Raygun Claims She Took Her Olympic Performance "Very Seriously"

Though the 2024 Paris Olympics were filled with plenty of iconic moments, there are few that have been as widely discussed as Rachael Gunn's breakdancing performance. Competing for Australia, Rachael, who performs under the moniker Raygun, put on a performance that resulted in a lot of memes and a lot of questions about the dancer's credibility.

Raygun has represented Australia in breakdancing competitions numerous times throughout her career, and qualified for the Olympics at the Oceania Breaking Championships in Sydney in 2023. But why did she dance like that during her performance at the Olympics?

Raygun has repeatedly defended her performance at the Paris Olympics, noting that much of her performance is rooted in "creativity.”

“All of my moves are original,” Raygun said, per ESPN. “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.”

Outside of her Olympic performance, Raygun is an academic who has studied music and dance, specializing in Breakdancing. Her PhD thesis was titled Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl's Experience of B-boying, studying the " intersection of gender and Sydney’s breaking culture." Though her performance netted her no points at the Olympics, breakdancing has long been her section of expertise professionally.

She issued a response to the hate she's received in a video on Instagram, where she claims she took her time at the Olympics "very seriously."

"I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly," she continued. "I’m honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal.”