The Australian who has gone viral for her shocking Olympic routine has lashed the IOC for axing the new sport of breaking without giving it a chance to succeed.
Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn sent the internet into hysterics with her debut Olympic Games performance overnight that failed to reap a single point in three rounds of heats.
She hopped like a kangaroo, resembled a T-Rex at times and rolled around the floor in a disjointed way that confused and amused Aussies back home watching the sport for the first time.
There will be no second act, though, with breaking already cut from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and highly unlikely to re-surface in Brisbane in 2032.
Vice president of Breaking for Gold USA and USA Dance Zack Slusser said the early axing of the debutant sport was because athletes could not afford it.
‘It was a miracle that we were even in Paris to begin with,’ he said.
‘But for the breaking community, it’s an achievement worth celebrating, even if it doesn’t return to the Olympic stage.’
Raygun broke the internet with her performance in Paris, but for all the wrong reasons.
Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn was panned for her performance in the new Olympic sport of breaking
Gunn failed to score a single point across three heats and her routine went viral
Viewers have been lining up to savage her routine that sent her packing at the bottom of the leaderboard, only ahead of Manizha Talash who was disqualified for displaying the words ‘free Afghan women’ on her outfit.
‘Raygun has a PhD in cultural studies and teaches about breaking, hip-hop culture, and gender studies related to these specific dances. This is Napoleon Dynamite level stuff,’ one viewer said after her performances.
‘The fact that Raygun has a PhD in breakdancing is its own commentary on academia vs real world expertise,’ added another.
‘I kinda feel bad for Raygun, the Aussie #BreakingForGold – but that routine was hilariously ridiculous,’ posted another.
In a blistering social media post, Gunn lashed out at people criticising her Olympics uniform – after some trolls suggested she looked like a tennis line official
However, she may have misread the room with this response given that most of the criticism towards her was about her performance, not her unremarkable outfit
However Raygun remains bullish about the sport and blasted organisers for cutting it without really giving it a chance.
‘It was disappointing it was decided that it wouldn’t be in LA, particularly before we even had a chance to show it,’ she said.
‘That was possibly a little premature. I wonder if they’re kicking themselves now?
‘What is an Olympic sport? What are the similarities between dressage and artistic swimming and the 100m sprint and the pentathlon?
‘Breaking is clearly athletic, it clearly requires a whole level of dedication across a number of different aspects. It’s really bringing a new level of excitement.’
In a blistering social media post, Gunn also lashed out at people criticising her Olympics uniform – after some trolls suggested she looked like a tennis line official.
However, she may have misread the room with this response given that most of the criticism towards her was about her performance, not her unremarkable outfit.
‘Looking forward to the same level of scrutiny on what the bboys [male breakdancers] wear tomorrow,’ she posted on Instagram, suggesting there was a sexist element to the backlash.
In a separate post she said, ‘Don’t be afraid to be different. Go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.’
Gunn believes breaking was axed from the Olympics prematurely and said organisers would be ‘kicking themselves’
While breaking has been axed from the 2028 Games, the governing body is pushing for it to come back at the Brisbane 2032 Games
World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) President Shawn Tay said the organisation was ‘profoundly disappointed’ to have missed out on returning in California in 2028. But he hopes the sport can return in Brisbane.
‘Our campaign to be added to Brisbane 2032 has already begun and is being ably led by our first vice-president and resident Australian Tony Tilenni,’ Tay said.
‘Initial reactions from all participants to the breaking presentations, including Brisbane officials at the Australian Olympic Committee’s one year to go to Paris 2024 celebrations, have been highly optimistic about our chances of being added to these Games.
Even if breaking doesn’t not reappear at the Olympics, Slusser hopes the exposure of being at the Paris Games would bring new levels of interest to the sport.
‘The amount of exposure to the right people that can bring real change to our community, to our platform to help it grow — it’ll be significant to us. It’ll allow us, for the first time, to find sustainability and help us elevate our platform,’ Slusser said.
‘It would be great to see breaking make it back to the Olympic Games again. But at the same time, it’s really going to go back to community work and leveraging this opportunity internally.’
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