Following her show-stealing performance at the Olympics, RayGun has received a pretty bizarre statue.
If you cast your mind back to the Olympic games in Paris, you'll probably remember the breakdancing.
Perhaps for the wrong reasons, but it made the headlines and Rachael Gunn, nicknamed RayGun, stole the show.
Gunn's routine, which featured a move dubbed the "kangaroo dance," gained widespread attention after it went viral, but it also attracted intense criticism and ridicule.
Parodies of her routine surfaced on U.S. late-night television, and online critics questioned the legitimacy of her qualifications.
Detractors even accused organizers of bias, suggesting the Oceania qualifying event was set up in her favor.
According to Sky News, a petition condemning her participation garnered more than 50,000 signatures.
In response, Australian Olympic officials defended Gunn, denouncing the petition as “misleading and bullying.”
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Well, despite all the backlash, RayGun has been honored with her very own statue.
It appeared in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote.
While it’s far from a traditional bronze statue, the artwork, made from papier-mâché, depicts Gunn’s signature “kangaroo” move and stands prominently on a local nature strip.
The artist behind the creation remains unknown, but the piece was first brought to public attention by a caller on Melbourne’s 3AW radio station.
“Following on from her huge success of breakdancing in Paris, RayGun is now dancing in the streets of the north,” the caller said.
When shown a photo of the statue, 3AW host Ross Stevenson expressed his admiration. “That is amazing,” he remarked.
“That is awesome. Someone’s put up a statue of RayGun. Is that in someone’s backyard or in a public thoroughfare?”
The caller confirmed its location: “It’s in a public thoroughfare, on the nature strip.”
Stevenson responded enthusiastically: “That is outstanding. Look at the balance they’ve managed to achieve there with that statue. How do you do that?”
The quirky statue features a combination of materials, including rubber gloves, a tracksuit, and even an Olympic flag.
Following her Olympic games performance, and despite the backlash, Gunn was named as the number one breakdancer in the world.
She arrived back in Sydney to the news, with reports from the New York Post affirming her new ranking in the WDSF standings.
Gunn's achievement stands out in a ranking that sees four Australians in the top eight, including Holy Molly (ranked 4th), Hannah (5th), and G-Clef (8th).
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Notably, the Olympic competition itself did not contribute to the WDSF rankings, leaving the medalists from Paris absent from the top positions.
While the Paris Games marked a difficult chapter in Gunn’s career, she has remained defiant in the face of the criticism.
In an emotional Instagram video, she thanked her supporters while addressing the harsh trolling she endured.
