.png)
1 month ago
5
The man behind Rachael 'Raygun' Gunn's viral performance at the Olympic Games warned the world it was going to happen.
The Australian made headlines for all the wrong reasons at the Paris Olympics, chosen to represent her country in the debut sport of breaking, where she delivered a disastrous performance after being coached by her husband, fellow breakdancer Samuel Free.
Gunn failed to poll a single point across three 'battles' and was widely panned for her routine and uniform, both of which were distinctly Australian.
Gunn and her husband Samuel Free are pictured in Paris during the Olympic Games
That included kangaroo hopping, slithering like a snake and even using 'the sprinkler', an iconic Aussie dance movie widely used by men who can't dance.
While she became the butt of jokes online, Gunn got a very different reception from her fellow Aussie Olympians when she performed for them just before the closing ceremony.
Samuel Free is a title-winning breakdancer in his own right and is Raygun's coach - and husband since 2018.
In an interview with Stan Sport prior to his wife's performance in Paris, he actually revealed that the cringe moves were likely to be included in her routine.
'Mixed emotions, there is a lot of pressure there, also a lot of excitement,' he said.
'We get to showcase something that we're so excited about and that we love now to the rest of the world who largely haven't seen what we've got to show.'
'She'll definitely have a few signatures in there to show and there will also be a few surprises in there, a little bit of Aussie flavour in there she is going to try and bring in.'
Raygun's attempts to bring Australia themes to her routine fell flat at the 2024 Paris Olympics
She was coached by her husbane Samuel Free, who had Olympic dreams of his own until he was seriously injured
Free made the difficult decision to step down as a competitor and become team coach
When Stan's host jokingly asked if Raygun would bust out the sprinkler at the Olympics, he responded, 'Look, anything's possible, there is a lot that goes on in the moment there.
'We're not going to give away any secrets at the moment pre-comp, but definitely keep your eyes peeled. There's going to be some surprises in there.'
Raygun was introduced to the sport by her future husband, and admitted she was not immediately sold on the idea.
'Not long after we started dating, he took me to Hornsby PCYC where he was training [in breaking] with the guys,' she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
'I thought it was pretty cool but not something I'd ever try. As a dancer, I'd spent years learning choreography; these guys were all doing their own thing, which was intimidating.
'He encouraged me to give it a go, but it was hard and overwhelming. A woman's body is different to a man's – we have hips – so when a crew mate would say, 'Just kick up,' I'd be like, 'That doesn't work for me.'
'But Sammy recognised that, which made me feel empowered.'
Raygun became an overnight sensation for all the wrong reasons after failing to score a single point during breaking's first appearance at the Olympics
Despite the public backlash, Raygun was treated like a hero by fellow Olympians in Paris when she did some breaking in the village before the closing ceremony (pictured)
Free hinted that his wife would include some of the classic Australian movies prior to her appearance at the Paris Games
She soon found her groove in the sport, eventually entering her first competition in 2012 and becoming an academic on the sport.
Gunn became a lecturer at Sydney’s Macquarie University and completed her Doctor of Philosophy with her thesis titled ‘Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney’s Breakdancing Scene: a B-girl’s Experience of B-boying’.
However an ACL injury all-but wrecked Samuel's own competitive ambitions and soon it became apparent that Gunn was the more likely of the two to achieve their Olympic dream.
'We were surprised when we heard breaking was going to be in the Paris Olympicsm; Free said,
'Rachael was the top woman in Australia and I could probably have qualified, but I made the difficult but pragmatic decision to put my skills to use as a team coach instead.'
Gunn admits it can be frustrating having her husband as her coach, but credited him for getting her all the way to the Olympics.
‘I got annoyed when he kept pushing me – I never thought I’d be going to the Olympics one day – but Sammy could see potential,' she said prior to the Paris Games.
'Qualifying for the Olympics has changed our lives; it’s this amazing platform for us to show what we do.
'Sammy probably would’ve liked to have been competing, too, but we had a limited number of people in Australia with the expertise needed to coach. He may not be performing, but his mark will be in all my moves.'
English (US)