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Australian break player Rachel Gunn has announced that she will retire from competition, due to the widespread reaction to her performance at the Paris Olympics.
Gunn – known as B-girl Raygun – failed to make it on the scoreboard in all three rounds of competition she entered in August, with a routine that included unconventional moves, such as a splash and a kangaroo jump.
The 37-year-old university lecturer’s moves catapulted her into global attention and ridicule, sparked conspiracy theories about her qualifications and reignited criticism of the inclusion of breaknecks in the Olympics.
Gunn initially planned to continue competing but said the saga was so “upsetting” that she changed her mind.
“I had no control over how people saw me or who I was,” she told local radio station 2DayFM on Wednesday.
“I was definitely going to keep competing, but it seems like it’s too difficult for me now.
“I think the level of scrutiny will be there, people will film it, it will be posted online.”
Gunn received a torrent of violent messages after the Olympics, and was the subject of an anonymous petition demanding that she apologise. She and her husband falsely accused her of tampering with her selection at the expense of other Australian talent.
Olympic officials have strongly defended her, but her performance divided opinion within the community, with some saying she made a mockery of the sport.
It also revived questions about whether breakaging – which debuted in Paris but is not on the program for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles – should have been included in the Olympics, given the creative nature of the genre, which is not necessarily suited to organized competition.
Gunn previously said that the backlash had deprived her of the joy of the sport, something she pointed out again on Wednesday.
“Dancing is so much fun, it makes you feel good. I don’t think people should feel bad about the way they dance.
“I still dance, I still break. But, you know, this is like my living room with my partner!”
