Rachael Gunn’s Olympic breakdancing teammate Jeff Dunne under ‘Raygun Attack’ on biggest day of his life

The worldwide media spotlight on Rachael “Raygun” Gunn’s comical breakdancing routines at the Paris Olympics continues, and one of her closest teammates may have been brought undone by the fallout.

Australia’s Jeff Dunne, aka J-Attack, bombed out in the first round to Ukraine’s “Kuzya”, and his coach has stated that Dunne’s race may have been run even before he hit the floor.

Dunne’s ‘event-day’ preparation was far from routine after the dancer was inundated with messages, posts and images of Raygun’s performance which, according to his coach, took a heavy mental toll in the hours before competition.

Breakdancing mentor Liam Masters posted on social media that the ‘Raygun’ attention was a negative distraction and heaped pressure on his 16-year-old performer.

‘‘On Saturday [before competing], Jeff woke up and his phone was flooded ... hundreds and hundreds of messages with the videos, the memes, the jokes, the trolling, the articles [about Gunn],’ Masters said.

‘‘The amount of pressure that created for Jeff on the day was ridiculous .... he knew everyone was waiting to see if he was going to deliver or not.

‘’I hope that the Australian media can get behind Jeff for his awesome achievement with what he did for his age and what he’s overcome.

‘‘It’s such an achievement to be 16 years of age and overcome the buckling pressure that the whole world was watching,’ Masters added.

Rachel Gunn has sparked debate worldwide about the standard of competition at the Olympics and what events meet the criteria for acceptance on the world’s biggest sporting stage.

Australia’s Chef De Mission Anna Meares lept to the defence of ‘Raygun’ after she was subjected to a tsunami of social media commentary, both good and bad.

“I love Rachael,” Meares said.

“What has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them air time, has been disappointing.

“Raygun is a loved member of this Olympic team.

“She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit, with great enthusiasm.

“And I love her courage. I love her character and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has.”

Some commentators have had a vastly different opinion with The Nightly’s columnist Jeni O’Dowd calling Gunn’s performance ‘the most cringeworthy thing she has ever seen’.

Breakdancing has been taken off the ‘playlist’ for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics with sports such as Baseball, Lacross and Gridiron tag football either returning or making their debut.

Host nations are allowed to introduce or rekindle several sports as exhibition events, with the hope they will make the grade in future Olympics.