After becoming an internet sensation and the inspiration for Halloween costumes due to her unorthodox performance at the Women’s Breaking event of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Rachael “Raygun” Gunn made headlines this week with news of her retirement.
Raygun recently guest starred on a Sydney podcast, the Jimmy & Nath Show. When asked whether she’d compete at the Olympics again, she gave a definite “No.” She says, “I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult thing for me to do now, to approach a battle… I still dance, and I still break but, that’s like in my living room with my partner.”
The attention from the Olympics, much of it negative, was certainly a lot for Gunn—she previously mentioned that it had been “hard to process it all.” On the podcast, she explains, “The level of scrutiny that’s going to be there, and, you know, people will be filming it, and it’ll go online, and it’s just not going to mean the same thing, it’s not going to be the same experience, because of everything that’s at stake.”
After headlines from AP News, Business Insider, and other publications declared her retirement, Raygun appeared on The Project to set the record straight. In her words, it has “kind of gotten a little bit out of hand.” She clarifies, “Because it’s different in breaking culture, like, I’m still going to dance, and I said that in the interview. I’m still going to dance, I’m still going to go to community jams.”
So while you won’t be seeing Raygun at elite breaking competitions anytime soon—also because breaking will not be in the LA 2028 Olympics—you might spot her at Sydney practice sessions or at local events if you’re in the area.
In the spirit of breaking, Raygun says, “Thanks for your messages, but I’m still going.”
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