But Gunn’s time on the Olympic stage was short-lived. The B-girl was eliminated in the women’s round robin after losing singles matches to Logistx of the USA, Syssy of France and Nicka of Lithuania.

Raygun didn’t deserve a point in any of these fights, but as clips of her performance spread across the internet, she gained something else: instant meme status.

Here’s what you need to know about Raygun now that the breaking competition is over.

Raygun is an academic who studies breakdance – and she competes internationally

Before traveling to the Olympics, Gunn studied the 2024 Games from an academic perspective.

Along with her co-author Lucas Marie, Gunn published an article in the June 2023 issue of Global Hip Hop Studies titled “The Australian Breaking Scene and the Olympics: The Opportunities and Politics of Sportification.” The article examined how the institutionalization of the Olympics would impact the Australian breaking scene.

In addition to her academic career, Gunn is also a B-girl. But before she started breakdancing, she had experience in ballroom dancing, jazz, hip-hop, salsa and tap dancing, reported The Australian Women’s Weekly. Gunn told The Sydney Morning Herald that her husband, Samuel Free, introduced her to breakdancing in 2008 while she was a student. Free is still her coach, she said.

Gunn told Women’s Weekly that she became “obsessed” with the sport of breakdancing in 2012, around the time she began her PhD program in cultural studies. She began competing more seriously in 2018, eventually setting her sights on the Olympics.

According to her university profile, she was the Australian Breaking Association’s top ranked B-Girl in 2020 and 2021 and represented the country at the 2021, 2022 and 2023 World DanceSport Federation Breaking Championships. She also won the 2023 WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships.

“There are always two things in my bag: my knee pads and my laptop,” Gunn said on The Female Athlete Project podcast. “Because I need my knee pads to break. And then, yeah, I’ll quickly answer a few emails. Or edit a chapter I submitted, or proofread that article I wrote, or moderate those grades.”

The athlete also told the Herald that she prefers to wear “baggy jeans and a loose T-shirt” during her break training.

“I like the heaviness they bring,” Gunn said. “Maybe it’s because of my hip-hop background, but having the weight closer to the ground works for me and puts me in the right mood.”

Raygun’s performances at the Olympics sparked memes and criticism

Raygun took to the stage at the Olympics wearing a tracksuit in Australia’s green and gold and showed off moves that included hopping like a kangaroo. Her performances attracted attention online and spawned memes comparing her moves to dancing children, among other things.

However, some critics argued that Raygun’s performance was not a groundbreaking achievement – a sport that will not be included in the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

The breakthrough came from the black and brown communities of the Bronx in the 1970s. Malik Dixon, an African-American living in Australia, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Gunn came across as “someone playing with the culture” at a significant moment in the sport.

(You can watch the 2024 Olympics — including Raygun’s entire performance — on Peacock.)

Raygun qualified for the Olympic Games through the Oceania Breaking Championships

There were three ways to qualify for breaking at the Olympic Games, set by the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) in April 2022: at the WDSF Championships in Belgium in September 2023, at a continental qualifier, or at an Olympic qualifying series in 2024. Gunn qualified regionally by winning the WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships, held in Sydney in October 2023.

According to WDSF, AUSBreaking organized the Oceania Breaking Championships.

AUSBreaking posted on Instagram about the qualifying tournament for the Oceania Olympics in September 2023, announcing in a post on September 25, 2023 that registration was open for competitors. The jury consisted of 10 breakers from several countries and was led by head judge Katsu One from Japan.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Gunn was the highest scoring B-girl on the first day of the championships, and won two bouts on the second day to secure her title and a qualifying spot for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

AUSBreaking released a statement on Instagram on Monday about the selection process, saying the qualifying event would be “open to all interested participants in the Oceania region,” would be conducted in accordance with WDSF standards and would be judged by an international jury using the same judging system as the 2024 Olympic Games.

“Ultimately, Rachael Gunn and Jeff Dunne emerged as the best players through exactly the same process and thus secured their places to represent Australia in Paris,” the statement said. “Their selection was based solely on their performance in their matches on the day.”

Raygun and sports organizations have spoken out about misinformation following her appearance

Claims that Gunn had secured her place at the Games wrongfully began circulating online. As the Australian Associated Press reported, online posts claimed that Gunn’s husband was one of the judges at her qualifying competition. A change.org petition claimed that she had founded the governing body that ran the selection process. That petition was eventually removed after it was reviewed, according to an archived Snapshot.

Change.org did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why the petition was removed.

Despite the online claims, Free was not one of the judges at Gunn’s qualifying event. And Gunn did not found AUSBreaking. The organization said in a statement that it was founded in 2019 by its president, Lowe Napalan, and that “at no time” was Gunn “the founder, an executive director, a committee member or in any leadership position.”

The Australian Olympic Commission (AOC) also released a statement condemning the change.org petition and calling for its removal. It also said that Gunn was “rightfully nominated by the AOC” to represent Australia at the Olympics through her victory at the DanceSport Australia Oceania Championships.

“The petition has stoked public hatred without any factual basis. This is appalling,” AOC CEO Matt Carroll said in the statement. “No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympics should be treated this way and we support Dr. Gunn and Anna Meares during this time.”

In a video uploaded to her personal Instagram account, Gunn said she was “honoured” to represent Australia in its Olympic debut and to break. But the “hate” that followed was “devastating”, she said. As for misinformation surrounding her qualification, Gunn directed viewers to previously released statements from the AOC and AUSBreaking.

Raygun and Breaking Judges defended their Olympic performance

At a press conference on Saturday, a day after Gunn’s competition, Anna Meares, the head of the Australian team, responded to criticism of Gunn on the Internet.

“I love Rachael and I think what happened on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors and those comments getting airtime was really disappointing,” Meares said, according to ESPN.

“Raygun is an absolutely beloved member of this Olympic team. She has represented the Olympic team and the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm. And I love her bravery,” Meares continued. “I love her character and am very disappointed for her that she was attacked like that.”

During a press conference on Sunday, Martin Gilian, the chief judge for the Olympics breaking team, defended Gunn’s performance, saying breaking is “all about originality” and representing one’s roots, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

“That’s exactly what Raygun did,” said Gilian. “She was inspired by her surroundings, in this case, a kangaroo.”

Gunn said during Saturday’s press conference that “all my moves are original,” ESPN reported. She told The Guardian that her greatest strength is “creativity.”

“I never set out to beat these girls at what they do best, which is the dynamics and the power moves. So I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative,” Gunn told The Guardian, “because how many chances do you get in life to do that on an international stage. I was always the underdog and wanted to make an impression in a different way.”