New footage emerged this week showing Australian B-girl Raygun dancing in the Olympic Village with some of her fellow athletes – and some are questioning her headline-grabbing competition performance.
The footage, posted on TikTok by Olympic rower and fellow Australian team athlete Jean Mitchell, appears to show athletes in a dance circle, with Raygun jumping into the middle.
The caption called Rachael Gunn, who was the target of both praise and criticism following her performance in the sport’s debut in Paris, a “QUEEN.”
The footage showed Gunn performing a series of moves that, similar to her performance during the competition, garnered mixed reactions.
Some asked, “Why didn’t she do that in her routine?” and “Why was that better than the comparison?”
Many praised the moves and Gunn.
“Iconic. No notes,” one person wrote.
“Your confidence is inspiring,” said another user.
Others said the moves were evidence of previous criticism of their ability on the world stage.
“When you get medals for participating,” wrote one commenter.
“It’s like watching a child show what he can do,” said another.
The video comes as part of a fan petition questioning Gunn’s eligibility to compete in the Olympics. The petition, which lists a number of unverified claims, calls for, among other things, a public apology from Gunn and an investigation into her participation in the Games. As of Wednesday, the petition had more than 35,000 signatures.
Gunn, who caused a stir by using moves such as a “kangaroo dance” and scored zero points in her Olympic performance, has already faced criticism for her breakdancing moves at the 2024 Games.
Speaking to ESPN, she said she knew she was an “underdog” and acknowledged that her unique style was intentional.
“I wanted to come out here and do something new, different and creative – that’s my strength, my creativity,” Gunn said. “I could never have beaten these girls at what they do best, which is the dynamics and the power moves. So I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative, because how often in life do you get the chance to do that on an international stage.”
The Australian dancer said she wanted to “make an impression in a different way.”
And Gunn is not the only one defending her dance – the breakdancing community does too.
The breakdancing competition’s chief judge said on Sunday that the 36-year-old university professor was simply trying to be original and showing his support. And the breakdancing association said it had offered him psychological support following the online criticism.
“Breakdancing is about originality and bringing something new and representing your country or region,” said head judge Martin Gilian – known as MGbility – at a press conference. “That’s exactly what Raygun did. She was inspired by her surroundings, which in this case was a kangaroo, for example.”
The breaking and hip-hop communities “are definitely behind her,” he added.
“We have five criteria in the judging system for the competition and her level may not have been as high as the other competitors,” said MGbility. “But again, that means she was really bad. She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier. … Unfortunately, the other B-girls were better.”
Her fellow Australian breakdancer Jeff Dunne, known under the name J Attack, also expressed his support for Gunn.
“All I know is that she did very well,” the 16-year-old told the Herald Sun. “She was the leading women’s breaker in Australia and I recognise her and respect her 100 per cent.”
Other breakdancers like Leah Clark, meanwhile, had mixed feelings.
“I’m friends with Rachael and I competed against her for many years. I was so proud to watch her walk out. (But) the performance… I was a little shocked at what I saw, to be quite honest,” Clark told Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Hack,” among others. “Rachael has a quirky style and a unique character. To be honest, I was a little disappointed personally. Some of those choices were not the best for the Olympic stage… there were some questionable decisions made on her behalf. I commend her for being herself. There’s a lot of talent in Australia. But Rachael deserves to be there because she won the championships.”
Clark added that she was concerned about Gunn because of the backlash she had received online, as well as the comments other B-girls received on social media following her performance.
“The ambitious girls have mixed feelings. We care deeply about Rachael and are worried about her and the amount of bullying she is experiencing. No one deserves that. We hope she is OK,” she said. “On the other hand, we ask ourselves: ‘What happened there?'”
Sergey Nifontov, secretary general of the World DanceSport Federation, said they had been in direct contact with Gunn and officials of the Australian Olympic team.
“We have offered the support of our safety officer. We are aware of what has happened, especially on social media, and we should definitely put the athlete’s safety, in this case psychological safety, first,” he said. “She has our support as a federation.”
Breaking – known to many as breakdancing, a term the performers dislike – will not be on the program at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The next Summer Games will take place in Brisbane, Australia.
“We believe this has nothing to do with our chances for Brisbane 2032,” Nifontov said when asked about the criticism of Raygun and the return to the Olympics.
Japan’s Ami Yuasa, better known as B-Girl Ami, won the gold medal and said she wished Los Angeles organizers had waited to experience the energy between the athletes and the crowd at Place de la Concorde.
“I’m so sad that it’s not in Los Angeles because breaking was born in the USA,” she said on Sunday. “Breaking is not just a sport, it’s also an expression of myself and art.”
Association president Shawn Tay defended the development – from an art form that began in the Bronx in the 1970s to an appearance at the Olympic Games. Critics questioned the commercialization of the sport.
“From the beginning, we were warned that some of the breakers – the best breakers – might not participate,” he said. “But now we’ve managed to take them all – we’ve got the best breakers. Now they’re fighting for the glory of their country – that’s something totally different. And that’s actually what made them improve so much and work so hard and more scientifically.”
When asked for her opinion on the debate over the sport, Gunn said breakdancing “really brings a new level of excitement” to the Olympics.
“What is an Olympic sport? This is so broad here… what are the similarities between dressage and synchronized swimming and the 100-meter sprint and the pentathlon,” she said. “Breaking is clearly athletic and clearly requires a high level of dedication in a number of different aspects, so I think it meets that criteria.”
Gunn represented her country at the World Breaking Championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The 36-year-old is also a lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney and has a PhD in cultural studies. Her LinkedIn page states that she is “interested in the cultural politics of breaking.”
Gunn tried many different dance styles from a young age, including ballet and tap, but she didn’t start breakdancing until she was in her twenties when her then-boyfriend, who is now her husband and coach, introduced her to it.
