Two years after a widely criticized Olympic performance, the breakdancing community is striving to move past the 2024 Paris Games and reshape perceptions of the hip-hop art form. The controversy surrounding Australian competitor Rachael Gunn, known as Raygun, continues to resonate, particularly with the upcoming release of the Netflix documentary "Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly."

Gunn became the subject of intense online backlash following her performance at the Paris Olympics, where she lost all three of her round-robin battles without scoring a point. Her unconventional routine drew widespread ridicule on social media, with some observers now associating the sport with her performance.

"Breaking survived Raygun. But the problem is that for millions of people around the world, breaking became Raygun," said David Shreibman, known as b-boy Kid David, who served as an Olympic commentator for NBC in 2024. "And this documentary doesn't help."

Breaking, often referred to as breakdancing outside its community, was added to the Paris 2024 Olympic program as organizers aimed to attract a younger audience. While many in the breaking scene eventually supported its inclusion, the debate over reconciling a foundational hip-hop element with the demands of elite sport persisted.

The sport has since been excluded from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic program. However, its inclusion in Paris had initially prompted a surge of interest from sponsors and led to increased prize money. According to Omar Delgado, known as b-boy Roxrite and winner of the Red Bull BC One World Final in 2011, that momentum shifted after the Paris Games.

"We've lost a lot of that for sure," Delgado stated, noting a retreat by brands and a reduction in prize money. "(Breaking) goes back to again being grassroots and being independent and pushing the culture forward with what we've been doing for years."

Despite the lingering impact of the Paris Olympics, the sport continues to evolve. Breaking is scheduled to be part of the Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar later this year. In Las Vegas, Ronnie Abaldonado, a Red Bull BC One All Star, has observed an increase in students seeking to learn the craft.

"We were already doing this before the Olympics. So we kind of have our own ecosystem," Abaldonado said. "If anything, it was more fuel to the fire, making it so that we have more to prove because of what happened at the Olympics."