The Paris Olympics were memorable for a lot of reasons. But one of the biggest head-scratching moments came during Rachael Gunn’s (also known as Raygun) performance in the breaking competition. The Australian native’s weird dance moves received lots of criticism from everyone on the planet and quickly turned her into an internet meme. As a result, the 37-year-old has decided to retire from the sport.
“I’m not going to compete anymore, no,” Gunn said during an appearance on The Jimmy and Nath Show in Australia. “I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now… to approach a battle.” The former Olympian said that she still loves to dance and will continue to do so in private. “Yeah, I mean, I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner.”
Gunn went on to state that the amount of attention she would attract in any dance competition would just be too much for her to handle since it’s so easy for any missteps to make their way online. “I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there, and people will be filming it, and it will go online,” she explained. “It’s just not going to mean the same thing, and it’s not going to be the same experience because of everything that’s at stake.”
Gunn competed against America’s Logan Edra, Lithuania’s Dominika Banevic, and France’s Sya Dembele. The Aussie native’s unconventional dance moves earned her a score of zero, and she did not make it past the first round. Besides the online ridicule, the breakdancer was also accused of manipulating Australia’s Olympic selection process. Someone even set up an online petition demanding an investigation into Gunn’s role with the Australian Olympic Team. It was quickly taken down after the Australian Olympic Committee flagged it for spreading misinformation.
In August, Gunn addressed the backlash in a video on Instagram, asking people to leave her alone. “When I went out there, I had fun,” she said. “I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics. I gave my all, truly. I am honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and been a part of breaking’s Olympic debut. I really would like to ask the press to stop harassing my family, my friends, and the Australian breaking community. I ask you to respect their privacy.” News of Gunn’s retirement has been picked up by several news outlets, including the Today Show.
Videos of Gunn’s Olympic performance have been disappearing from the internet due to alleged copyright infringement. The responsible party is said to be the International Olympic Committee (IOC), whose rules state that “no part of the site may be copied, republished, reproduced or transmitted without actual written authorization.” Folks who happened to miss it the first time around and would like to see what all the fuss is about will have to find footage on official Olympic sites. Additionally, breaking will no longer be part of the program when the Olympic Games heads to Los Angeles in 2028.
Published: Nov 7, 2024 01:28 pm