Viral Australian Olympian Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has lost her job at Sydney’s Macquarie University after more than 15 years of association.
In February 2026, the 38-year-old, who was an academic in the institution’s arts department, stepped down as part of the latest round of cost-cutting redundancies.
Gunn became one of the biggest stories of the 2024 Paris Olympics for her widely memed breakdancing performance, which failed to earn her a single point against three opponents.
Highlights
- Olympic break dance sensation Rachael “Raygun” Gunn lost her job at Sydney’s Macquarie University, where she has been working since 2011.
- Gunn expressed concerns for her colleagues at the institution and about the overarching state of Australia’s higher education.
- The internet dragged the former Olympian for “wasting taxpayers’ money” after her zero-score performance in Paris.
“Raygun made a mockery of breaking in front of the world,” a user said about Gunn at the time.
Rachael Gunn called out Australia’s higher education system after her voluntary redundancy
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Rachael Gunn graduated from Macquarie University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary Music and Cultural Studies. She earned her PhD in 2016 from the same institution on the gender politics of Sydney's breakdancing culture.
She worked at Macquarie as a research assistant and guest lecturer from 2011 to 2016, according to her LinkedIn. In 2017, she became a scholarly teaching fellow, and in 2020, a full-time lecturer.
While her LinkedIn still lists her current role as a lecturer at the university, her staff profile has been removed from Macquarie’s website.
Gunn’s official website has since gone live, announcing her new career as a “speaker, host, and conversation starter.” She also has a Cameo profile, where she currently charges $50-$70 per video.
Image credits: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Gunn took a voluntary redundancy from Macquarie University’s Faculty of Arts after seeing “the writing on the wall.”
“We need to have a serious conversation about higher education in this country,” she told the outlet, adding that she was concerned about the student experience, the psychological stress of the staff, and the spending on buildings, consultants, and executives.
“I’m very worried for my colleagues. I don’t think that things are getting better for them,” she concluded.
Image credits: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/Getty Images
Stephen Bruce Dowton, the Vice-Chancellor of Macquarie University, told a parliamentary inquiry earlier in April that the budgetary cuts were not unfairly focused on the faculty.
“A number of things were taken into account as we move towards proposing changes … funding model changes, regulatory environment, international student downturn, and so on – but also the reality that the demand for courses in the Faculty of Arts has changed,” he said.
Rachael Gunn faced huge backlash for her taxpayer-funded breakdancing lessons
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Rachael Gunn represented Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where breaking debuted as a sport. Amid the already raging debate over whether a dance form should be included in the Games, Gunn’s performance shocked Australians and break dance fans in general as she lost by an aggregate score of 54-0.
While some thought that her awkward kangaroo hops and sprinkler moves reflected what breaking is all about — originality and uniqueness — most were infuriated over the “embarrassment” she brought to the performing art.
Some even suggested foul play in her path to the Games.
“How did she get so far as the Olympics?” a person said. Another wrote, “She made Australia look like complete fools, and she rigged getting into the Olympics.”
“What a disgraceful embarrassment she was,” voiced a third.
Image credits: raygun_aus/Instagram
“Complete and utter bludger grifting off the Aussie taxpayer,” a user commented, referring to her taking break dance courses at Macquarie University.
After Gunn’s zero-point performance went viral in 2024, Queensland’s then Senator Gerard Rennick blasted her in a Facebook post, pointing out that she received taxpayer subsidies to study break dancing at the institution.
“In the same way break dancing doesn’t belong in the Olympics, it’s fair to say taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing Universities to study or teach it,” he wrote. “Nothing against break dancing by the way. By all means, it’s a fair recreational activity, but that’s it. It shouldn’t be subsidized.”
“It also begs the question — just how many obscure and pointless courses do Universities offer that are subsidized by the taxpayer. It also goes to show that just because you have a PhD in something doesn’t mean you are any good at it.”
Image credits: Macquarie University
While Gunn's specifics are not known, PhD students like her can get up to $56,000 a year in tax-free government funding, according to the Daily Mail.
Rennick’s criticism drew significant support from Australian taxpayers.
“Makes a complete mockery of those athletes and their families that literally sacrifice everything to achieve the highest honor we have in sport,” a person said under the post.
“That performance was absolutely woeful and deserves the roast…the idiocy in putting that forward as an Olympic sport is beyond stupidity,” said another.
Australia’s PM and Chef de Mission defended Rachael Gunn
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While Rachael Gunn had no dearth of critics after her 2024 performance, she also found support from significant quarters.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commended her for her spirit.
“Raygun had a crack, good on her, and a big shout out to her,” the PM told reporters at the time. “That is in the Australian tradition of people having a go. She’s had a go representing our country, and that’s a good thing.
“Whether they’ve won gold medals or just done their best, that’s all we asked for. It’s the participating that is really important.”
Image credits: raygun_aus/Instagram
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Olympic legend Anna Meares, a two-time cycling gold medalist and Australia’s Chef de Mission in Paris, said, “I think that what has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them airtime, has been really disappointing.”
“I absolutely love her courage. I love her character, and I feel very disappointed for her that she has come under the attack that she has.”
Gunn explained her performance as an attempt to “do something artistic and creative” and to “make an impression in a different way.”
“My chances were always very slim, but I still worked my b*tt off to try to represent the best that I could,” she said after her performances.
Image credits: raygun_aus/Instagram
Later, after the social media backlash, Gunn said on Instagram, “Don’t be afraid to be different. Go out there and represent yourself; you never know where that’s gonna take you.”
On November 6, 2024, Gunn announced her retirement from competitive breaking, citing the global scrutiny of her Olympic performance.
"She has absolutely zero talent." The internet showed no mercy to Rachael "Raygun" Gunn as she lost her taxpayer-funded university job
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