Rachael Gun (Credit: Macquarie University)
Australian native, Rachael Gun, also known by her breaking name Raygun went viral after her performance at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, taking over the internet with memes using clips from her performance.
However, she was recently named the number one adult breaker with over one thousand points by the World Dance Sport Federation
“I don’t think Raygun being ranked number one is correct, nor is there a proper way to put her on that kind of platform, but I do agree that she’s the most popular person in the realm of breaking,” says Jim Han, owner of 519 School of Hip Hop. “I do think that her style is well accepted and, you know, valid in a lot of contexts, but if we’re talking about the Olympic level of skill set, of course, she’s not gonna be the most qualified competitor or qualified athlete in that regard.”
Her performance at the Olympics and her ranking are making breaking more talked about.
“It is getting everyone to speak about it. And I personally feel like at 519 School of Hip Hop crew in London, we’re spreading a lot of awareness on what the culture actually represents. It’s about getting the youth involved and educating the parents and educators and students about ways to be participants of this culture,” says Han.
Rather than honing in on one performance that has become an internet sensation, Han says we should be focusing on Canadian athletes and educating ourselves on the culture of breaking.
“I think that Rachael does take a lot of us away from the real story,” says Han. “My honest opinion on it is that I don’t know why we Canadians don’t choose to celebrate Phil’s story as a gold medalist as much as this Australian b-girl.”
Canadian b-boy Philip Kim took home the Gold medal in men’s breaking.
“This is skewed right now, you can really tell that people are talking about it because there is high value attached to her name, but there’s no way that she has earned as many points and has won as many battles and credibility as someone like Phil and other Artists and dancers of this culture.”
Gun is currently a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney Australia. She has a PhD in Cultural Studies and is interested in the cultural politics of breaking, according to her Macquarie University Biography.
After the Paris Olympics, breaking has been removed and will not be a sport at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics in 2028.
