During the first breaking competition in the history of the Olympic Games on Friday, one dancer stood out among the rest—and not in a way that would earn her a spot on the podium.
Rachael Gunn, a 36-year-old Australian professor who goes by "Raygun" in the breaking world, became an Olympic legend for her unique look and rather underwhelming dance moves on the international stage.
Wearing an Australian hat and warm-up jump suit, Raygun lost her three round-robin dance battles 18–0, 18–0 and 18–0 to bow out of the Olympics without earning a vote from the panel of nine judges, who were grading each dancer on musicality, vocabulary, technique, execution and originality.
“Look, I came into the event kind of expecting that I wouldn't get a vote,” Gunn told Yahoo Sports reporter Henry Bushnell.
The internet lost its mind almost immediately after Gunn braced the dance floor for the competition. While her competitors featured dance moves expected of an international breakdancing battle—picture the Step Up movie franchise—Gunn broke out moves that had her awkwardly scooting around the floor and even moving like a kangaroo, the national animal of her home country.
I want Raygun, the 36 year old Australian breakdancer possessed by the spirit of Julia Stiles in Save the Last Dance, to know that I am now her biggest fan and she should never stop doing whatever it is she’s trying to do pic.twitter.com/pNeSMzBmPN
— No. 1 Pickleball Anti (@shelbyboring) August 10, 2024
“Look, everyone's got a different style in breaking,” Gunn told Yahoo Sports. "My style is not as suited to these events. You can see the dynamics, and a lot of really quick footwork, and power moves, and freezes, and things like that."
The memes were flying all day Friday:
What my nephew does after telling all of us to “watch this” pic.twitter.com/366LjIRl4j
— Liz Charboneau (@lizchar) August 9, 2024
Raygun really hit them with the "Tyrannosaurus." pic.twitter.com/ZGCMjhzth9
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) August 9, 2024
I respect Raygun for creating moves where she could lay down for a bit.
— Desi (@DesiJed) August 9, 2024
Japan's Ami Yuasa, named B-Girl Ami in the competition, won the gold medal in breaking on Friday, defeating Lithuania's Dominika Banevič, aka B-Girl Nicka, in the final.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Viral Olympic B-Girl Raygun Offers Blunt Quote About Not Scoring a Single Vote in Breaking.
