Raygun makes heartbreaking decision amid backlash from Paris Olympics breakdancing performance

Australian breakdancer Raygun (Rachael Gunn) has revealed she will never dance professionally again as a result of the social media backlash to her Paris Olympics performance. The Aussie breaker, who went viral for her unorthodox moves at the 2024 Games, said that while she plans to still break for fun she will never compete again.

The 37-year-old said it has been "really difficult" for her to continue in the sport as a result of the scrutiny she received after her controversial moves earned her a total score of zero at the Olympics. Raygun said following her return to Australia she decided she would not ever compete again after being made to feel "crap" for her display at Paris, which included her hopping like a kangaroo, doing the sprinkler and slithering around on the floor like a snake.

The announcement comes two months after the university lecturer was ranked No.1 in the world by her sport, despite all three of her Olympic routines receiving zero points. Since then she has fallen out of the rankings altogether and has decided to call time on her breakdancing career, citing the ridicule she has experienced following her performance as the reason.

"Dancing is so much fun and it makes you feel good and I don’t think people should feel crap about, you know, the way that they dance," Raygun told 2DayFM on Wednesday. Breaking was a controversial choice for Paris, and it is not on the program for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. But regardless, when asked if she’d ever compete at the Olympics again or at all, Raygun was blunt immediately saying: "No". "I was gonna keep competing, for sure, but that seems a really difficult thing for me to do now,” she continued.

Following her Paris display Raygun has been widely mocked and ridiculed. Gunn was made fun of by an impersonator on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, had several statues made of her, saw her outfit become a costume party staple and was even mimicked in the UFC Octagon by Australian Casey O'Neill.

Raygun says hate directed at her was "impossible to process"

In addition to the mocking, following Gunn's unorthodox display in Paris, many questioned how she qualified for the Olympics in the first place. As clips of her performances went viral, conspiracy theories starting running wild about how she gained entry.

Internet rumours surrounding Gunn ranged from suggesting she was an "industry plant" entered to rig the Games to she personally rigged the qualification process. Gunn said the theories were "totally wild" and "impossible to process". "It was really upsetting because I felt like I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was," she said.

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"It's still impossible to process. The conspiracy theories were totally wild... But I just try and stay on the positives and that’s what gets me through. The people that have like (said), ‘You have inspired me to go out there and do something that I’ve been too shy to do. You’ve brought joy, you’ve brought laughter. You know, we’re so proud of you. And just like really f— lovely things that people have written and that is just what I hold on to."

But sadly most of the comments and takes on her performance have been negative and Gunn pointed to that as the reason for hanging up the kicks. "I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there and the people who will be filming it and it’ll go online, she said. “It’s just not going to mean the same thing. It’s not going to be the same experience because of everything that’s at stake.”