Rachael Gunn, an Australian breakdancer, describes the response to her Olympic performance as truly devastating.
When Gunn, also known as B-girl Raygun, made her debut at the Paris Games, she instantly became the talk of social media. Due to her performance at the recent Games–which disappointed a lot of spectators– more than 54,000 people signed a petition, pleading for an apology from Gunn, and Australian Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares.
Gunn and the two-time Olympic track cyclist Meares were accused in the petition of “attempting to gaslight the public and undermining the efforts of genuine athletes”. Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief executive Matt Carroll said the petition had “stirred up public hatred without any factual basis”.
According to Change.org, the petition was reviewed, “flagged for misinformation”, and withdrawn.
Raygun said: “Well, I went out there and I had fun – I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all. Truly… And I’m honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team, to be a part of Breaking’s Olympic debut.”
She added: “I’d really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the broader street dance community…Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this, so I ask you to please respect their privacy.”
After receiving lots of criticism for her performance in the Paris Olympics, breaker Rachael “Raygun” Gunn said she could not bring herself to compete once more. This means that her trademark kangaroo bounce will never be seen on a competitive platform again.
During the Olympic debut of breaking at the Place de la Concorde, university lecturer Gunn was widely ridiculed after losing all three of her round-robin matches with a combined performance score of 54-0. She was mocked for everything from her dance moves to her green official team uniform.
Gunn told Sydney radio: “I’m not going to compete any more, no.”
She added: “I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now to approach a battle… Yeah, I mean I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner …. It’s been really upsetting. I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was.”
No more breaking for the 2028 Olympics
The Olympic programme for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles no longer includes breaking. Gunn said that if the dance event was added back to the Games, she would not think about coming out of retirement.
Meanwhile, an online petition that claimed that Gunn had manipulated the qualification process to get her Paris spot was taken down at the request of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) after gaining 50,000 signatures.
After everything that has happened, Gunn said: “But I just try and stay on the positives and that’s what gets me through…The people that have like (said), ‘you have inspired me to go out there and do something that I’ve been too shy to do. You’ve brought joy, you’ve brought laughter. You know, we’re so proud of you.’”
Rachael Gunn, an Olympian from Australia who gained international attention for her performance at the Paris Games and went by the nickname B-Girl Raygun, is currently the top breaker in the world.
The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), which oversees breaking and other dancesports, recently announced its women’s rankings, with the 37-year-old taking first place.
In August, Raygun competed in the Olympics against breakers from the United States, France, and Lithuania. However, her performances were ineffective as she lost all three rounds. But in the 2023 WDSF Oceania Championships, she took home the gold medal, earning 1,000 ranking points and leaping to the top of the rankings. She earned a trip to Paris, thanks to her triumph in the Oceania Championships.
The plot twist
Strangely enough, not a single Olympic B-Girl medallist is rated in the top 10. China’s 671, Japan’s Ami, and Lithuania’s Nicka took home gold, silver, and bronze, respectively, at the recent Games.
The WDSF stated that each athlete’s top four performances over the previous 12 months were used to update their rankings. Points obtained in these contests are valid for 52 weeks following the event date. Furthermore, the governing body stated that because of restricted athlete quotas, the Olympic qualifying events in Shanghai and Budapest as well as the actual Paris Games did not factor in the ranking list.
“In alignment with the Olympic Qualification System, ranking events were intentionally not held between 31 December 2023 and the Olympic Games Paris 2024. This strategic scheduling allowed athletes to focus solely on the last part of their Olympic qualification without the added pressure of additional ranking events…. By the end of the Olympic Games, many of the competition results included in the ranking had expired, leading to the current situation where many athletes have only one competition result contributing to their ranking,” the WDSF declared.
The list will alter when the next round of 12-month points expires and the Breaking for Gold World Series is held in Shanghai in October.
The creator of a musical based on the well-known Olympic breakdancer Raygun shared that the show was cancelled just hours before its scheduled opening after the athlete’s attorneys threatened legal action.
Australian comedian Steph Broadbridge, who planned and will star in “Raygun: The Musical,” claimed that the breakdancer’s lawyers got in contact with the venue and ‘threatened legal action.’
Broadbridge said: “They were worried I was damaging her brand, which I would never do… They were very concerned that people would think that Rachael Gunn was affiliated with the musical.”
She added: “I want to assure everyone that she will not be part of the show. She’s very welcome to come; I would love for her to see it.”
The parody musical aimed to recount the tale of Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, popularly known as Raygun, whose performance at the Olympics in Paris sparked a backlash against both her and the sport itself. It also led to numerous memes on social media.
Raygun was known as an athlete who performed a series of body contortions while crawling or lying on the floor, including a reverse roll and a kangaroo hop. In the Paris Olympics, she lost 18-0 in all three rounds against breakers from France, Lithuania, and the United States, failing to record a single point.
Anyone who purchased a ticket would receive a refund of $10 Australian dollars ($6.45). The Women’s and Girls Emergency Centre, a charity that assists women and children impacted by homelessness, domestic abuse, and systematic inequality, was the original recipient of the event’s revenues.
Moreover, Broadbrigde also mentioned that the musical’s poster, which featured a silhouette of the breakdancer’s well-known kangaroo hop, was copyrighted by the athlete’s attorneys, who claimed she was not allowed to do the dance since Gunn “owns” it.
