Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn is hanging up her tracksuit, at least professionally. The 37-year-old Australian B-Girl, who was a favorite during the Paris Olympics thanks to her unusual moves, has confirmed that she will no longer participate in the competitive break.
She told radio station 2DayFm: “I won’t be competing anymore, no,” she told radio station 2DayFm. “I was going to keep competing for sure, but it seems like it’s hard for me now, to get close to the battle. I’m still dancing and I’m still breaking but this is like my living room with my partner.
She explained that after the Olympics, the competitions became very “noisy”. “I had no control over how people saw me or who I was,” she said. “I was definitely going to keep competing, but it seems like that’s very difficult for me now. I think the level of scrutiny will be there, and people will film it, and it will be posted online.
She also addressed the plethora of conspiracy theories that followed her appearance at the Olympics. Many people claimed she was unqualified for high-level games and questioned how she was chosen to compete with such an unorthodox approach.
Gunn said: “It’s still impossible to process,” Gunn said. “The conspiracy theories were completely wild, and it was really upsetting because I felt like I had no control over how people saw me or who I am, who my partner is, and my story.”
However, Gunn admitted that some positives have come from the attention she has received since the Olympics. She’s been receiving a lot of nice messages, and Adele even called Gunn’s Olympic routine her “favorite thing” that happened during the Games.
“That’s what gets me through it, people who say, ‘You inspired me to go out there and do something I was too shy to do, you brought joy and laughter, we’re so proud,'” Gunn said: “of you.” “And the really beautiful things that people have written and that’s what I hold on to.”
In August, Gunn spoke out against the backlash in an Instagram video message. “When I went out there I had fun. I took it seriously,” she said. “I did my best to prepare for the Olympics. I gave it my all, really. I’m honored to be part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of Breck’s Olympic debut.”
In September, the World DanceSport Federation announced that Gunn is the best B-girl on the planet. The WDSF explained that the scoring is based on “each athlete’s four best performances over the past 12 months.” and that Olympics and Olympic qualifiers don’t count. So, even though Raygun jumped like a kangaroo in Paris and faced “devastating” disdain on social media and a ruthless Rachel Dratch impression in the weeks that followed, she did well in an official competition when other competitors were chasing gold.
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