AUSTRALIAN BREAKDANCER SAYS ABUSE HAS BEEN ‘DEVASTATING’
Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn says the abuse she’s been receiving after her Olympic performance has been “devastating”.
Gunn, or Raygun as she’s known in the breakdancing world, made headlines around the world when her controversial breakdance routine led to her not receiving any points during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Raygun, a professor at a university in Sydney, says she took her performance at the Olympics “very seriously”.
The 36-year-old’s routine was seen as very controversial with one move called the kangaroo especially raising eyebrows.
Sky News reports that online criticism has included allegations that the Oceania qualifying event, held in Sydney last October, was set up to favour Gunn, and it questioned the judging which allowed her to qualify.
Soon after the Olympics, Raygun took to social media to share the “devastating” effect the online abuse has had on her.
“I didn’t realise that that would open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating. While I went out there and I had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics. I gave my all – truly.”
Image credit: NBC News