Raygun’s family hit out, take aim at breaking judges as husband’s role revealed

Raygun’s family have come out in support of the Aussie breaking sensation and delivered a subtle swipe at the Olympic judges.

Rachael Gunn’s family have thrown their support behind the Australian breakdancer, declaring the judges at the Paris Olympics were “looking for a certain style”.

Gunn, who goes by her B-girl name Raygun, has become a worldwide sensation after her breaking performance broke the internet over the weekend.

She lost all three round-robin battles 18-0, 18-0, 18-0 against the USA, France and Lithuania at the Paris Olympics. Her unique style of breaking has since gone viral on social media.

The performance broke through to the mainstream, and Gunn was cruelly mocked on social media as the memes came thick and fast.

Breaking head judge Martin Gilian, who performs as MGbility, said the score wasn’t a sign she did terribly, and said the breaking community “definitely stands behind her”.

“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.”

MGbility said there are five criteria (technique, execution, musicality, originality and vocabulary) the judges look at when making a decision, and Raygun’s level was “maybe not as high” as that of her competitors.

“But again, that doesn’t mean that she did really bad. She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier,” he said.

“Unfortunately for her, the other B-girls were better.”

Australia's Rachael Gunn became one of the stories of the Olympics. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

Raygun breakdancing in the Olympic village before the closing ceremony.

Gunn earned her Olympic spot through qualification by winning the Oceania Breaking Championships last year.

The 36-year-old was in Paris with her husband and coach Samuel Free, a fellow dancer who got her into breakdancing after they met in university. Gunn grew up doing jazz, ballroom and tap.

They met in 2008, married in 2018 and have put their lives into Gunn’s breaking career after Free tore his ACL.

Free told the SMH last month: “We had to find a new way of communicating.

“I’d be like, “You need to do it faster” or “Why aren’t you doing this?” and there’d be friction when I talked to her like a coach instead of a husband.

“She needs a soft approach, to know I’m not denigrating her. When she qualified in February, we were, literally, jumping for joy.”

In the aftermatch of Raygun’s performance in Paris her father-in-law Andrew Free wrote on Facebook that she had done herself proud and was always going to be “up against it” competing with dancers from other counties.

Responding to a Facebook friend, Free said: “She did not get through the preliminary round to the finals.

“It was a pretty stacked competition and the judges were clearly looking for a certain style of breaking which is not Rachael’s.

“Although they are supposed to mark 5 different aspects with each having the same weighting, in my obviously biased opinion they did not reward originality and musicality so she was up against it.

“The main thing is she represented Australia and breaking at the Olympics with courage and dignity.

“It comes naturally for some of them, not so much for Rachael. It is part of the culture.”

Rachael Gunn with her husband and coach, Samuel Free.

The couple bonded over their love of breakdancing. Photo: Instagram.

Gunn has been defended by Australian Chef de Mission Anna Meares and prime minister Anthony Albanese.

“(It’s an) Australian tradition of people having a go. She’s had a go representing our country and that’s a good thing,” Mr Albanese.

An academic at Sydney’s Macquarie University with a PhD in cultural studies, Raygun kangaroo hopped and slithered around the stage in Paris in her Aussie team tracksuit.

Now Raygun has found herself at the centre of a cultural moment, giving her no shortage of new academic material.

Not everyone was impressed by the performance or even took it in a lighthearted way.

Fellow academic Professor Megan Davis hit out at Gunn and claimed her chief objective in going to Paris was for “subsidised academic study”.

“Getting zero points on purpose in three rounds for an academic study subsidised by the taxpayer both at a university and Olympic level isn’t funny and isn’t ‘having a go’,” Prof Davis said on social media.

“(It’s) disrespectful to other competitors. “I’m glad most Aussies aren’t buying the Kool-Aid”.

Rachael Gunn has plenty of new cultural studies material. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

Raygun living her best life in Paris.

Raygun has sparked a divided reaction from some quarters, with some describing her performance as a “slap in the face to real Olympians”, while others were surprised she was the best Australian breaking representative available.

There’s also been intrigue about how exactly breaking came to be in Paris as an Olympic sport.

Meanwhile SnoopDogg, who was in Paris as an ambassador for the Games, posted a video montage of breakdancers performing acrobatic moves at the Olympics.

Captioned “Olympic breakdancers who understood the assignment”, it didn’t include footage of Gunn.

Raygun’s performances have left the world in a spin. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

Gunn has remained positive and philosophical throughout the fallout to her performance, expressing her disappointment breaking won’t be at the LA 2028 Olympics.

“Don’t be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you,” she said.

“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves,” Gunn said after her performance went viral.

“So I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get in a lifetime to do that on an international stage?

“I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way.”

Kangaroo hopping her way to Olympic infamy. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

The sport’s inclusion has been highly controversial and it will not return for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles - much to the disappointment of Raygun.

“It was disappointing it was decided that it wouldn’t be in LA, particularly before we even had a chance to show it,” she said. “That was possibly a little premature. I wonder if they’re kicking themselves now.”

“What is an Olympic sport? What are the similarities between dressage and artistic swimming and the 100m sprint and the pentathlon?” she added.

“Breaking is clearly athletic, it clearly requires a whole level of dedication across a number of different aspects. It’s really bringing a new level of excitement.”

Originally published as Raygun’s family hit out, take aim at breaking judges as husband’s role revealed