- Raygun announced she would be stepping back from Olympic breaking
- The Aussie star has subsequently clarified that she would ‘not be retiring’
- It comes after she received a barrage of abuse online following the Paris Games
Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn has clarified claims over her breakdancing future and has stated that she is ‘not retiring’ after revealing yesterday that she no longer wants to compete in the Olympics.
The Aussie Olympic breakdancer appeared on Channel 10’s The Project on Thursday night and was asked to clarify whether she would be stepping away from the sport entirely.
The 37-year-old responded, saying: ‘Raygun’s not retiring!’
The university lecturer, who became a viral sensation at the Olympics after her performances hopping around like a kangaroo and writhing on the floor like a snake, later added: ‘[I] never said the word retire!’
It came after she revealed to 2DayFM radio hosts Jimmy and Nath on Wednesday afternoon that she had made the decision to step away from competing at the Olympic Games following the ‘upsetting’ abuse she had received.
‘It’s gotten so much attention,’ the Aussie breaking star said to Channel 10 on yesterday’s announcement. ‘I was on 2DayFM and I was talking about competing and I don’t really see myself competing anymore.
‘And then [it was] global news – “Raygun is retiring” – and it’s just got a little bit out of hand.’
‘But in terms of elite competitions and the Olympics – which by the way, breaking is not in the Olympics, in the next one – it kind of turned into a really big thing today.
‘I’ve been getting some really lovely messages from people, thank you so much…
‘But I’m still going!’ she added.
‘It’s not me that’s retiring guys! It’s Ray Hadley! He’s the one that’s retiring!’ she added, speaking on Aussie radio star Hadley, who announced his retirement on Thursday.
Raygun has kept a fairly low profile since the Games but has been spotted in recent weeks enjoying dinner with Boy George and Richard Branson, being photographed on the front cover of Stellar Magazine and appearing in several television and radio interviews.
Asked if whether life had returned to normal, she told The Project: ‘What is this normal you speak of?
‘I’ve just said I’m going to stop competing and I’ve made global headlines again so I’m not really sure what normal is anymore,’ she said laughing.
Yesterday, Raygun had been asked by radio hosts Jimmy and Nath on 2DayFM whether she would return to compete at the Olympics in the future.
She delivered an immediate response, stating: ‘Nooo!’ before adding: ‘I was going to keep competing [at future Olympic Games] for sure but that seems really difficult for me to do now.’
Speaking on the abuse she had received online, she told 2DayFM: ‘It’s been really upsetting. I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was.’
While some have directed horrible abuse to the B-girl online, Raygun has been hailed as an Aussie cult hero by many. Music sensation Adele had even stopped a performance to laud the breakdancer.
Speaking to The Project, Raygun reflected further on some of the interactions she has had with people online and in person. She claimed that people where generally ‘lovely’ in person, but could not say the same for some others online.
‘In person, yes [they are positive],’ Raygun said. ‘Energy in person is always very different to the energy that’s online. I think that’s just typical of the online space.
‘It really attracts different kinds of things for people to say. People have a lot more guts saying things online than they do in person.
‘But in person, people have been lovely.’
According to Google Frightgeist, Raygun’s green tracksuits that she wore in the 2024 Olympic Games was the second-most popular Halloween outfit in the world this year, behind Sunken Head Bob from Tim Burton’s movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
She was asked whether she wanted to dress as herself for the annual fright fest but revealed that she still hasn’t got her kit back yet from the Paris Games.
‘I wanted to! But all my kit is still on the ship coming back from the Games! It takes a long time from Europe!’ Raygun said.
Co-presenter Sam Taunton asked, ‘Can you walk down the street or will you ever be anonymous again do you think?’
‘That’s a good question,’ Raygun replied. ‘I don’t really know. I think particularly when I wear my hair out I do get a lot of looks and people kind of, you know doing these weird eyes.
‘I don’t really know how to respond in that moment. I’m like: “Yes, I’m Raygun.”
‘I’m still processing it, to be honest. It’s still so wild and crazy the amount of people around the world who know me or at least think they know me.
‘They’ve got some snippets about me or stories about me so they’ve created this picture of who I am in their minds and I’m still getting used to that and trying to understand that.
‘But I think that’s going to take a lot of time for me to process that.’
