Although the Olympic Games in Paris are long gone, there was much to take away from the 2024 TV schedule event. From the opening ceremonies sparking a lot of conversation amongst Hollywood stars and the public alike, and sports like men's gymnastics finding a new massive audience, everyone had something to take away from the historic sporting event. For some, like Australian breakdancer Raygun, it completely altered the course of their life.
In case you missed one of the biggest surprises of the summer, breakdancing was introduced as an event at this year's games. Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn, an Australian academic and competitive breakdancer stunned the internet when she took the stage and performed. After losing all three of her rounds with her signature style and kangaroo hops, she went viral, and not in a way that celebrated her.
The Australian publication, Reuters, got the scoop from the Olympian about everything that went down and why she's choosing to retire from the sport. When asked about her future competing, she said that it’s become too overwhelming to move forward with a public dancing career because of the perceptions people had and have. She explained this further (via CNN) by saying:
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... Yeah, 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.
It’s such a bummer that the routine she performed more than three months ago still haunts her. Gunn was everywhere for a while, and the moment helped boost her career and gain her new fans internationally (I am one), but she also revealed that it opened the door to her dancing getting so much hate and criticism. There’s no doubt that the 37-year-old took the breakdancing competition by storm in a way none of us would have ever anticipated, but it’s sad that others’ negative opinions drove her into retirement.
There was a lot of backlash beyond comments that stemmed from the virality of Raygun’s time on stage, too. People started petitions, had conspiracy theories about her husband and coach, Samuel Free, influencing the decision to advance Gunn to Paris, and so on. Needless to say, the Australian dancer has had a lot to process in a few short months.
This year was the first year the Olympics included breakdancing as a category and, as of now, it has been removed from the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Hopefully, someday, we’ll see breakdancing re-enter the heralded arena, and maybe even Raygun, too.
If you’d like to watch highlights from the 2024 Olympic Games you can stream them with a Peacock subscription.