Raygun, the Australian breakdancer who received ongoing backlash for her performance in the Paris Olympics, said she is retiring from competing.
Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, said on Australian radio earlier this week that she does not want to endure the criticism that would come with future performances possibly being recorded and posted online.
“It’s just not gonna mean the same thing,” she said. “It’s not going to be the same experience because of everything that’s at stake.”
Breaking debuted as an Olympic sport over the summer. During the competition in Paris, Gunn failed to score any points, losing 18-0 in each of her three round-robin battles.
Reactions to Gunn’s performance ranged from declarations of her moves being eccentric, to questions about her place in the sport as a white woman in academia, given the dance style’s roots in the early New York hip-hop scene. Her routine was made into memes and spoofed on late night television.
“It’s surreal and it’s still impossible to process,” she said.
Speaking on Australia’s 2DayFM The Jimmy and Nath Show, Gunn quashed the prospect of a future Olympic performance. "Say in four years' time, would you do the Olympics again," asked show co-host Nathan Roye. Gunn quickly said no.
She added, “It was really upsetting because I felt like I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me — or who I was, who my partner was, my story.”
Though breaking won't be a part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Gunn said prior to the backlash, she did plan on continuing to compete after the Paris Olympics were over.
“That seems a really difficult thing for me to do now, to approach a battle,” she said. “I mean, I still dance and I still break, but that’s, like, in my living room with my partner.”
Gunn said she has relied on memes and positive messages from fans to balance out the negativity.
Despite not medaling in Paris, Gunn has represented Australia in the World Championships three times and won the Oceania Breaking Championships last year.
She said she is working on other projects that “encourage people to dance and have fun and be creative and be themselves.”
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