn for her courage in competing.

One said: “Raygun from Australia is my Olympic hero actually,” while another wrote: “Props to Raygun for having the guts to go out there.”

Advert

And a third joked: “If Raygun isn’t our flag bearer for the closing ceremony we’ve lost all sense of who we are as a nation.”

But the dancer and academic doesn’t seem to have let any of the hate get to her.

Speaking about her Olympic performance, she said: “All my moves are original. Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry.

“Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about.”

Gun added: “What I wanted to do was come out here and do something new and different and creative – that’s my strength, my creativity.

“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 that 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.”

Olympics 2024 highlights – the biggest moments so far Anthony Ammirati’s penis costs him his medal

The 21-year-old French pole vaulter attempted to clear the 5.70 metres on 3 August when his knee – along with his private parts – got in the way, shattering his Olympic dreams.

Iconic shooter Yusuf Dikec wins silver medal with ‘no equipment’Yusuf Dikec became a viral sensation. (Eurosport)

Turkey’s Yusuf Dikec took a laid back approach when he was spotted looking incredibly relaxed with one hand in his pocket and without any shooting gear on.

It all paid off though as he took home the silver along with his partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan.

Noah Lyles’ 100m victory He set a personal best (Eurosport)

Setting a new personal best, Lyles came out on top at the finish line by a margin of just 0.005 seconds, with a final time of 9.784.

The final also marked the fastest race of all time, with all eight athletes crossing the finish line in under 10 seconds.

George Mills and Hugo Hay’s 5000m bust up

Chaos erupted when a total of five athletes found themselves face down on the track after an incident left several runners stumbling on top of each other, including Team GB’s George Mills and French runner Hugo Hay.

Mills looked as though he had some harsh words for Hay after the tumble which he admitted he was ‘probably not allowed to say’.

Snoop Dogg in general

Snoop went viral after he rocked up to the dressage team Grand Prix Special fully kitted out in breeches, a dressage tailcoat and hard hat alongside pal Martha Stewart. Iconic.

Ana Carolina Vieira gets sent home for breaking athletes’ village rules with boyfriend The swimmer was sent home after her actions. (Instagram/_anavieeiraa)

Ana Carolina Vieira was sent home after she and her boyfriend Gabriel Santos – also a swimmer competing in the Olympics – left the village without permission, which is against the Olympic Village rules.

Team GB star becomes first ever Olympian to win medal in both male and female eventsHenry Fieldman (bottom left) made history. (henryfieldman/Instagram)

Coxswain Henry Fieldman made history when he won bronze at the women’s crews event off the back of his bronze win in Tokyo on the men’s team.

Fieldman was able to achieve the feat because of a rule change back in 2017 that allows coxes of either gender to steer the eights.

The River Seine drama Tyler Mislawchuk threw up after his race (BBC)

While Canada’s Tyler Mislawchuk vomited after swimming in the river, Belgian triathlete Jolien Vermeylen admitted she ‘felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much’.

It came after health concerns were raised over the pollution levels in the river, with the country splashing out a cool £1.18 billion on cleaning it up in time for the games.

Freddie Crittenden jogs for entire race on purpose

The Team USA star purposely put on a leisurely performance in his first heat of the Men’s 110m hurdles and ended up being the last one to make it across the finish line with a time of 18.27 seconds.

The athlete said it was a calculated move to avoid aggravating a sore muscle in his leg and due to the introduction of repechage rounds, he knew that he’d have another chance at glory.

‘Slow pool’ accusations

The pool at the Paris La Défense Arena is 2.15 metres deep which is short of the minimum of 2.5 metres that World Aquatics recommends for an Olympic competition, prompting backlash from viewers.

As a result of the difference in depth, an issue called ‘slow’ swimming is created where the water is more volatile when dispersed than in a deeper pool.

Imane Khelif’s opponent quits boxing match 46 seconds in Italy’s Angela Carini has since apologised (Eurosport)

The Algerian boxer faced Italy’s Angela Carini in the round of 16 match on 1 August when Carini – who has since apologised – decided to abandon the match after 46 seconds.

Khelif – who was born and raised a girl – was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi amid claims from the International Boxing Association that she was not able to meet their unspecified eligibility criteria.

Khelif has since been at the centre of a gender row, and has urged people to ‘refrain from bullying all athletes’ amid abuse online.

Luana Alonso ‘kicked out’ of Olympic VillageLuana Alonso took to social media to break her silence (Instagram/@luanalonsom)

The Paraguayan swimmer was said to have been asked to leave the village amid accusations of creating an ‘inappropriate environment’, according to a statement from her team.

Alonso – who also announced her retirement from the sport – has since denied the claims and urged people to ‘stop spreading false information’.

Gold medal winner Thomas Ceccon spotted sleeping in park amid village complaints Ceccon having a cheeky snooze. (Instagram)

The athlete, who won gold in the men’s 100m backstroke, was spotted taking a nap outside by Saudi rower Husein Alireza who posted it to his Instagram account, tagging the spot as a location within the official Olympic Village.

Speaking about his accommodation, Ceccon said: “It’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Usually, when I’m at home, I always sleep in the afternoon. Here I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”

Steven van de Velde booed while making his Olympic debutSteven van de Velde is a convicted child rapist (Eurosport)

The convicted child rapist was booed as he competed in the preliminary phase of the beach volleyball men’s tournament at the start of the games last month.

In 2016, Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old girl in August 2014, with many furious that he has been allowed to compete in the Olympics.

Featured Image Credit: Elsa/Getty Images/Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Topics: Australia, Olympics, Sport