From Olympic laughingstock to cover girl.
Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, who was mercilessly mocked for her break dancing performance at the Paris Olympics, appears on the cover of this week’s edition of the Australian magazine Stellar.
And on the cover, Raygun traded in her Olympic tracksuit for a stunning new look.
With her hair slicked back and pulled into a braid, the Olympian looked ravishing in a vibrant blue dress paired with strappy black sandals. Gunn also rocked a red lip to complete the glamorous look.
The full story is not released till Sunday, but the cover did feature this quote from Gunn: “You did not bring me down. You did not succeed. I still stand by what I did.”
Gunn’s performance at the Paris Games showed off a unique interpretation of the fledgling Olympic sport.
She lost all three of her breaking matches, 18-0, and was accused of disrespecting the Olympics by even accepting an invitation to participate.
Japan’s Ami Yuasa took gold in the women’s Olympic breaking competition while Lithuania’s Dominika Banevic of Lithuania secured silver and Liu Qingyi of China walked away with bronze.
Gunn received support from loved ones amid the international outcry, which she addressed in a candid Instagram video shared in August.
“I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating,” Gunn, 36, said.
“While I went out there and I had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly. I’m honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal.”
Upon returning to Australia following “pre-planned downtime in Europe,” Gunn skyrocketed to the top of world rankings, becoming the new No.1 breaker.
Gunn is an academic and lecturer at Macquarie University Faculty of Arts. She was said to be considering several reality TV opportunities to capitalize on her new-found fame.
Breaking will not be back at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
