Breakdancing had a sad debut and farewell as an Olympic sport in Paris 2024. The popular urban dance that tried to establish itself in the taste of sports fans said goodbye to the Olympic Games surrounded by controversy, and Rachael “Raygun” Gunn is at the heart of the storm.
Raygun began to gain notoriety towards the middle of the breaking tournament at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Her age of 36 years – well above the rest of the competitors – her unusual attire in the world of breaking, and her ungraceful presentations earned her criticism from experts and fans.
As if that were not enough, Raygun did not win a single point in her three matches in Paris 2024, getting eliminated in the group stage. Now, just days after the Olympic flame was extinguished, new accusations are beginning to emerge against the b-girl.
Rigged qualification and nepotism
In a video that has gained notoriety on TikTok, the user with the handle HoldenSmith962 launched serious accusations against Gunn. Smith refers to a petition on Change.org, where sports authorities are demanded to sanction the b-girl and the Australian Chef de Mission in Paris 2024, Anna Meares.
According to the petition, Gunn would have created her own governing body for breakdancing in Australia and, through it, would have manipulated the selection process for Paris 2024. The document accuses Raygun of creating her own qualification tournament and denying funds to other competitors.
The document further reveals that Samuel Free, Gunn’s husband, was the coach of the Australian breakdancing team.
Global accusations
Another TikTok user, @TheSashaWhitney, accused the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) of marginalizing many of the sport’s practitioners. In her video, Whitney claims that the WDSF created its own governing body to oversee the qualification process just before the 2024 Summer Games.
Competitors had to be affiliated with the WDSF to qualify, but most could not afford the fees.
The TikToker claimed that the WDSF only held one qualifying competition in Australia, which restricted competitors’ access and thus favored Gunn’s qualification for the Olympic tournament.
Although breakdancing will not return as an Olympic discipline, the growing controversy makes it clear that competitors and authorities have a lot to fix if they want the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reintegrate them into the Olympic program.