Raygun's loved ones had raised concerns before her infamous breakdancing performance at the 2024 Olympics, an interview she did before the Games revealed.
Rachel Gunn, also known as B-Girl Raygun, made headlines for scoring zero points in each of her battles at the world's greatest sports event.
The 36-year-old's moves fell short of the expectations of what judges and viewers considered an exceptional breaking routine.
Highlights
- Rachel Gunn's loved ones raised concerns before her breakdancing performance at the 2024 Olympics.
- Raygun's coach and husband criticized her for being too cautious in her breakdancing style.
- Her students were shocked to learn she was representing Australia at the Olympics.
In an interview with CNBC before the Olympics, Rachel shared that her family members initially disapproved of her passion for breakdancing.
Image credits: Harry Langer/Getty Images
Image credits: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
The university lecturer was introduced to many different forms of dance when she was younger, including ballet and tap.
"They were happy that I was dancing again since so much time and money was spent when I was younger, but they would have preferred for me to take on a more feminine dance style," she said.
Rachel was introduced to breakdancing when she was 20 by her then-boyfriend (now-husband and coach), who also raised concerns when she decided to take up the dance style.
"They would have preferred for me to take on a more feminine dance style," the 36-year-old said before her Olympic performance
Image credits: Raygun_aus
"My coach has criticized me for being a little too cautious in breaking, but it has paid off. I've never been seriously injured in breaking — only twinges that were very easily fixed by physiotherapy.
"When I first started, I didn't have the upper body strength, or the strength at all, required to break, and that's something I'm still building over the last 13 years."
Image credits: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Her students at Sydney's Macquarie University were surprised to hear about her representing her country at the Olympics.
"In 2023, many of my students didn't believe me when I told them I was training to qualify for the Olympics and were shocked when they checked Google and saw that I qualified."
The Australian dancer made headlines for scoring zero points in each of her battles at the 2024 Olympics
One of Raygun's motivations for stepping onto the Olympic world stage was to inspire future generations of dancers with her craft.
"We're inspiring a whole new generation of people to get into breaking. This is so exciting for us, and we just want to share this culture, this dance, and this sport."
Rachel represented Australia in 2021, 2022, and 2023 at the World Breaking Championships, and she is known as the country's best female breaker, according to CNBC.
Raygun's husband, who is also her coach, has criticized her "for being a little too cautious in breaking"
Image credits: raygun_aus
Following her much-talked-about performance, many netizens accused her of "manipulating" her way into the competition and even claimed she was in charge of the Australian breaking committee. A petition questioning the legitimacy and ethicality of her selection also circulated on social media.
These claims were dismissed by Australian breaking judge Te Hiiritanga Wepiha, who was part of the Olympic qualifying panel.
"All us judges talked about how she was going to get smashed, absolutely smashed [at the Olympics]… she knew it was going to be rough, so it's actually courageous of her," he said in an Instagram Live.
He wrote in the caption: "Dispelling some of the misinformation that is being spread. If you've been sharing that BS petition around just because it suits your narrative… shame on you!! Spreading misinformation discredits your cause. We need to do better."
"I didn't realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating," she shared in a video posted on her Instagram.