The Australian breakdancer meme references Olympian Rachael Gunn, also known as Raygun, who went massively viral for her performance at the 2024 Olympics. Unable to perform the high-skill moves that you typically see in such a competitive event, Gunn instead opted for an “artistic” approach—complete with kangaroo hops—that instantly caught the internet’s attention.
Judges granted Gunn a low score, barring her from moving on to the finals, but she is now the sole reason so many people know that breakdancing is an Olympic event. Though Raygun has become the target of some rather nasty criticism over her performance, many others have defended her, and her meme status is not all negative.
Who is Rachel Gunn aka ‘Raygun’?
Gunn is a 36-year-old breakdancing woman or “B-girl” born in Hornsby, New South Wales and currently residing in Sydney, Australia. She reportedly earned a PhD in cultural studies in 2017 and now teaches at the Macquarie University.
She ended up at the Olympics simply because she won in the Oceania qualifier. It’s unclear whether judges in the qualifying rounds were more open-minded or if she was simply better than everyone else there, but she made it fair and square.
Her non-traditional performance made it to social media and quickly became an Australian breakdancer meme. Some have even, as they say, “Peter Giffin’ed” her.
How many points did the Australian breakdancer get?
Gunn received zero points in all three rounds of her performance, leaving her in last place and unable to move forward in this competition. This may sound harsh to those unfamiliar with how breakdancing is scored on a competitive level, but it’s not that unusual.
Those “points” would be more aptly termed as “votes.” She got zero votes from the judges as deserving to make it to the next round, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t at all impressed by what she did.
Olympic breakdancing judge Martin Gilian spoke out in her defense, explaining that Gunn wasn’t bad at breakdancing. She just wasn’t as bad as the other women.
“Again, we’re using a comparative judging system,” he explained to the Daily Mail. “Her competitors were just better but it doesn’t mean that she did really bad. She did her best.”
He went on to point out that she won the qualifier and praised her for both doing something different and representing her country with her kangaroo dance.
“Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table… and this is exactly what Raygun was doing,” he said to BBC.
Is Rachael Gunn a real breakdancer?
Yes, Gunn is a real competitive breaker and has been for some time. Raygun has been breakdancing since 2008, and was therefore considerably older than her other Olympic competitors. Feeling that she couldn’t beat them using physical strength and endurance, she opted for a different approach.
“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?” she said.
“I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way.”
Mission accomplished.
Raygun’s closing ceremonies dance
During the 2024 Olympics closing ceremonies, Gunn proved her abilities by doing impromptu dancing in a parking lot for a cheering crowd, and showed off more traditional breakdancing moves.
Her teammates granted her a guard of honor during the ceremonies to support her in the face of sometimes cruel jokes and vitriol, and Gunn seems like she’s doing alright.
Australian breakdancer meme examples
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