Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, who became an overnight sensation after her Olympic debut at Paris 2024, will not be seen on the competitive stage hereon.
The Aussie, known as B-girl Raygun, has decided to hang her boots from the competition, citing the overwhelming viral response to her Paris Olympics performance.
A 37-year-old university lecturer, Gunn became a subject for trolls on the internet after she failed to score in all three competition round-robins at the Games. She was seen performing unorthodox moves inspired by kangaroos.
Rachael Gunn amassed widespread ridicule for her unconventional routine, even sparking conspiracy theories about her Olympic qualification. An online petition that accused Gunn of manipulating the qualification procedure to earn an Olympic spot attracted 50,000 signatures. The petition was later removed at the request of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) which also refuted a claim that Gunn’s husband, Samuel Free, who is also her coach, was involved in her selection.
Additionally, the place of breaking as a sport at the Olympics, too, was being questioned.
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Speaking to a local radio station, Gunn said that she didn’t have any control over people’s opinion on her and the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there has made her rethink about continuing breaking.
“I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was,” she told local radio station 2DayFM on Wednesday, as quoted by BBC.
“I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now.
“I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there, and people will be filming it, and it will go online.”
Rachael Gunn Gunn went on to say that the criticism drained her enjoyment of the sport, and the controversy left her disillusioned.
“Dancing is so much fun, and it makes you feel good. I don’t think people should feel crap about the way that they dance.”
“I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner!”
The controversy around Gunn’s performance has also sparked a debate over suitability of breaking at Olympics. Breaking, which debuted in Paris, won’t feature in the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Rayson said, even if the sport would be returning to LA 2028, she would not be coming out of retirement.
Also Read: What Are Some Lesser-Known Facts About The Olympics?
