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Australian Breakdancer Goes Viral as Sport Makes Its Olympic Debut

Published Time: 10.08.2024 - 21:25:17 Modified Time: 10.08.2024 - 21:25:17

Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn has caused quite a stir on social media after her performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn has caused quite a stir on social media after her performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Breaking, more commonly known as breakdancing, made its debut as an Olympic sport on Friday. The competition consists of two gender-based events, with 16 B-boys and 16 B-girls vying for the gold.

Gunn — who competes under the name Raygun — went viral online after her performance Friday in the round-robin stage of the women’s breaking competition, where she was swept out without earning a single point. The 36-year-old sparked dozens of memes and drew criticism from viewers for her unconventional moves while competing against the U.S.’s Logan Edra, Lithuania’s Dominika Banevič and France’s Sya Dembélé.

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“Mistakes were definitely made folks, but the biggest one was communication by Raygun’s family & friends,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s rare, but not telling someone they can’t dance can have global implications.”

Another user on X wrote, “My dog on the lawn 30 seconds after I’ve finished bathing him.”

my dog on the lawn 30 seconds after i've finished bathing him pic.twitter/A5aqxIbV3H

Gunn, who has a PhD in cultural studies, is a college professor at Macquarie University in Sydney. She was named the top-ranked B-girl by the Australia Breaking Association in 2020 and 2021, and won the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.

“It’s surprising that Raygun from Australia is the top breaker,” X user Bites Of Net said. “The kangaroo move — how did she make it this far?!”

It’s surprising that Raygun from Australia is the top breaker. The kangaroo move ????—how did she make it this far?! ???? #BreakingForGold She should’ve swapped the kangaroo for a banana to really stand out. What is this? Seriously, is breakdancing really an Olympic event? pic.twitter/9zKeyt1MQp

Ultimately, Japan’s Ami Yuasa earned the gold medal for the B-girls competition at the Paris Olympics, while Banevičscored silver and China’s Liu Qingyi received bronze. The B-boys competition began on Saturday.

See more reactions to Gunn’s breaking performance below:

The fact that RayGun has a Ph.D in breakdancing is its own commentary on academia vs real world expertise. https://t.co/pQcL8HzAW9

me when i find myself competing in the breakdancing olympics after a series of hijinks and a case of mistaken identity pic.twitter/PKmgrciVSQ

Australia just set breakdancing back 40 years #breaking #Olympics #Olympics2024 #ParisOlympics #breakdancing #raygun pic.twitter/i5ivX1v0Al

I know no one's taking #Olympics Breakdancing seriously but the Aussie's just pulled a drunk chick off a barstool to compete pic.twitter/eFhT7yrAkT

I'd like to personally thank Raygun for making millions of people worldwide think "huh, maybe I can make the Olympics too" pic.twitter/p5QlUbkL2w

my five year old niece after she says “watch this!” : pic.twitter/KBAMSkgltj

When I write "Wut." in your draft, it means you've written a sentence that looks like this. pic.twitter/VBPX8xg4ae

Mistakes were definitely made folks, but the biggest one was communication by RayGunn's Family & Friends, it's rare, but not telling someone they can't dance can have Global implications.#breakdance #Olympics #breakdancing pic.twitter/PwdPus9GIN

My 2 year old when I try to change his diaper pic.twitter/cDLMvLl9Uf

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