Viral Olympics 2024 breaking star Raygun tipped to earn MILLIONS, copy Gareth Southgate and become ‘global icon’
RAYGUN could become a MILLIONAIRE and follow in Gareth Southgate’s footsteps off the back of her viral Olympics moment.
The Australian, 36, rose to unexpected stardom thanks to her infamous dancing routine in the breaking event at Paris 2024.
Raygun – real name Rachael Gunn – failed to impress the judges or fans with her various moves, including kangaroo hopping, slithering snake and the ‘sprinkler’.
The unspectacular performance prompted thousands of memes online before she bravely called out the vile trolls who overstepped the mark and abused her.
She emphatically lost 18-0 on the scorecards to Logistx in her opening battle as breaking made its Olympics debut.
But sports PR consultant Nigel Currie believes she can secure a resounding victory in the long run after “doing something completely bonkers” by capitalising on her shock fame.
Currie told SunSport: “Nobody’s speaking about the gold medalist, Raygun effectively came last.
“It’s been such a global story and a couple of weeks after the Olympics, the fact that we’re talking about it now suggests to me that she could easily earn a million from this over the next few months.
“She has pretty good potential for the next fairly short-term period then she may be able to turn it into something much longer and carve out a very successful media career for herself.
“There’s appearances, game shows, talent shows and Strictly Come Dancing-type shows, which a lot of Olympians end up doing because it’s the only way to maintain their profile.
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“Once you get into these things there’s a chance to do more media work, more promotions, more advertising.
“It all depends really ultimately on her personality and media skills but she’s clearly got something about her and will be able to do very well on the back of the whole thing.”
Raygun published an 18-page research paper a year before the Olympics predicting the boom of breaking in her homeland Australia.
However, even the 36-year-old university lecturer could not have anticipated the incredible frenzy surrounding her performance – even Adele discussed the Sydney sensation on stage in the middle of a concert.
Raygun has now signed up with a major influencer talent agency in Australia to take full advantage of the short window of potential at her feet.
And Currie reckons the best method would be to be the face of anti-bullying campaigns and encourage inclusivity and participation, especially after Aussie Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the star for representing the Australian spirit of “having a go”.
Currie added: “They’ll use the unbelievable publicity that she’s got to link her into other things, maybe other campaigns, focus mainly on taking part and getting selected.
“She could become a champion against online trolling and abuse. There’s a market for countering it and she could take on the mantle.
“She’s called the abuse out quite rightly. That’s attracted even more media attention to her and more followers online. She has turned it into a positive.
“Sometimes in sport, media people latch on to magnificent failures, if you like.
“Pizza Hut ran a huge campaign using people who’d failed, Gareth Southgate was one because he’d missed the penalty for England at Euro 96.
“Eddie the Eagle was another example. These sort of things capture the imagination, people sort of feel sorry for them.”
Currie continued: “Raygun’s clearly not the best at what she was doing, but she was trying her best.
“Obviously she’s based in Australia, so a lot of the opportunities are likely to be in Australia. Over here, she’s reasonably well known.
“But it’s a possibility she could become a global icon for the campaigns about taking part and doing your best.
“She could go into schools where bullying is rife and where a very small percentage of kids actually win the prize but encourage them all to take part.”