Key figure missing from Olympic plane as athletes touch down at Sydney airport

A key Olympic figure was missing as athletes were welcomed home from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Aussie Olympians touched down at Sydney airport on Wednesday morning to massive crowds of loved ones, with the Qantas choir singing as they stepped off the plane. However, Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn was not on the plane with her fellow Olympians. The 36-year-old B-girl instantly became viral after her infamous performance where she scored a shocking zero after hopping like a kangaroo and writhing around on the floor like a snake. Australian athletes have arrived to a hero’s welcome at Sydney Airport following the country’s most successful Olympics. Raygun is set to stay in Europe, where she might spend time with her parents and husband, Samuel Free, according to 2GB. It comes after breaking head judge Martin Gilian said the breaking community “definitely stands behind her”. “Breaking is all about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” he said. “This is exactly what Raygun was doing. She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo.” He added judges looked at five key criteria, and Raygun’s level was “maybe not as high” as her competitors. “But again, that doesn’t mean that she did really bad. She did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier,” he said. “Unfortunately, for her, the other B-girls were better.” Anthony Albanese also put his support behind Raygun over the weekend. “Good on her and a big shout out to her,” the Prime Minister said. “That is in the Australian tradition of people having a go. “She’s had a go representing our country and that’s a good thing.” Chef de mission Anna Meares earlier said she loved Raygun’s “courage”, expressing disappointment she’s “come under attack”. “Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team,” she said. “She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit, with great enthusiasm, and I absolutely love her courage. “I love her character and I feel very disappointed for her that she has come under the attack that she has.” Meares added it took “great courage” for Raygun to “continue on and fight for her opportunity to participate in a sport that she loved”. “In 2008, she was locked in a room crying, being involved in a male-dominated sport as the only woman,” she said. Raygun is a cultural studies academic who qualified for the Olympics at the Oceania qualifier in October 2023. “All my moves are original … Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry,” Raygun said. “Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about.”