Breaking made its long-awaited debut at the Paris Olympics on Friday - and the routine of an academic dancer called 'Raygun' has left fans questioning whether the street performance art has a role to play in the global contest of champions.

A clip of the 36-year-old - real name Rachael Gunn - quickly went viral as she awkwardly squirmed on the dance floor with her hand on her chin to end what was already a confusing and chaotic routine.

The video was taken from her face-off against France's Syssy (Sya Dembélé) in the second of three qualifying matches on Friday afternoon - and the Australian ultimately scored no points against any of her three rivals.


Ms. Gunn is Australia's top-ranking breakdancer and an expert researcher on breaking who works for Sydney's Macquarie University as a creative arts researcher specializing in 'the cultural politics of breakdancing'.

However, as videos of the performance circulated on the internet, users shared their thoughts on all things Raygun, from her stage name, outfit choice, and overall performance.

'I could live all my life and never come up with anything as funny as Raygun, the 36-year-old Australian Olympic breakdancer,' one user wrote.

'Never watched breaking before but I can already tell Raygun doesn't have a chance in this event,' another added.

'Raygun breaking looks like 5-year-old me going up to my mom like 'look what I can do',' a third quipped.

Regardless of her performance, other users commended the Australian for her confidence and courage. However, they did not let that excuse the non-Olympic quality performance.

'Props to Raygun for having the guts to go out there,' one user suggested. 'But this was the most secondhand embarrassment I've ever felt.'

'Raygun from Australia is my Olympic hero actually,' another added.

Meanwhile, a sixth user wrote: 'Raygun, I'm sure you're a sweet lady, but man,' with a laughing and crying emoji.

But the professional dancer appears to have shaken off her haters - sharing an Instagram post from the World DanceSport Federation featuring a photograph of her, accompanied by a motivational quote, on her 'Stories' feed.

Attributed to Raygun, the quote reads: 'Don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that's gonna take you.'

And despite questions over her routine, there's no doubting Raygun's credentials - whether on the mean streets of Sydney or behind a desk at Macquarie University.

Raygun was the Australian Breaking Association's top-ranked bgirl ('break-girl') in 2020 and 2021.

She represented her country at the World Breaking Championships in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and won last year's Oceania Breaking Championships - a victory that secured her position as Australia's Olympic girl.