B-Girl “Raegun” wasn’t too happy about becoming a meme after her breakdancing routine went viral online, and neither was Australia’s Olympic team chief, Anna Mears.
“I love Rachel and I think it’s really unfortunate that the comments that have happened on social media by the trolls and the keyboard warriors and that those comments have been taken and given airtime,” Mears told reporters on Saturday. “Raegan is a really beloved member of this Olympic team. She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit, with such passion and I just love her courage. I love her character. It’s such a shame that she has come under attack.”
The breakdancer, whose real name is Rachel Gunn, is a 36-year-old university lecturer who competed at the Olympics representing Oceania in the newly established sport of breakdancing.
She has a PhD in Cultural Studies and, as her LinkedIn page states, is “interested in the cultural politics of subversion.”
She lost all three of her round-robin matches by a combined score of 54-0.
2024 Paris Olympics
But her routine, particularly the “kangaroo” move in which Gunn lies down, stretches her toes and flips over, has become a hot topic online.
“All of my moves are original,” Gunn told reporters. “Creativity is really important to me. I go out on stage and I show my artistry. Sometimes it resonates with the judges, sometimes it doesn’t. I do it my way and it represents art. That’s what it’s all about.”
Gunn added that she wanted to try something different because “there’s no way I could beat them” with traditional moves.
However, she didn’t seem to enjoy the extra attention her routine received.
“I look forward to a similar level of scrutiny of what b-boys wear tomorrow,” Gunn wrote on Instagram on Friday.
However, Mears found the conversations about her routine to be disappointing.
“In 2008 she was the only woman in a male dominated sport and locked herself in a room crying. It took a lot of courage for her to keep going and get the opportunity to participate in the sport she loves,” Mears said. “That led to her winning the Paris Olympic qualifiers and coming here to Australia. She is the best female breakdancer that Australia has to offer.”
