Fact Check: Are RayGun and her husband founders of the Australian Breaking Association? Rigged Olympics selection claim debunked

During the final event of the 2024 Olympics on August 9, which featured breakdancing, a contestant named Rachael "Raygun" Gunn earned zero points from the judges for her dance routine. Following this, netizens began to question who she was and how she qualified for the Olympics.

Shortly thereafter, a viral post began circulating online, alleging that Gunn and her husband were the founders of the Australian Breaking Association. This sparked further questions about how she qualified for the competition in the first place.

However, these claims were later debunked by the Sydney Morning Herald. Neither Rachel Gunn nor her husband, Samuel Free, are the founders of the Australian Breaking Association. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald before heading to Paris for the competition, published on August 12, Gunn explained the selection process:

“I won the Oceania qualifier, and by winning that competition, I got the direct spot to Paris. That was a really intense, really stressful but really amazing competition.”

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RayGun and her husband are not the founders of the Australian Breaking Association: Details explored

Olympic breaker "Raygun" caused quite a stir on social media following her breakdancing debut in Paris 2024. Gunn, who lost all three of her battles in the B-girls' round and received zero points, quickly became a meme.

A post from X user @AutismCapital claimed:

“The Olympics outsourced the breakdancing qualifications to a third party called the WorldDance Sport Federation who didn’t know anything about breakdancing… So THEY outsourced to other smaller orgs local to the country.”

The post continued:

“In the case of Australia, an organization called the Australian Breaking Association which was FOUNDED by Raygun and her husband… The Australian Breaking Association (AusBreak) runs a competition every year that only has 10-15 women show up, and obviously Rachael “wins” this and her husband becomes the team coach.”

However, sources such as The Sydney Morning Herald and other X users have deemed these claims false.

The website of the Australian Breaking Association lists its board members, including Liam Masters, Jo Yoon, Leah Tilney, Darren Smith, Jed Granger, Lowe Napalan, Nicholas Power, Peter Sette, Stephen Gow, and Trikilis Michael. Notably, neither Raygun nor her husband, Samuel Free, are mentioned on the website.

Napalan and Sette are listed as the president and vice president of the organization, respectively. Samuel Free's name also does not appear on the list of the Olympics judges and officials, as he was not a part of the team but rather Rachael’s coach.

Additionally, the rules of the competitions state that to participate in the breakdancing event at the Olympics, a person must have qualified for the Olympics, the Continental Games/Championships, or the 2023 World Championship. Furthermore, they must have demonstrated excellence in one of the three competitive events and must have been born on or before December 31, 2008.

Raygun was the female champion of the Oceania Championship. She has multiple breakdancing awards under her belt and is currently mentored by her husband, Samuel Free.

Moreover, she is now classified as the top individual B-girl in Australia and has competed for her nation at the WDSF World Championship Breaking in 2021 and 2022.

Though many made fun of her Olympic performance on social media, Raygun is proud of her achievements and has responded to the trolls after her performance. In an interview with ESPN published on August 10, 2024, she stated:

"I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best — their power moves. What I bring is creativity."

She continued by saying that all of her moves were "original" and that her "artistry" is how she expressed her "creativity."

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Thus, despite the viral posts, the claims about Raygun and her husband are false.