Breaking’s run at the Olympics was short in every way — not only did the competition last a brief two days, but it has also been decided that there will be no Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo — that’s to say, the sport will not appear at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. And that was decided well before Australia’s 36-year-old Rachael Gunn (aka Raygun) kangaroo-hopped her way to viral infamy when she lost all three breaking battles she competed in and scored a total of zero points along the way.
Since Raygun’s controversial performance, the college-professor-by-day, breaker-by-night has received hate from many viewers who claim that she should never have been given a spot on the Australian Olympic team and her confusing dance moves appear to have tarnished what would have otherwise been a momentous occasion for the sport. (Rumors that Raygun’s husband was on the Olympic breaking selection committee have ultimately been dispelled by the Australian Breaking Committee , and historically, Raygun ranked first or second on Australia’s list of nationally-ranked B-girls from 2020 to 2023. The official Olympics site also has a detailed description of the rigorous process of qualifying to compete in the sport at the Olympics.)
While Raygun’s performance is probably not the kind of attention the sport is hoping for right now, it doesn’t explain why there are no competitive breaking performances available on Peacock, and only one performance, of U.S. B-Boy Viktor who took home a bronze medal, on NBC Sports’ official YouTube channel. Some theorists online note that it’s likely because of a music rights issue, and considering that Peacock’s viewing hub for artistic swimming – another sport that relies on setting performances to music – is also nearly vacant, that could be the case. Though the Olympics has procedures in place to ensure that copyrights and licensing is above board, those don’t necessarily imply indefinite broadcast rights for that music.
It appears as though the short shelf life for some Olympics coverage on the platform was already predetermined, and some sports have already left the platform. When Decider reached out to Peacock, they confirmed “the Olympics hub will be accessible on the Peacock home page from the main navigation menu until August 20, at which time the Paralympics hub will replace it and be available until September 9. Peacock subscribers can also access and search for Olympics and Paralympics content in the Sports hub until December 31, 2024, though full replays for some sports were available only through the end of the Games.”
Peacock also confirmed that prior to certain events being taken off the platform, “there was a very visible notice on the platform letting users know when specific Olympics content was going to no longer be available.”
It’s not as though viewers can’t find footage of Raygun and the rest of the Olympic breaking athletes elsewhere online, but if you’re looking to catch any official competition highlights, you’ll have to piece together the footage on non-NBC or Peacock platforms.
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