Australian breakdancer Raygun just announced that her first Olympics would be her last.
Raygun, 37, revealed on Tuesday, November 5, that she is retiring from professional competition following her viral 2024 Paris Olympics performance. “I still break but I don’t compete. I’m not gonna compete anymore, no,” the athlete, real name Rachael Gunn, shared during an interview on Australia’s The Jimmy and Nath Show.
Raygun said that she planned to keep competing in the breakdancing world following the Olympics earlier this summer, but reactions to her performance at the Games have made it hard to do so.
“That seems [like a] really difficult thing for me to do now, to approach a battle. I still dance and I still break, but that’s like in my living room with the partner,” she explained. “I think the level of scrutiny that’s gonna be there and, you know, people will be filming it and it will go online. And it’s just not gonna mean the same thing. It’s not going to be the same experience because of everything that’s at stake.”
While fans won’t be seeing Raygun back on the dance floor any time soon, she teased that she has “some projects happening behind the scenes.” She shared: “It’s all, kind of, of the same sort of vibe of trying to bring more positivity, trying to encourage people to dance, to have fun and be creative and to be themselves, to be their authentic selves, whatever that might look like.”
Raygun was a social media sensation at the Paris Olympics after she competed in the Games’ first-ever breakdancing event. She failed to score any wins but left an impression on viewers with her unique dance moves.
However, her Olympic debut was also met with criticism as some viewers compared her skill level to that of her fellow competitors. A petition requesting transparency into Raygun’s Olympics selection was launched by fans in August, suggesting that she “manipulated” her way onto Team Australia and took a spot from more deserving breakdancers.
The Australian breaking organization AUSBreak promptly shut down rumors that Raygun cheated her way into the Olympics. “We condemn the global online harassment and bullying of Raygun,” the group wrote in an August statement. “The pressure to perform on the Olympic stage is immense, especially against the opponents in her particular group. We stand in solidarity with Raygun.”
Raygun broke her silence on the backlash later that month. “I really appreciate the positivity and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That’s what I hoped,” she said in an August 15 Instagram video. “I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating. While I went out there and I had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off, preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly.”
She continued: “Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this, so I ask you to please respect their privacy.”
Raygun went on to call the response to her Olympics performance “alarming,” claiming in a September interview with Australia’s Channel 10 TV that viewers were “uneducated” about professional breakdancing.
“I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced, but I can’t control how people react,” she stated. “Unfortunately, we just need some more resources in Australia for us to have a chance to be world champions.”
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