Raygun quits competitive breakdancing after performance mocked at Paris Olympics
Rachael Gunn’s much-ridiculed routine in August included a “kangaroo” dance. She insisted she took the event seriously – but has now made a decision about future competitions.
An Australian Olympian, whose breakdancing routine at the Paris Games went viral, says she will no longer compete.
Rachael Gunn known competitively as ‘Raygun’, says her professional career is over.
The 37-year-old Sydney university lecturer failed to get on the scoreboard in all three of her competition rounds in August.
Her routines at the Olympics included unorthodox moves such as a “kangaroo” dance.
She later apologised and said she was “very sorry” for the backlash, but suggested much of the criticism was due to ignorance of the sport.
On the Australian radio station 2DayFM on Wednesday, she said she now only “breaks” at home with her partner.
“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 told The Jimmy and Nath Show.
Raygun had initially planned to keep competing but said the experience had been so “upsetting” that she changed her mind.
At the time, she was offered mental health support because of some of the harsh reactions to her performance.
She previously defended her routine – insisting she did take the competition “very seriously” and hit out at the “devastating” abuse she has suffered.
When asked by 2DayFM if she’d ever compete at the Olympics again, she answered, “No. I still break.. but I don’t compete”.
“I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there… it’s just not going to mean the same thing. It’s not going to be the same experience because of everything that’s at stake.”
As videos of her performances went viral, so did conspiracy theories about her entry into the competition.
One of the most famous internet rumours suggested she was an “industry plant” who was entered to rig the Games.
Raygun said those theories were “totally wild” and “impossible to process”.
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Despite the intense criticism, the top judge for the Paris Olympics breaking competition later defended her much-ridiculed routine.
And in September, the sport’s governing body explained that she had been ranked the number one female breakdancer in the world.
Breaking was introduced to the Olympics for the first time in Paris, but it is not scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028, or Brisbane in 2032.
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