Raygun officially quits competitive breakdancing after facing Olympics backlash

After going viral for her Olympic participation, Rachael Gunn, better known by her stage name Raygun, has stated that she has decided to stop competitive breakdancing.

You don’t even need to be a sports fan to be aware of Raygun’s Paris 2024 moment, in which she competed for her nation, Australia, in the women’s breaking competition.

Many social media users shared videos and pictures of the breakdancer’s performance, some with more positive remarks than others, after her unconventional moves catapulted her into the public eye.
Following the global recognition of her face, Raygun commented on the event during her November 5 appearance on the Jimmy & Nath Show.

She went on to say that she had made the decision to give up competitive breakdancing.

“I’m not going to compete anymore, but I would still break,” Raygun stated. I was definitely going to continue participating, but it seems like an extremely tough thing for me to do right now, to walk into a combat… I mean, I still break and dance, but just with my partner in my living room.”

The dancer noted that she would now be subject to a “level of scrutiny” at contests that she had not previously encountered because of her Olympic performance, saying: “People will be filming it and it will go online, and it just has to not mean the same thing.” Due to all of the factors involved, the experience won’t be the same.

In a follow-up interview on Australia’s The Project today (November 7), Raygun clarified that she was only stepping out of the spotlight rather than completely retiring.

“I was discussing competing, and yes, I don’t really see myself competing anymore,” she stated. ‘Global news: Raygun is retiring,’ and then it just kind of spiraled out of control.”

“Raygun’s not retiring,” the dancer went on. However, like I mentioned in the interview, I’m still going to dance because breaking culture is different. I will continue dancing and attending community jams. It’s still likely that I’ll get down, dance, and participate in a communal jam, etc.

“But in terms of those elite competitions, and the Olympics, which by the way, breaking is not even in the Olympics in the next one, so it kind of turned into a really big thing today.”

Breakdancing was not one of the 28 sports that were approved for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, according to the announcement made in 2022.