Raygun offered mental health support by officials after viral Olympics controversy
Australian breakdancer Raygun has been offered safeguarding support after her appearance at Paris 2024 caused her to go viral.
Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, found herself as the subject of countless memes and videos after she made her Olympics debut in the games' first breakdancing events.
A university lecturer from Sydney, Australia, Gunn has previously competed at events around the globe, having represented her country at the world championships in 2021 and 2022.
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She's also focused her research on the subjects of breakdancing, street dance and hip-hop culture, but her experience failed to score her any points when she took on competitors from other countries at the Olympics.
Gunn stood by her performance afterwards, despite it not having impressed the judges.
“All my moves are original," she said. "Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry. Sometimes, it speaks to the judges, and sometimes, it doesn’t. I do my thing and it represents art. That is what it is about.”
In spite of Gunn's outward confidence in her performance, Sergey Nifontov, general secretary of the World DanceSport Federation, has said she is being offered support for her mental health in the wake of the Olympics.
Nifontov also said he was 'worried' by the response Gunn's performance had received on social media, saying: "That should not happen in our world. Something is going in the wrong direction.”
According to NBC New York, the federation has been in direct contact with Gunn and Australian Olympic team officials and has offered the support of its safe-guarding officer.
In a statement, Nifontov added: "We are aware about what has happened, especially on social media, and definitely we should put the safety of the athlete, in this case, mental safety in first place. She has us as a federation supporting her.”
Meanwhile, Martin Gilian, the head judge of the breakdancing competition, defended Gunn as he said: “Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region.
"This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.
"She created some original moves which could be maybe funny or entertaining for others, but for us, she basically represented breaking and hip hop. She was trying to be original and bring something new to the table. From our perspective, that was nothing really shocking.”
Gilian added that the breaking and hip-hop communities 'definitely stand behind her'.
Topics: Olympics, Viral, Mental Health, Social Media, Sport
Emily Brown