Aussie B-girl Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn became an instant worldwide phenomenon and meme queen after her iconic yet controversial breaking performance during the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
Repping our native animals with a kangaroo hop and snake wriggle was… errr, a unique choice from the 36-year-old academic. But while she scored zeros across the board, the head judge has now defended her breaking skills.
During a press conference before the closing ceremony, Martin Gilian, the head judge (also known as MGbility), praised her off-kilter kangaroo moves.
“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” he said.
“This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.”
Say it louder for the haters in the back MGbility!
Raygun is now an Australian hero. (Image: Getty)
He confirmed that Raygun’s breaking ability may not have been “as high” as those competing, but reiterated that she qualified fair and square.
“That doesn’t mean that she did really bad. She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier. Unfortunately for her, the other B-girls were better.”
There are five criteria the judges look for when scoring the breakers, and sadly, Raygun didn’t get any points. But she won all our hearts – so who is the real winner here??
The general secretary of the World Dancesport Federation, Sergey Nifontov, also said the organisation is offering support to Raygun after videos of her dancing exploded on social media.
“We offered support of our safeguarding officer. We are aware [of] what has happened, especially on social media, and definitely we should put the safety of the athlete, in this case, mental safety in first place,” he said.
Queen!!!! (Image: Getty)
While the trolling has been immense, it looks like Raygun has been taking it all in her stride.
The national treasure was seen being carried on the shoulders of the Aussie team on the way to the Closing Ceremony, and she pulled out her signature kangaroo move for the crowd.
Can we please secure Raygun to perform at the Brisbane Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in 2032? She’s now a cultural icon!!!
Feature Image: Getty
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