Australian breaker 'Raygun', who drew ridicule for Olympic performance, retires from competition

Australian breaker Rachael Gunn has announced her decision to retire from competition, just three months after an incident at the Paris Olympics that led to ridicule and sparked conspiracy theories regarding her qualification for the Games. The 37-year-old Sydney-based university lecturer had performed an unconventional routine, which included a kangaroo hop, but failed to score in all three of her competition rounds in August.

While Gunn initially planned to continue competing, she said the overwhelming scrutiny following her performance was so distressing that it changed her mind. "I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was," she shared in an interview with 2DayFM. "I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now. I think the level of scrutiny that's going to be there, and people will be filming it, and it will go online."

Breaking was included in the Olympics for the first time in Paris, but it is not currently scheduled for the 2028 Los Angeles Games or the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

After her performance, Gunn faced harsh criticism online, with some questioning the legitimacy of her Olympic qualification. During an interview on *The Project* in September, she described being followed by cameras through the streets of Paris and how the public's reaction to her performance had affected her. "That was really wild," she recalled. "If people are chasing me, what do I do? That really did put me in a state of panic. I was nervous to be out in public. It was pretty nerve-wracking for a while."

Despite the backlash, Gunn stood by her qualification for the Games, emphasizing that she had won the Oceania Championships, which directly qualified her for the Olympics. "I won the Oceania championships. It was a direct qualifier," Gunn explained. "There were nine judges, all from overseas. I knew my chances were slim as soon as I qualified."

She also addressed the conspiracy theories, calling them "awful" and "upsetting," noting that they were based on falsehoods and undermined the reputation and integrity of the sport. "People didn't understand breaking and were just angry about my performance," she added. "The conspiracy theories were just awful and that was really upsetting. People are now attacking our reputation and our integrity — none of them were grounded in facts."

Gunn’s performance was widely mocked on social media and even featured in a sketch on *The Tonight Show* with Jimmy Fallon. However, Gunn clarified that she would not quit breaking entirely. "I still dance and I still break," she said, adding that she now enjoys the activity privately, with her partner at home.