Raygun retires from competitive breakdancing after Olympics mockery
Rachael 'Raygun' Gunn - the Australian breakdancer who was widely mocked for her performance at the Paris Olympics - has retired from the sport competitively.
Raygun has quit breakdancing after the mocking of her performance at the Paris Olympics.
The Australian Olympian - whose real name is Rachael Gunn - was brutally lambasted around the world for her unorthodox moves at the Games this summer and has now revealed that she only "breaks" at home with her partner.
Raygun told The Jimmy and Nath Show on Australian radio station 2DayFM: "Dancing is so much fun and it makes you feel good and I don't think people should feel c*** about, you know, the way that they dance."
The B-girl explained that she had initially planned to continue competing but the backlash to her Olympics performance made her change her mind.
When asked if she would compete at the Games again, Raygun responded: "No. I still break... but I don't compete.
"I think the level of scrutiny that's going to be there... 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."
Raygun's profile exploded following her Olympic exploits and she hit out at "really upsetting" conspiracy theories questioning how she had qualified for the event.
She said: "It’s still impossible to process, the conspiracy theories were totally wild, and it was really upsetting because I felt like I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was, who my partner was, my story."
Raygun was subjected to online vitriol for her dance moves but explained that she keeps a folder of positive messages to help in her tough times.
She said: "That’s what gets me through, the people that are like, ‘You have inspired me to go out there and do something that I’ve been too shy to do, you’ve brought joy, you brought laughter, we’re so proud of you.'
"And just really frickin’ lovely things that people have written and that’s what I hold on to."
