What happened to Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn? See where the viral 2024 Olympic breakdancer is now
What happened to Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn? See where the viral 2024 Olympic breakdancer is now
Brianna ZiglerTue, September 1, 2026 at 11:32 PM UTC
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Rachael “Raygun” Gunn at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris; Gunn in ‘Raygun: Breaking Badly’Credit: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty; Courtesy of NetflixKey Points -
Rachael “Raygun” Gunn became widely ridiculed in 2024 following her breaking routine at the Paris Olympics.
Conspiracy theories abounded over how Raygun qualified for the Olympics.
A new Netflix documentary allows Raygun to reflect on her turbulent time in the spotlight.
When Rachael “Raygun” Gunn didn’t manage to score a single point for her breakdancing routine at the 2024 Paris Olympics, viewers weren’t just surprised by the result — they wanted to know how she qualified in the first place.
Raygun made waves at the Summer Olympics for her unusual performance at the Games’ first-ever breaking competition. It inspired a wave of online backlash, memes, and mockery, including conspiracy theories about how she secured a coveted spot in the world’s most prestigious athletic competition. One rumor alleged that she manipulated the selection process to represent Australia.
Now, Raygun’s story is getting the documentary treatment with Netflix’s Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly, in which the ridiculed Olympian tells her story in her own words.
Ahead, Entertainment Weekly breaks down everything to know about Raygun, the controversy surrounding her dance moves, and what she’s up to now.
Who is Rachael “Raygun” Gunn?
Raygun is an Australian former competitive breakdancer — or B-girl — and academic who previously worked as a university lecturer. She started breaking in 2011 after being encouraged by her breakdancer husband, Samuel Free.
She came from a dance background, though it was rooted in jazz, tap, and ballroom. Still, she felt a lot of pressure getting into the breakdancing scene. “There were times that I would go into the bathroom crying because I was so embarrassed at how terrible I was at this,” Raygun told The Guardian in April 2024.
What happened during Raygun’s performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
After the International Olympic Committee added it to the program in 2020, breaking made its Summer Olympic debut in 2024. And Raygun made breakdancing’s first Olympic outing famous for all the wrong reasons.
Raygun’s routine was widely derided for its perceived simplicity. Her moves included the sprinkler, which originated in Australia, and mimicking a kangaroo’s hop, as well as other unconventional movements that many viewers felt fell short of what they expected from an Olympic-level performance.
Competing against 15 other B-girls, Raygun was placed in a four-person round-robin group alongside U.S. dancer Logistx (Logan Edra), France’s Syssy (Sya Dembélé), and Nicka (Dominika Banevič) of Lithuania. She lost all three battles 2-0 in rounds, with the judges voting 18-0 against her each time, for a total of 54-0.
Why did Raygun’s Olympic performance go viral?
Raygun became an instant meme for a routine widely mocked as amateurish and ridiculous, with clips of her performance making the rounds on social media. SNL star Chloe Fineman parodied her on TikTok, while Rachel Dratch impersonated her on The Tonight Show. She even got a shout-out from Adele.
But it wasn’t all lighthearted ribbing. Some critics called for her disqualification, while others made personal attacks. A petition demanding that she apologize amassed more than 50,000 signatures.
She was also accused of cheating her way into the Olympics, as conspiracy theories about her qualification spread rapidly online. One false claim alleged that she had created the governing body involved in the Olympic qualifying process; another claimed that her husband was on the judging panel.
Australia’s chef de mission, Anna Meares, defended Raygun amid the backlash. “I love Rachael, and 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,” Meares said during a news conference.
She continued, “Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team. She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm. And 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.”
How did Raygun qualify for the 2024 Olympics?
Raygun qualified for the Olympics fair and square — but through a relatively small competitive field. She won the 2023 Oceania qualifier, finishing first among 15 women and earning a spot in the Olympics’ first breaking tournament.
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But just because she won that particular competition didn’t necessarily mean she was expected to contend with the world’s best breakers, and even the judges at the qualifier knew she faced an uphill battle. “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,” judge Te Hiiritanga Wepiha later said in an Instagram livestream (via the BBC).
He also noted something equally important: the breaking scene in Australia is “tiny,” which helped create a relatively small talent pool for the qualifier. “I mean, we had to actually get people out of retirement to make up the numbers,” Wepiha said. “That’s how small the scene is.”
In the end, Raygun knew she faced long odds as well, admitting in Breaking Badly that she had naively assumed she’d be provided with a team of experts to help her prepare for the Olympics, such as a dietician and a strength coach. No such team materialized, leaving her husband, Samuel Free, as her coach.
“It had become obvious to us that we weren’t even gonna win one [dance] battle at the Olympics,” Free, her husband, confessed in the doc.
What has Raygun said about the backlash to her performance?
Speaking about her loss, Raygun seemed to initially take it in stride, telling reporters at the time, “I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best—their power moves.”
“All of my moves are original,” she added. “Creativity is really important to me. I go out there, and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about.”
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As the backlash intensified, Raygun took to Instagram to defend the effort she had put into preparing for the Games. “I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly,” she said, noting that she was glad she had been able to “bring some joy” during the event.
Raygun admits her performance was “cringe” in the documentary, and acknowledged to PEOPLE that the fallout made for an “especially hard time for Australian B-girls because of the attention that the community got, the scrutiny, the harassment.”
Where is Raygun now?
Following her disastrous showing at the Summer Olympics, Raygun announced just a few months later that she would be stepping away from competitive breaking following the hate campaign she endured.
“I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems a really difficult thing for me to do now, to approach a battle,” she said in a November 2024 interview. “I still dance and I still break but that’s like, in my living room with my partner.”
Raygun returned to her work as a lecturer in media and creative industries at Sydney’s Macquarie University, where she had previously earned a PhD examining gender in the city’s breaking scene. She remained there until February 2026, when she left the position after taking a voluntary buyout. She told The Sydney Morning Herald that “We need to have a serious conversation about higher education in this country,” adding, “I’m very worried for my colleagues. I don’t think that things are getting better for them.”
On her Instagram Stories in April, Raygun revealed that she’d be moving on from academia to public speaking, directing her followers to a website that showcases her services.
But Raygun isn’t quite done with competitive breaking either. She told PEOPLE that she’s “entered just some small local jams” with her dancing crew. “I’ve entered with some up-and-coming B-girls, give them some experience, and it’s been really nice to just go back in and support the scene and be part of the community.”
And since her mental health is “good” these days, she’s ready for her next challenge. “I’d really like to do something fun and something creative,” she said. “I’m definitely up for the unexpected. And if I can just continue to advocate for being yourself, being for creativity, for dance, for the arts, then that’d be amazing.”
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
