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The Australian breakdancer known as “Raygun” found herself thrust into the international spotlight thanks to what unfolded at the Olympics this summer, and she’s decided to (mostly) hang up her tracksuit thanks to the reception she received.
The Paris Olympics featured the debut of two new sports in the form of kayak cross and breakdancing (which was officially referred to as “breaking”), and there were plenty of curious viewers who tuned into the latter given the fairly unconventional nature of a pastime that can trace its roots back to the New York City hip-hop scene in the 1980s.
There was a grand total of 32 competitors in a gendered event featuring 16 “b-boys” and “b-girls,” and while Japan’s Ami Yuasa (a.k.a. Ami) walked away with the gold medal on the women’s side, she was firmly overshadowed by Australia’s Rachael Gunn, who performed under the name “Raygun.”
Raygun failed to record a single point in any of her three round-robin matches that featured some incredibly awkward routines that saw her crawl around on the stage and hop around like a kangaroo, and while she may have failed to make a mark as far as scoring is concerned, she quickly became a viral sensation.
Things took an interesting turn when Raygun (who works as a professor who specializes in breakdancing and hip-hop culture) was accused of rigging the qualifying competition to earn the right to represent Australia at the Olympics in the first place, but she insisted everything was above board and quickly embraced her notoriety after the dust settled a bit.
Now, it appears we’ve seen the last of Raygun as far as future breakdancing competitions are concerned, as she announced her retirement from high-level events during a recent interview with 2DayFM where she implied the negative response to her performance led to her decision to call it quits.
Here’s what she had to say via ESPN:
“I’m not going to compete anymore, no. I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now to approach a battle.
I mean I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner. It’s been really upsetting. I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was.”
That announcement is accompanied by an asterisk based on what she had to say while appearing on The Project in the wake of the interview, as Raygun noted she’ll still participate in “community jams” but will not enter any “elite competitions” going forward.