Revealed: How Raygun was named Sports Star of the Year before her Olympics performance made her world famous

Raygun was named ‘Sports Star of the Year’ by a media outlet just months before she shot to international fame at the Olympics over her controversial breakdancing routine.

Raechel Gunn, also known as Raygun, became an international viral figure after she took to the stage at the Paris Olympics on Saturday with a performance that failed to score a single point from the judges.

While many Aussies, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, backed Gunn for her ‘have a go’ attitude, others were left fuming by her low-scoring and sometimes bizarre performance, which included kangaroo hops.

Many asked about the qualification process and how Gunn had managed to advance so far despite her ability being noticeably lower than that of the other competitors in Paris.

Despite her loss at the Games, Gunn can find comfort in knowing that in June, the youth publication Pedestrian named her ‘Sports Star of the Year’.

‘Raygun’s finesse into the Olympics, as well as her continuous hard work as a B-Girl in Australia, is what scored her the spot of PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION’s Sports Star of the Year,’ the publication said.

Ms Gunn promoted breakdancing’s Olympic debut shortly after receiving the award.

‘It has the difficulty of gymnastics, the character and performativity of the Nicholas Brothers tap era, the effortlessness of skateboarding and the responsiveness to your opponent like a debate,’ she told Pedestrian in June.

Raechel Gunn is pictured receiving Pedestrian’s  ‘Sports Star of the Year’ award

She added there would be stiff competition at the Games and that she had ‘really focused on preparing as much material as possible’.

‘I just wanna go out there and do my absolute best and show them what Aussies are made of.’

However, at the games, Gunn lost all three of her round-robin battles by a combined score of 54-0 and admitted post-event that she couldn’t compete athletically with the tricks and spins of her younger opponents.

‘What I wanted to do was come out here and do something new and different and creative – that’s my strength, my creativity,’ she said.

Back home, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese commended Gunn when asked about criticism of her routine.

‘Raygun had a crack, good on her, and a big shout out to her,’ he told reporters in Adelaide on Sunday.

‘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.’

Meares was similarly supportive of Gunn, condemning comments from ‘trolls and keyboard warriors’.

‘I love her character and I feel very disappointed for her that she has come under the attack that she has,’ she said.