Charlotte Phillipp is a Weekend Writer-Reporter at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2024, and was previously an entertainment reporter at The Messenger.
Raygun -- the breaker (a.k.a. breakdancer) who went viral on social media for her unique dance moves at the 2024 Paris Olympics debut of breaking as an event -- has spoken out against her critics.
In an interview with ESPN published on Saturday, Aug. 10, the 36-year-old Australian competitor (whose real name is Rachael Gunn) defended her unconventional dance moves that cost her three round robin-style battles on Friday, telling the outlet that she is unfazed by the mockery she received on social media.
"I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best -- their power moves," Raygun said of her three competitors: Team USA's b-girl Logistx, 21, France's Syssy, 16, and Lithuania's Nicka, 17. "What I bring is creativity."
Many Olympic viewers on social media joked during Raygun's competitions on Friday that her moves looked "kangaroo"-like and resembled "what my nephew does after telling all of us to 'watch this.' "
"All of my moves are original," Raygun told ESPN. "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."
Additionally, Australia's chef de mission Anna Meares spoke out on Raygun's behalf, calling some of the criticism she faced sexist for her work in such a "male-dominated sport."
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"I love Rachael, and I think that what has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them airtime, has been really disappointing," Meares said on Saturday, per ESPN. "Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team. She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm. And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character, and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has."
According to her Olympics profile, Raygun is a university lecturer in Sydney and was a jazz and ballroom dancer before she got into breaking in her 20s. She even studies breaking in her work as a professor -- according to her biography page for Macquarie University, she studies "the cultural politics of breaking."
"In 2008, she was locked in a room crying being involved in a male-dominated sport as the only woman, and it took great courage for her to continue on and fight for her opportunity to participate in a sport that she loved," Meares added, per ESPN. "That got her to winning the Olympic qualifying event to be here in Paris. She is the best breakdancer female that we have for Australia."
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