How Raygun got to the Olympics

The truth behind the ongoing controversy over the highly memeable breaker. vox.com/culture CULTURE   The Olympics are over, and while many athletes brought home glory and gold, maybe nobody made as big an impact as Raygun, the Australian b-girl who took the internet by storm this week with her unusual, uncomfortable dance moves. This is a nightmare scenario: failing so enormously in public, being sentenced to infinite mockery and endless rewatches, becoming the subject of online memes and widespread ridicule, disappointing your colleagues and country, etc. etc. I shudder to imagine myself in Raygun's shoes, but her story has more than meets the eye. As senior culture writer Aja Romano writes, "Despite the viral narrative that’s attached to her, it isn’t as simple as writing Gunn’s Olympics entrance off as a hilarious fluke or a mark of privileged corruption. Indeed, according to Gunn, she intended to bring a style of movement to the Paris Games that was less about meeting expectations and more about making an indelible impact." The Australian breaking scene is small, but it propelled Raygun to the Olympics fair and square. Plus, Raygun's um — unique! — dance style was an effort to infuse some personality and flair into the genre. She may have failed and flailed, and personally her art isn't for me, but who among us hasn't flopped in an attempt to make our mark on something bigger than us? —[Melinda Fakuade](, culture editor How Raygun earned her spot — fair and square — as an Olympics breaker [a photo of Rachael Gunn kangaroo hopping at the Olympics during her breakdance performance, wearing a green cap and green and yellow jumpsuit]( Ezra Shaw/Getty Images In October 2023, members of the World DanceSport Federation, or WDSF, learned breaking, the sport they’d been trying to make happen at the Olympics for years, would not be appearing at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. In response, the organization’s president, Shawn Tay, made a grand proclamation. “Ensuring the success of breaking’s Olympic debut at Paris 2024 is therefore on the forefront of the WDSF agenda,” he said. “Our performance in Paris will define the future of dance sport within the Olympic Movement.” …Oops? Going into the games, breaking had a lot riding on its shoulders. But no one counted on [Raygun]( — the newly infamous, 36-year-old, last-place Australian b-girl (as breakers are called) whose performance on the Paris stage included bizarre floor-writhing, awkward freezes, and “original” moves like kangaroo hops. Raygun, real name Rachael Gunn, instantly became a viral sensation — notoriety that only skyrocketed when the public learned that Gunn, [who won none of her Olympics battles](, actually has a PhD in breakdancing. Yes, really. Gunn’s performance has not only overshadowed the two actual breaking gold medalists, Japan’s Yuasa Ami and Canada’s Phil Wizard (plus 16-year-old Australian b-boy Jeff Dunne), it’s arguably become the defining moment of a Parisian Games marked by controversy and absurdity. But alongside widespread mockery of Gunn herself runs speculation that Gunn’s presence at the Games had to be some sort of mistake, even corruption. Surely, this couldn’t be the best Australia had to offer? [Read the full story »]( The It Ends With Us drama is the new Don’t Worry Darling drama Is there actually beef between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni? [Read the full story »]( Does being a gifted kid make for a burned-out adulthood? How being labeled “gifted” can rearrange your life — for better and for worse. [Read the full story »](   [Become a Vox Member]( Support our journalism — become a Vox Member and you’ll get exclusive access to the newsroom with members-only perks including newsletters, bonus podcasts and videos, and more. [Join our community](   More good stuff to read today - [The fight over Jordan Chiles’s bronze medal is barely about gymnastics]( - [The surprising truth about loneliness in America]( - [Mpox never stopped spreading in Africa. Now it’s an international public health emergency. Again.]( - [The hidden reason why your power bill is so high]( - [Is it possible to be fully authentic?](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=culture). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.