November 07, (THEWILL) – Australian breaker Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has revealed plans to retire from competition, citing the “upsetting” backlash she faced following her unorthodox routine at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 37-year-old, who rose to viral fame for her bewildering Olympic performance, told a Sydney radio station on Wednesday that she will no longer compete, despite originally intending to continue.
Gunn’s Olympic routine, which included a move where she mimicked a hopping kangaroo, led to a wave of internet memes and widespread ridicule.
The breaker did not win any of her three round-robin battles at the Games, where breaking made its Olympic debut.
Gunn stated that she still dances and breaks, “but that’s like in my living room with my partner.”
The Australian Olympic Committee previously defended Gunn, calling a petition alleging she manipulated the qualification process “disgraceful” and saying it spread misinformation.
Gunn won the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney, an automatic Olympic qualifying competition with 15 breakers. She acknowledged that “the odds were against” her when competing at the Olympics.
She expressed her frustration with the “conspiracy theories” that circulated online, saying she felt she “didn’t have any control over how people saw” her.
The breaker holds a position as a university lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney and is now focusing on “some projects happening behind the scenes” aimed at “bringing more positivity” and encouraging people to “dance, to have fun and to be creative and to be themselves.”
Breaking is not slated to appear on the Olympic programme in the 2028 or 2032 Games, marking the end of an era for Gunn’s competitive career.
Her Paris routine will likely be her last official dance performance, while she embarks on a new chapter focused on promoting creativity and self-expression.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
