He was the coach behind one of the Paris Olympics' most iconic moments

BREAKDANCING made its Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris games.

Find out about the husband and coach of Australian competitor Raygun, who sprinkled some Aussie flavour into her notorious routine.

Samuel Free, AKA Sammy The Free, is a professional breakdancer from Australia.

He's been dancing from an early age, and has a number of titles to his name.

She earned her Olympic place after qualifying at the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.

But despite previewing her routine at the games as being full of "Aussie flavour", it didn't go down well with judges.

Her routine also received a lot of online ridicule, as Raygun decided to break from convention and throw some unique moves.

This led to fans giving her moves names such as "the kangaroo".

She says he's been a constant source of encouragement for her.

Rachael told The Sydney Morning Herald: "He encouraged me to give it a go, but it was hard and overwhelming. A woman's body is different to a man's - we have hips - so when a crew mate would say, 'Just kick up,' I'd be like, 'That doesn't work for me.'

"But Sammy recognised that, which made me feel empowered."

Raygun's journey to the Olympics involved a lot of training for the couple.

They spent up to four hours a day, working out in the gym and also dancing outside on the street at night.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing.

She added: "I got annoyed when he kept pushing me - I never thought I'd be going to the Olympics one day - but Sammy could see potential.

"Sammy probably would've liked to have been competing, too, but we had a limited number of people in Australia with the expertise needed to coach.

"He may not be performing, but his mark will be in all my moves."

This was something new for her - she'd grown up doing ballroom, jazz and tap dancing, but began breakdancing in the early 2010s.

Speaking to Australian magazine Body & Soul, she said: "I didn't even know there was a breaking scene in Sydney until I met him.

"He took me to one of his training sessions and I was the shy girl sitting in the corner watching the guys train. But I'd always been a dancer - I'd done jazz, ballroom and tap - and I was interested in learning."

Raygun and Sammy The Free got married in 2018, ten years after they met.

They put their focus onto Rachael's breaking career following Sammy's knee injury.

Despite admitting they sometimes find it difficult going from husband to coach, Sammy has spoken proudly at her performance at the Olympics.

In a Facebook post, he said: "The main thing is she represented Australia and breaking at the Olympics with courage and dignity.

"It comes naturally for some of them, not so much for Rachael. It is part of the culture."

Raygun's also had praise from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

He said: "She's had a go representing our country and that's a good thing."

It looks like she won't get another go though - it's been confirmed breaking won't be one of the events at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.