Glaring detail about Raygun as Australian athletes arrive home from Paris Olympics

Raygun was noticeably absent as the majority of the Australian Olympic team arrived home in Sydney on Wednesday morning, after the firestorm she created with her breakdancing performance in Paris. The likes of Kaylee McKeown, Jessica Fox and Ariarne Titmus were all onboard a flight that touched down in Sydney to a hero's welcome, after helping Australia achieve it's best Olympics in history.

But Raygun wasn't among them. According to 2GB, Rachael Gunn is still in Europe holidaying with her husband and other family members. But her absence from the team plane was still a big talking point on Wednesday.

The Aussie athletes soaked up the limelight after finishing fourth on the medal tally in Paris with 18 gold medals and 53 overall. It marked the most gold medals the country has ever won at an Olympics, and the 53 overall were the most at an overseas Games (after only Sydney 2000).

Despite Raygun not being on the plane, she was still a big topic of discussion. Swimmer Cameron McEvoy said: “She came in for the closing ceremony, and the whole team got around her. I think that’s good because it was in contrast to what she was receiving on social media and world media. I couldn’t imagine myself in that position because it would have been so tough. It’s just good to see the team get around her.”

Boxer Harry Garside said: “She showed the Australian spirit which is to go out there and give it a crack. She’s such a superstar, and I think the whole of the Australian team is getting around her now.

“There are so many people in this world who just critique, critique, critique, but they’re the ones that aren’t in the arena. Raygun and us Olympians are in the arena and having a crack, and that’s the Australian spirit.”

Close friend makes eye-opening new revelation about Raygun

Meanwhile, a fellow breakdancer who considers herself a friend of Raygun has admitted her surprise at the moves she decided to display on the global stage of the Olympics. Raygun has been at the centre of controversy over the last week after scoring zero points in all three of her battles in Paris.

With breakdancing making its debut at the Olympics in Paris, there were plenty of eyeballs on the event. But Raygun's performance went down like a lead balloon, with many claiming she embarrassed Australia and the breakdancing community on the global stage with her weird and whacky moves.

Raygun said afterwards that she knew she couldn't compete with her opponents athletically, so decided to be as unique as possible. But according to fellow breakdancer Leah Clark, the moves that Raygun decided to use were highly questionable.

Speaking on Triple J radio program 'Hack', Clark claimed she's seen Raygun perform multiple times and was blown away by her choices in Paris. “I have been a friend of Rachael and have competed against her for many years. I was so proud to watch her walk out. (But) the performance… I was a little shocked at what I saw to be totally honest,” Clark said.

“Rachael does have a quirky style and a unique character. To be honest on a personal level, I was a bit disappointed. Some of those choices weren’t the best for the Olympic stage ... there were some questionable decisions made on her behalf."

Questions have emerged about how Raygun qualified for the Olympics and whether she actually is the best female breaker in the country like Aussie Chef de Mission Anna Meares said. But according to Clark, there was nothing untoward with how Raygun was selected.

“I praise her for being her authentic self. There is a huge amount of talent in Australia," she said. "But Rachael deserved to be there because she won the championships. We don’t have access to compete at high profile events regularly. The Australian B-girl scene is vast and powerful and maybe that wasn’t portrayed at the Olympics.”

Fellow breakdancers cop backlash after Raygun's performance

In a sad development, Clark said she's become the target of online trolls as a result of the backlash aimed at Raygun. And other breakdancers around the country are copping the fallout. "We deeply care for Rachael and we’re worried about her and the amount of bullying she’s getting. Nobody deserves that. We hope she’s ok," she added.

“On the other side, we’re kind of like ‘what happened there?’ Some girls have been crying because they’re completely embarrassed to enter the next competition.”

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Maybe Australia shouldn't have sent anyone for breakdancing

The issue surrounding Raygun's qualification appears to be more about the disorganisation associated with breakdancing's inclusion in the Olympics. Because there's no international breakdancing association, the Olympic movement was run by DanceSport - traditionally a ballroom dancing association.

Whether or not the country's leading breakdancers wanted to align themselves with DanceSport remains to be seen, and there have been claims many thought the Olympics wasn't the right place for the sport. Commentator Andrew Voss said on SEN radio on Tuesday: "She’s been slammed for her performance because it was hopeless compared to other performers.

“There are lots of sports where we are not represented, because we’re not at the level of the Olympics. How did this get through? It’s fine to say she was the best in the qualification, but if our best was hopeless, why did we send someone to compete in that discipline?”