The viral Australian break dancer who turned heads for her Olympic performance has announced that she is quitting the sport over the backlash she received.
Rachael Gunn, known by her breaker name "Raygun," became the subject of memes, roasts and discussion after her performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which failed to earn any points, garnered international attention.
"I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems a really difficult thing for me to do now, to approach a battle," Gunn told local Australian radio station 2DayFm. "I still dance and I still break but that's like, in my living room with my partner."
Social media users accused Gunn and her husband of getting her a spot on Australia's Olympic team at the expense of other athletes, which was disproven by Olympic officials, as reported by the BBC.
Gunn, 37, denied claims that she made a mockery of the sport. In a video posted to her Instagram following the immediate backlash in August, Gunn said that she took her role "very seriously" and that she "worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics."
"I think the level of scrutiny that's going to be there, and people will be filming it, and it will go online." Gunn told 2DayFm. "Dancing is so much fun, and it makes you feel good. I don't think people should feel crap about the way that they dance."
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