Scholar opposites

BRISBANE (AP) – University lecturer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn chuckles when she recalls telling her students that she’s a breaker – you know, spinning on the ground and bustin’ moves to blaring hip-hop music. Some of her students didn’t seem to believe her. And that was before she was selected as one of at least two Australians who are Paris-bound to compete in the Olympic debut of breaking. “I think many of them are surprised when they first find out, even a little suspicious whether I am telling the truth,” Gunn said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But they think it’s cool and are very supportive.” Gunn, 36, a lecturer in media and creative industries at Sydney’s Macquarie University, and 16-year-old high school student Jeff “J-Attack” Dunne are in the women’s and men’s competitions at La Concorde on August 9-10. The Australians qualified for Paris by winning the Oceania championships in Sydney last year. Dunne’s routines feature dynamic moves including high-quality spins and windmills. A translation for the unfamiliar – windmills are when a breaker rolls their torso continuously in a circular path on the floor, across the upper chest, shoulders and back, while twirling their legs in a...