Meet Olympics’ Viral ‘Breaking’ Star Rachael Gunn Aka Raygun: A Professor With PhD in

Breakdancing made its debut at the Paris Olympics and the performance of a certain Australian competitor is taking the social media by storm. Her routine during a showdown with Logan Edra, Dominika Banevic and Sya Dembele is ‘breaking’ the internet.

Meet Australia’s top breakdancer Rachael Gunn aka Raygun who has shot into the limelight thanks to her unique routine that included a backwards roll, the sprinkler and another move which is being called as ‘kangaroo’.

Gunn finished 16th in the competition that saw by Japan’s Ami Yuasa taking gold while Banevic of France securing a silver and Liu Qingyi of China bronze.

Clipsof Raygun’s routine are being widely shared on social media platforms with comments from users displaying a wide range of emotions.

On her part, Raygun is proud of her performance as she a post by her on Instagram read, “Don’t be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.”

Who is Raygun?

Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, is a 36-year-old Australian breakdancer who is  a lecturer at Sydney’s Macquarie University and holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies. She researches “cultural politics of breaking”.

She has represented Australia before at three World Breaking Championships (2021, 2022, 2023).

Gunn loved dancing from an early stage and she dabbled in different styles including ballet to tap. She was introduced to breaking at the age of 20 by her husband who is also her coach.

“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,” Gunn told CNBC in an interview.

Breaking though is not part of the next Olympics slated to be held in Los Angeles in 2028. Gunn is disappointed that the organisers snubbed the event even before having a chance to take a look at it in Paris, calling it a “little premature” decision.

“It was disappointing it was decided that it wouldn’t be in LA, particularly before we even had a chance to show it,” Gunn was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

“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,” she added.

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