Australian breakdancer fires back at ‘scrutiny’ in social media post

Aussie B-girl Raygun, real name Rachael Gunn, has been mocked on social media after representing Australia during breaking’s debut.

Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn has fired back at the “scrutiny” she has received following her performance at Breaking’s Olympic debut overnight.

Gunn - whose b-girl name is Raygun - lost all three round-robin battles 18-0, 18-0, 18-0 against the USA, France and Lithuania during the sport’s debut on Friday night, with her unique style of breaking since going viral on social media.

Fans also mocked Gunn’s uniform - an Australian Olympic tracksuit - which stood out among her competitors who wore mostly streetwear.

In a post to her Instagram, Gunn fired back at the hate.

“Looking forward to the same level of scrutiny on what the bboys wear tomorrow,” she said.

Gunn has fired back on social media to the haters. Picture: Instagram

B-Girl Raygun of Team Australia competes during the B-Girls Round Robin. Picture: Getty

Raygun secured her place as Australia’s b-girl representative after winning last year’s Oceania Breaking Championships.

Earlier in the day, she also shared a post from the Australian breaking team, which quoted her saying: “Don’t be afraid to be different. Go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.”

Australia's Rachael Gunn (L), known as Raygun gestures next to US' Logan Edra, known as Logistx, during their battle. Picture: AFP

After her performance, the 36-year-old Macquarie University lecturer explained she wanted to leave a creative mark.

“All my moves are original,” she told reporters after her performance.

“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, 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.”

Raygun has a PhD in breakdancing and dance culture and was a ballroom dancer before taking up breaking.

Gunn is the Oceania continental champion. Picture: Getty

She has now been breaking for 16 years, representing the nation at the World Breaking Championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

“After I’ve recovered, I’ll probably be writing about it,” she said.

Raygun also went into more detail about her uniform decision.

“I guess maybe being a bit older, I know how rare this opportunity is and I wanted to take the chance to wear the green and gold,” she said.

“I don’t know why some of the other girls didn’t want to wear their kit. It was a real moment of pride for me to wear the Australian uniform, I was particularly excited for this shirt to have the Indigenous print on the arms.”

One of her moves in being dubbed “the kangaroo”. Picture: Getty

Her performance has sparked dozens of memes, with one of her moves being dubbed “the kangaroo”.

It has also sparked headlines across the world.

The NBC New York has written an article entitled: “A breaking hero emerges: Meet Australia’s Raygun” with even Rolling Stone writing about her: “Australian Olympic Breaker ‘Raygun’ Loses Dance Battles, Wins Our Hearts”.

Gunn has bowed out of the competition without gaining a single point. Picture: Getty

The International Olympic Committee knew it was taking one of its biggest gambles by introducing the sport this year in its efforts to connect with a younger audience.

The sport won’t return for LA in 2028, but could potentially see a comeback in Brisbane for 2032.

Organisers made sure breaking had its time in the sun in Paris, pumping up the crowd with an introduction from rapper Snoop Dogg.

Australia’s 16-year-old B-boy Jeff Dunne, known as “J Attack”, will line up in the male competition at 12.17am AEST on Sunday.