Rachael 'Raygun' Gunn, viral Olympic breaker, retires from competition after backlash
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, more commonly known as B-Girl Raygun, announced she is retiring from competitive breaking after her "upsetting" experience following the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Gunn became a viral sensation this summer after her unique performance in the inaugural Olympic breaking event raised some eyebrows and sparked backlash, criticism she says led her to calling it quits professionally.
"I'm not going to compete anymore," Gunn said during an appearance on the "Jimmy & Nath Show" on Australia's 2DayFM. "I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now to approach a battle. Yeah, I mean I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that's like in my living room with my partner."
She added: "It's been really upsetting. I just didn't have any control over how people saw me or who I was."
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS:Raygun becomes viral sensation during breaking performance; social media reacts
Gunn, a 37-year-old college professor in Sydney, gained notoriety at the Paris Games after she lost all three of her group-stage breaking battles and failed to score a single point. One of her most popular moves was "the kangaroo," where she mimicked Australia's national animal.
"Dancing is so much fun and it makes you feel good and I don’t think people should feel crap about, you know, the way that they dance," she said.
Breaking will not be in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but when asked hypothetically if she would ever compete at the Olympics again, Gunn emphatically said, "no." She said she won't even compete professionally.
"I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there and the people who will be filming it and it’ll go online, it’s just not going to mean the same thing," Gunn said. "It’s not going to be the same experience because of everything that’s at stake."
Gunn said she faced many conspiracy theories on her qualification for the Olympics. An online petition accusing Gunn of rigging the selection process received 50,000 signatures before it was taken down at the request of the Australian Olympic Committee. Gunn called the theories "totally wild," but said she tries to focus on the "positives" that came out of her Olympic experience.
"That's what gets me through it," Gunn said. "The people that have like (said), 'You have inspired me to go out there and do something that I've been too shy to do. You've brought joy, you've brought laughter. You know, we're so proud of you.'"
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.