International controversy continues more than a week after Rachael “Raygun” Gunn’s Olympic breakdancing performance. Australia’s only female break-dancing champion present at the Olympics scored zero points and has since become a cultural punchline, while also at the epicentre of debates on racial appropriation and the legitimacy of breakdancing as an Olympic sport.
Raygun also dismissed allegations that her Olympic performance was part of an elaborate prank in which she was deliberately poor. ‘When I went out there and had fun, I did take it very seriously,’ she stated. ‘I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave it my all, truly.’ Raygun’s sincerity has been supported by journalists who have spoken with her directly, and by Ausbreaking, the peak body representing the Australian breakdancing community.
