Australian Breakdancer Raygun Retires From Competition After Olympic Backlash

variety.com:

Michaela Zee Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun, has announced that she is retiring from competition following the backlash over her performance at the Paris Olympics. “I’m not going to compete anymore, no,” Gunn said on Australia’s 2DayFM “The Jimmy and Nath Show.” “I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now — to approach a battle.

Yeah, I mean I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner.” She added, “I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there, and people will be filming it, and it will go online.

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 went viral online after her performance in the women’s breaking competition at the 2024 Olympics in August, where she was swept out without earning a single point.

The Australian breakdancer sparked dozens of memes and drew criticism from viewers for her unconventional moves while competing against the U.S.’s Logan Edra, Lithuania’s Dominika Banevič and France’s Sya Dembélé.