Australian dancer Rachael Gunn gained viral fame for her stunning performance at the Paris 2024 event.
Rachael Gunn, better known as Raygun, has announced her retirement from competitive breakdancing following her viral moment at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Even those with little interest in sports are likely familiar with Raygun’s performance in the women’s breaking competition, where she represented Australia. Her unique and innovative moves quickly caught the attention of viewers, propelling her into the spotlight. Social media exploded with clips and images from her performance, drawing both praise and criticism from users across the platforms.
After gaining global recognition, Raygun appeared on the Jimmy & Nath Show on November 5, where she reflected on her Olympic experience.
During the interview, she shared her decision to step away from competitive breakdancing. “I’d still break, but I’m not going to compete anymore,” she said. “I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems like a really difficult thing for me to do now, to approach a battle… I mean, I still dance and I still break, but that’s more in my living room with my partner.”
Raygun explained that her Olympic performance had brought a new level of scrutiny that she’d never encountered before in competitions. “People will be filming it, and it will go online,” she said. “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 now.”
On November 7, Raygun made another appearance, this time on The Project, where she clarified that she wasn’t retiring entirely—just stepping out of the competitive spotlight.
She explained, “I was talking about competing, and yeah, I don’t really see myself competing anymore. And then, like, ‘Global news: Raygun is retiring,’ and it just kind of has gotten a little bit out of hand.”
“Raygun’s not retiring,” she clarified. “But I think, I mean, because it’s different in breaking culture, 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. I’m still probably going to get down and dance and enter a community jam, things like that.”
She added, “But in terms of those elite competitions, and the Olympics, which by the way, breaking isn’t even in the Olympics next time, so it kind of turned into a really big thing today.”
In 2022, it was announced that 28 sports had been approved for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but breakdancing, despite its inclusion in Paris 2024, was not one of them.
