Olympics fans stunned as Aussie break dancer 'Raygun' does a 'better' performance at closing ceremony

Australian break dancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn was given a guard of honour by her teammates at the Olympic closing ceremony after becoming a viral sensation.

Breaking made its Olympic debut at Paris 2024 and it resulted in one of the most viral moments of the entire Olympic calendar when 36-year-old B-Girl Raygun took to the floor.

Raygun failed to score a single point from the judges and was eliminated from the round-robin competition after losing all three bouts. One particular move that saw her rolling around on the floor has been viewed millions of times across social media.

Following the online backlash to her performance, Raygun’s Olympic teammates decided to do something nice for her by giving her a guard of honour as they gathered for the closing ceremony on Sunday (11 August).

Rower Angus Widdicombe held Raygun on his shoulders and paraded her through the streets where the rest of Team Australia had lined up. As he did, Raygun mimicked her now infamous “kangaroo” dance move.

Several clips emerged as Raygun busted out some moves on a makeshift dancefloor to huge cheers and applause from her compatriots. One person posted a video along with the words, “Put it in the Louvre”.

Many also felt that her performance here was better than what she did in the Olympics.

Whether or not it was the intended reaction, Raygun’s performance at the Olympics made her a cult favourite among viewers. Singer Adele even stopped her Munich concert to talk about her.

“It’s all me and my friends have been talking about. And I am not saying anything, but I think it’s the best thing that has happened at the Olympics for the entire time,” Adele told the crowd.

She continued: “I can’t work out if it was a joke but either way it has made me very very happy, and me and my friends have been sh**ting ourselves laughing for nearly 24 hours.”

Sign up for our free indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings