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Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, also known as B-girl Raygun, has announced her retirement from competitive breaking, citing the overwhelming online backlash following her performance at the Paris Olympics.
Despite not scoring in any of her three rounds in August, Gunn’s routine, which featured unconventional moves such as the “sprinkler” and a “kangaroo hop,” drew global attention and ridicule. The 37-year-old university lecturer’s performance led to conspiracy theories about her Olympic qualification and revived debates about breaking’s place in the Olympic Games.
Initially planning to continue competing, Gunn said the controversy surrounding her performance was so distressing that it prompted her to reconsider.
During an interview with local radio station 2DayFM on Wednesday, she stated, “I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was.
“I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now.”
Gunn described the intense scrutiny she faced, including the public filming of her performances and their viral spread online, as a major factor in her decision. The backlash also included a surge of violent messages and an anonymous petition demanding an apology from her, falsely accusing her and her husband of manipulating her Olympic selection at the cost of other Australian breakers.
Although Olympic officials defended Gunn, her performance split opinions within the breaking community, with some accusing her of undermining the integrity of the sport. It also sparked renewed questions about whether breaking, which debuted at the Paris Games but will not feature in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, belongs in the Games given the art form’s creative nature, which may not align with structured competition formats.
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