November 7th 2024.
After a successful career as an Olympics breakdancing icon, Raygun has made the decision to retire from the sport. This announcement comes after the criticism and backlash she faced for her performances at the Paris Games. Despite her extensive qualifications in dance, including a PhD, Raygun became an overnight sensation on the internet due to her unique and daring routines.
Despite receiving a grand total of zero points in the competition, Raygun's popularity only continued to rise. However, not all the attention she received was positive. In fact, she described some of the abuse she faced as “devastating”. Raygun expressed her frustration, saying, “I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was. I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now.”
In an interview with the local radio station 2DayFM, Raygun further explained her retirement, stating, “I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there, and people will be filming it, and it will go online. I still break but that’s like, in my living room with my partner.”
However, it seems that breakdancing's time as an Olympic sport may be short-lived. It is unlikely to be included in the roster for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. This news has left Raygun feeling “pretty devastated”. As one of the pioneers of breakdancing in the Olympics, she has also been held partially responsible for the negativity surrounding the sport's debut.
An online petition, which accused Raygun of manipulating the qualification procedure to secure her spot in the Paris Games, gained 50,000 signatures before it was taken down at the request of the Australian Olympic Committee. The AOC also denied claims that Raygun's husband and coach, Samuel Free, had any involvement in her selection process.
When asked about the conspiracy theories surrounding her selection, Raygun dismissed them as “totally wild”. She prefers to focus on the positive impact she has had on others. “I just try and stay on the positives and that’s what gets me through,” she said. “The people that have like [said], ‘you have inspired me to go out there and do something that I’ve been too shy to do. You’ve brought joy, you’ve brought laughter. You know, we’re so proud of you’.”
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