Austrian breakdancer Raygun, who sparked a social media frenzy at the 2024 Paris Olympics with her unique dance moves, announced on Wednesday that she would no longer compete in the Olympics.
Rachael Gunn was severely trolled after scoring zero points in all her matches at the inaugural breaking competition in Olympics. Her 'excruciatingly bad on purpose' drew ire from netizens who questioned her qualification for the Olympics.
Raygun has taken a firm stance against the Olympics backlash that came with a deluge of tweets mocking her for the bizarre performance including the viral kangaroo moves.
“I’m not going to compete anymore, no,” Raygun told Australian radio show 2DayFM, as per CNN. “I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now to approach a battle.”
The breakdancer clarified that she would continue to dance, but only in her living room with her partner.
“Yeah, I mean I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner," she continued. “It’s been really upsetting. I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was.”
Raygun's bizarre moves sparked online frenzy
Rachael Gunn is a PHD in breakdancing and isn't as bad at breakdancing as it seemed like in her Olympics stint. However, her attempts at being 'artistic and creative' backfired resulting in backlash from the netizens.
"I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get in a lifetime to do that on an international stage?" she said about her controversial performance at the Olympics stage.
While Raygun considered herself the underdog and wanted to make her mark differently, she never imagined she would become a creative inspiration behind a deluge of memes following her performance.
"Don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never where that's gonna take you," she had said.
“I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate which has frankly been pretty devastating,” she wrote on Instagram. “While, I went out there and I had fun, I did take it very seriously.”
“I worked my butt off, preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all truly,” she continued. “I’m honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic Team and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut.”
Raygun was adjudged World's No. 1 breakdancer despite Olympics backlash
Her Olympics performance didn't stop World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) from crowning her as World's No. 1 breakdancer.
The statement by the federation said the ranking was based on the top four performances of an athlete within the past one year, but doesn't include Olympic events including the Paris Games and Olympic qualifier series events in Shanghai and Budapest.
Raygun's husband Samuel Free, also a breakdancer, introduced her to the sport and also acts as her coach.
(Picture courtesy: AP)
Rachael Gunn was severely trolled after scoring zero points in all her matches at the inaugural breaking competition in Olympics. Her 'excruciatingly bad on purpose' drew ire from netizens who questioned her qualification for the Olympics.
Raygun has taken a firm stance against the Olympics backlash that came with a deluge of tweets mocking her for the bizarre performance including the viral kangaroo moves.
“I’m not going to compete anymore, no,” Raygun told Australian radio show 2DayFM, as per CNN. “I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now to approach a battle.”
The breakdancer clarified that she would continue to dance, but only in her living room with her partner.
“Yeah, I mean I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner," she continued. “It’s been really upsetting. I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was.”
Raygun's bizarre moves sparked online frenzy
Rachael Gunn is a PHD in breakdancing and isn't as bad at breakdancing as it seemed like in her Olympics stint. However, her attempts at being 'artistic and creative' backfired resulting in backlash from the netizens.
"I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get in a lifetime to do that on an international stage?" she said about her controversial performance at the Olympics stage.
While Raygun considered herself the underdog and wanted to make her mark differently, she never imagined she would become a creative inspiration behind a deluge of memes following her performance.
"Don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never where that's gonna take you," she had said.
“I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate which has frankly been pretty devastating,” she wrote on Instagram. “While, I went out there and I had fun, I did take it very seriously.”
“I worked my butt off, preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all truly,” she continued. “I’m honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic Team and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut.”
Raygun was adjudged World's No. 1 breakdancer despite Olympics backlash
Her Olympics performance didn't stop World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) from crowning her as World's No. 1 breakdancer.
The statement by the federation said the ranking was based on the top four performances of an athlete within the past one year, but doesn't include Olympic events including the Paris Games and Olympic qualifier series events in Shanghai and Budapest.
Raygun's husband Samuel Free, also a breakdancer, introduced her to the sport and also acts as her coach.
(Picture courtesy: AP)
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