Australia’s first Olympic breakdancer, Raygun, has opened up about the backlash she faced. The 38-year-old, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, became the target of widespread mockery after her breakdancing performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Gunn described the experience as “really tough” after feeling she had been “reduced to a viral meme” by the world.
Rachael Gunn fired back at ruthless global mockery with a defiant “come at me” message
Netflix’s Untold: Raygun: Breaking Badly, which premieres on September 1, takes viewers behind the scenes of Rachael Gunn’s Olympic journey and the moment that turned her into a global meme. The documentary shows the pressure Gunn faced before competing in Paris. She performed at Place de la Concorde on August 9, 2024. Gunn went up against breakers representing the U.S., France, and Lithuania. She failed to score in any of the three rounds. However, her moves, including a kangaroo-inspired sequence honoring Australia, soon went viral.
Talking to People about it, the former competitive breakdancer, who holds a doctorate in Cultural Studies from Macquarie University, said, “Come at me. I’m ready this time.” However, she expressed, “Some parts were absolutely difficult to watch.” Gunn was introduced to breaking after meeting her husband, Samuel Free, a former competitive breaker who went by B-boy Sammy Sex.
After Gunn’s Olympic routine made headlines around the world, her husband became the subject of online claims. Some allegations accused the 39-year-old Free of belonging to the Australian Breaking Association. The claims suggested that his alleged connection to the organization helped Gunn qualify for the Olympics.
Gunn said navigating the viral response to her Olympic performance was a “really tough” experience. B-girl Flix acknowledged Gunn’s abilities, saying she “was the best B-girl on that day.” However, she also admitted that Raygun’s Olympic performance left her feeling “offended” and “embarrassed.”
Addressing that, Gunn explained, “To be honest, it was a really hard time for breakers around the world, and it was an especially hard time for Australian B girls because of the attention that the community got, the scrutiny, the harassment. So people respond to that in different ways, so I understand that it was a hard time for them.”
Two years after becoming the target of global mockery, Gunn is doing well mentally. However, she said, “I don’t take that for granted. It’s something that I’m constantly checking in on, and if I need to pull back from things, if I need to just take it easy at home, then I do that.”