With this, Broadbridge exclaimed: “That one did puzzle me – I mean, that’s an Olympic-level dance. How would I possibly be able to do that without any formal breakdancing training?”
Raygun’s agency commented on this issue, saying: “While we have immense respect for the credible work and effort that has gone into the development of the show, we must take necessary steps to safeguard Rachael’s creative rights and the integrity of her work… This action is not intended to diminish the contributions of others, but rather to ensure her brand is properly represented and protected in all future endeavours.”
Fresh from a ‘three-peat”, the Australian foursome pulled off a fourth feat. The Australians won their fourth consecutive Olympic gold in the 4×100 metres women’s freestyle in Paris, leading almost from start to finish.
The quartet of Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris set an Olympic record with a time of 3 minutes, 28.92 seconds, breaking the record the Australians set in Tokyo three years ago.
The Americans won silver and the Chinese bronze.
Australia’s O’Callaghan was slow off the blocks and well behind China’s Yang Junxuan in the opening 50 metres, but then she surged ahead, and the Australians led all the way. Jack and McKeon extended the lead before Meg Harris anchored the team home with a sizzling 51.94 second split.
Behind the success
What explains the Australian success?
Well, nothing succeeds like success.
The Australian foursome also hold the world record in the 4×100 metres freestyle. They set a time of 3:27.96 last year, which remains unbroken.
They have become used to setting records.
O’Callaghan, McKeon and Harris also set the previous Olympic record in Tokyo three years ago, which they broke this year.
🥇GOLD🥇
An Olympic record, and a 6th gold for Emma McKeon. Australia win the 4 x 100m Relay: pic.twitter.com/aet0sOqpzJ
It was an especially big win for the 30-year-old McKeon, swimming her final Olympics, as it gave her a sixth Olympic gold and a 12th Olympic medal overall.
That ties McKeon with Americans Katie Ledecky, Jenny Thompson, Natalie Coughlin and Dara Torres for the most career Olympic medals by a women’s swimmer.
McKeon, who won her first Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, returned home with seven medals from Tokyo three years ago, including four gold.
She is now Australia’s most decorated Olympian of all time, surpassing former swimmer Ian Thorpe with her sixth gold medal.
Mollie O’Callaghan
Meanwhile, Mollie O’Callaghan, 20, picked up another gold in Paris, winning the 200 metres freestyle, defeating compatriot Ariarne Titmus, who won the title in Tokyo. With the two golds she won in Paris, O’Callaghan now has four Olympic gold medals. She also helped the Australians win the 4×100 metres medley and the 4×100 metres freestyle in Tokyo.
Meg Harris
Meg Harris, 22, competing in her second Summer Games, now has two Olympic golds, both won in the 4×100 metres freestyle relay, first in Tokyo and now in Paris.
Harris has reached the pinnacle of success despite hearing loss in both ears.
She can normally lip-read others and also taught herself to hear the starter’s gun.
Her hearing loss could be due to nerve damage, probably as a result of illness at a young age, but it is moderate, and she can cope, she says.
Shayna Jack
The Paris gold is especially sweet for Shayna Jack, 25, who made her Olympic debut three years after returning from a doping ban.
From 2019 to 2021, she served a 24-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. She didn’t take it intentionally, she said.
She cherished her Olympic moment. “For me it’s definitely about getting up there and doing my country proud,” Jack said after winning the gold in Paris. “It’s a really special moment to stand on the podium with the other three girls.”
There are highs and lows.
Emma McKeon broke down in tears after missing podium in her last individual Olympic race, the 100 metres butterfly, on July 28.
“It’s just emotional,” she said, an athlete planning to retire from the sport.
“I definitely hoped that would’ve been better, but I know I’ve got a lot to be proud of,” said McKeon, who finished sixth.
Torri Huske and Gretchen Walsh, who were part of the US team which finished second in the 4×100 metres freestyle, won gold and silver respectively.
“It’s always going to be emotional finishing something that’s brought me so much joy. So many great relationships and so many great life lessons,” said McKeon.
Olympic athlete Amber Rutter devastated after belongings, including an award, got stolen
Olympic medallist Amber Rutter claims she was “truly devastated” to have her possessions stolen on her way home after receiving a UK Sport award.
The 27-year-old athlete received a comeback/breakthrough award in Manchester after winning skeet silver at Paris 2024. However, her valuable possessions were taken on her train ride to Reading, including the prize and a sentimental memento, and requested assistance in recovering them.
Rutter expressed: “Just had all my belongings stolen on my train back from Manchester Piccadilly to Reading, including my cartridge necklace that was given to me from my grandad when I was 12 years old and only took off as I broke the chain last night.”
She added: “I’m truly devastated. If anyone is able to help in any way I would be truly grateful.”
After receiving the UK Sport award, the athlete declared: “This recognition means so much to me after such a whirlwind career of challenges, perseverance and incredible highs. As always, thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way.”
In a social media post, Rutter shared her achievement by saying: “What an unforgettable day in Manchester at the @uk_sport PLX event! 🌟… I had the incredible opportunity to speak and share my journey with so many inspiring individuals from the world of sport.”
“To top it all off, I was honored to be nominated for the Athlete Comeback/Breakthrough Award against some incredible athletes and I can’t believe I won! 🏆,” she said.
