After years of talk of the hip-hop stylings of breakdancing making its way to the Olympics, it finally debuted in Paris in 2024, much to the delight of hip-hop fans. However, the main attraction, which made it a distraction, was the performance of Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, who seemingly mocked the dance form in front of the world. Due to the backlash, Raygun has announced that she is retiring from breakdancing.
According to CNN, the Australian breakdancing competitor who scored zero points has told a Sydney radio station, 2DayFM, that after being ridiculed by those who witnessed her performance, she decided to give up on competing again.
Raygun became fodder for observers who wondered aloud how she had made it to the world’s biggest stage when it was painfully obvious that she did not belong there, infuriating hip-hop and dancing fans around the world.
“I’m not going to compete anymore, no,” she told the media outlet. “I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now to approach a battle.”
There was a rumor that stated that her husband, Samuel Free, also her coach, was involved in her
being picked to represent Australia, which they both deny. An online petition also drew 50,000 signatures accusing Raygun of manipulating the qualification procedure to get on the Olympic team. The Australian Olympic Committee requested that the petition be taken offline, and they also disputed the claims that Raygun and her husband had a hand in selecting her.Yet, she says she is still dancing, but not in public.
“Yeah, I mean, I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner. It’s been upsetting. I just had no control over how people saw me or who I was.”
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