Australian Breakdancer Goes Viral as Sport Makes Its Olympic Debut

variety.com:

Michaela Zee 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. “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.com/A5aqxIbV3H Gunn, who has a PhD in cultural studies, is a college professor at Macquarie University in Sydney.