Who does it better, kangaroos at the San Antonio Zoo or Raygun’s breakdancing at the Paris Olympics?
Rachel Gunn, 36, is an Australian break dancer who competed as “Raygun” at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her performance at the breaking competition immediately went viral — and not in the way most Olympians do.
Gunn is a college professor who wrote her PhD thesis on the intersection of gender and Sydney’s breaking culture. She lost all three of her group-stage breaking battles in Paris, failing to score a single point.
Reactions to the unique routine spanned from good-natured laughter to harsh criticism.
Social media reactions:Raygun becomes viral sensation during breaking performance at 2024 Paris Olympics
San Antonio Zoo kangaroos honor Raygun’s performance
While Raygun’s performance may have gone unappreciated by humans, Aussie kangaroos have praised the breaking routine.
In a viral TikTok posted last week, kangaroos at the San Antonio Zoo honored Raygun’s iconic moves.
“The roos at Kangaroo Krossing thought Raygun NAILED IT, and should have received a perfect score at the Olympics. 🦘🥇” the zoo wrote.
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Raygun responds to criticism of Olympics performance
While the San Antonio Zoo’s Raygun/kangaroo comparison seems to have good intentions, the same can’t be said of other responses to the breakdancing routine. Raygun called the influx of online criticism and ridicule “devastating.”
“I really appreciate the positivity, and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That’s what I hoped,” Raygun said in a video posted to Instagram last week. “I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has, frankly, been pretty devastating.”
“I went out there, and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all. Truly,” Raygun added.
Raygun pleaded for privacy as she faced increased scrutiny for her participation at the Olympics, and critics questioned how she could have been selected for the Australian team.
“I would really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the broader street dance community. Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this, so I ask you to please respect their privacy,” Raygun said in the video.
Raygun’s distinctive moves and low scores led to online speculation that she had manipulated the Olympic selection process. A petition published to change.org to “hold Raygun accountable” demanded an investigation into how she was selected for the Australian Olympic team. The petition, which had garnered over 55,000 signatures, has since been removed.
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) released a statement Thursday in defense of Raygun, condemning the petition as “vexatious, misleading and bullying.”
The statement refuted every detail of the allegations against Raygun, saying she was selected through “a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.”
“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way. It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory,” AOC CEO Matt Carroll wrote in the statement.
“It’s important that the community understands the facts and that people do not form opinions based on malicious untruths and misinformation,” Carroll added.
Raygun addressed the allegations in her Instagram video, urging viewers to refer to the AOC’s statement on the “misinformation floating around.”
Breaking made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it will not return at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
— USA TODAY reporter Carrie McDonald contributed to this report.
