What Happened to Raygun After The Olympics

What Happened to Raygun After The Olympics

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re looking at what happened to Rachael Louise Gunn, aka Raygun, following the 2024 Summer Olympics.

At the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, breaking - or breakdancing - was officially introduced as a competition. 33 dancers made it to the Games, with sixteen B-Boys and sixteen B-Girls. Of the B-Girls, China’s Liu Qingyi won Bronze, Lithuania’s Dominika Banevič nabbed Silver, and Japan’s Ami Yuasa took home the Gold. Yet, most of the headlines concerning the breaking competition didn’t focus on the victors, but rather, the B-Girl who came in last: Australian Rachael Gunn. Donning a green and gold tracksuit and baseball cap that would inspire plenty of Halloween costumes, Gunn also provided endless meme fodder with now-infamous moves like the Sweep, the Chin Grab, and, of course, the Kangaroo. In an event about world unity, Gunn received a unanimous combined score of 54-0.

We’ve all rewatched Gunn’s routines numerous times, but what happened after was just as fascinating. Many were quick to satirize Gunn’s dance moves, with Rachel Dratch impersonating her on “The Tonight Show.” While it’s only natural that late-night comedians would take aim at Raygun, some of the online discourse crossed the line from playful parody to harassment. Not only was the mockery inescapable online - prompting Gunn to take a break from social media - but a Change.org petition was launched. It accused Gunn and Anna Meares, Team Australia’s Chef de Mission, of unethical conduct. Matt Carroll, chief executive of the Australian Olympic Committee, called the petition “appalling,” insisting that it be taken down. The petition was removed, although it accumulated over 45,000 signatures before vanishing.

That wasn’t the extent of the defamation against Gunn. Conspiracy theories circulated that Samuel Free, Gunn’s husband and coach, was a judge in the qualifying contests that brought her to the Olympics. This is inaccurate. Free wasn’t the national coach or team selector either. In reality, Gunn won at the 2023 Oceania Breaking Championships, paving her way to the Olympics. Nine international judges - none of whom were Australian - were on the panel for the Oceania Olympic selection event. They approved Gunn and Jeffrey “J Attack” Dunne, the Australian who competed in the B-Boys event. Dunne didn’t fare much better at the Games, but was at least spared the public ridicule that Gunn endured. Even if the rigging rumors were false, many still felt Gunn had no business representing Australia’s best breakdancers.

For all those who targeted Gunn online, she also received an outcry of support from Anna Meares, the AOC, and chief breaking judge Martin Gilian, the latter of whom gave her props for “originality.” The World DanceSport Federation ranked her #1 for breakdancing the following September. Of course, that only led to more online skepticism about Gunn’s merits. Notably, Gunn’s Olympic performance didn’t factor into her WDSF ranking. Even so, numerous individuals still came to Gunn’s defense. Whichever side people were on, Gunn was in the middle, and it took a toll on her mental health. The pressure of being Australia’s first female breaker to qualify for the Olympics already put enormous pressure on Gunn, who started taking anti-anxiety medication roughly six months beforehand.

Leading up to the Games, Gunn described herself as feeling “paralysed” and “frozen,” having a “good cry probably every couple of weeks.” Gunn recalled telling her therapist that the whole world could laugh at her. She nonetheless found the confidence to compete, although her worst fears were confirmed. Despite this, Gunn managed to maintain a positive attitude when she finally opened up about the ordeal. On August 8, 2024, she shared an Instagram post with the quote, “Don’t be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.” On August 15, Gunn posted a video, saying that although she was devastated by the hate her performance triggered, she was happy it brought some people joy.

Gunn ultimately stood by her performance, saying that she had fun and took training seriously. She concluded by asking the press to stop harassing her, her family, and others affiliated with her. Shortly after, Gunn went into greater detail on the Australian news program, “The Project.” She talked about reading negative comments, being ambushed by the press, and fears about appearing in public afterwards. Gunn also apologized for any backlash the breakdancing community faced as a result. At the same time, Gunn was touched by the support she received from fellow breakers and Olympians. Gunn concluded the interview saying that she likely wouldn’t be competing in the foreseeable future. In November, it was reported that Gunn had officially announced her retirement from competitive breaking.

Gunn clarified that she would never stop dancing, saying that it’s fun and “makes you feel good.” Yet, her experience at the Olympics convinced her to leave the competitive part of dancing behind. Although Gunn rose to global attention under dubious circumstances, she’s managed to make lemonade out of lemons. In October 2024, she appeared on the cover of Stellar Magazine, declaring, “You did not bring me down. You did not succeed. I still stand by what I did.” Rather than distance herself from the Kangaroo hop, Gunn has managed to own it… in more ways than one! Gunn has sought to not only trademark the nickname Raygun, but also the silhouette of her doing the Kangaroo pose.

Gunn seemingly took control of her own story, although she was “blindsided” when news broke that Sydney comedian Steph Broadbridge was working on a stage show: “Raygun: The Musical.” Broadbridge planned to debut the parody musical in December 2024, but the preview was cancelled as Gunn pursued legal action. Broadbridge subsequently reworked the idea into “Breaking: The Musical,” now centering on a character named Spraygun. The controversy surrounding the musical also ignited debate over what exactly Gunn owned. Gunn clarified that she didn’t try to trademark the kangaroo dance, which she said was “inspired by the Australian Olympics mascot.” She further denied taking her moves from Aboriginal culture, although the kangaroo dance has been linked to Australia’s indigenous peoples.

Following the Olympics, Gunn returned to Macquarie University Faculty of Arts, where she previously wrote her PhD thesis, “Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl's Experience of B-boying.” Gunn started working at Macquarie as a teaching fellow in 2017. In 2020, she became a full-time lecturer in the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language, and Literature. In February 2026, Gunn announced that she’d be leaving her university position, saying, “​​We need to have a serious conversation about higher education in this country… I’m very worried for my colleagues. I don’t think that things are getting better for them.” Gunn is now pursuing a career as a public speaker, offering bookings on her website - complete with a custom Kangraoo pose mouse cursor.

Just when it seemed that Raygun’s fifteen minutes were over, Netflix announced the next entry in their “Untold” film series: “Raygun: Breaking Badly.” Gunn participated in the documentary, talking about her mental health struggles, the polarizing reactions, and what happened after. While Gunn has seemingly recognized that Raygun will always be part of her public image, she’s aspired to show that there’s more to her as a person. She’s done so through her charitable causes and speaking engagements, where she’s discussed everything from women in sports, to navigating online attention, to embracing creativity. Although Gunn could’ve walked away from the Olympics with a losing attitude, she’s arguably come out on top as a winner in her own way.

What are your thoughts on Raygun? Let us know in the comments.