Australian runner Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn calls criticism of Olympic performance ‘alarming’
Australian breaker Rachel “Raygun” Gunn, who quickly became one of the most talked about Olympians at the Paris Olympics after her performance, said much of the heavy criticism of her skills was due to a lack of knowledge of the sport.
“The energy and vitriol that people had was quite alarming,” Gunn said. told “The Project,” a show on Australia’s Channel 10 in her first interview since the Olympics. “It was really sad how much hate it got and a lot of the backlash was also because people weren’t very familiar with breaking and the diversity of approaches to breaking.”
Gunn, 37, failed to win any of her three round-robin bouts with a combined score of 54-0 at the Paris Games, where breaking made its Olympic debut. Her performance immediately sparked a wave of memes and internet fodder, most notably her dance moves that mimicked a kangaroo as she held her arms close to her body and kicked her leg in the air.
At home, Gunn’s actions were quickly criticised by the Australian and other media.
“I feel really bad for the backlash that the community has experienced, but I can’t control how people react,” Gunn said. “Unfortunately, we just need a bit more resources in Australia to have a shot at being world champions. … We don’t have the best track record when it comes to winning world championships, so I don’t think that’s just me.”
Gunn said AOC’s media liaison warned her about the immediate online criticism following her Olympic appearance, prompting her to take a break from social media. She said it “freaked me out” and she felt uncomfortable appearing in public after the Australian media began criticizing her.
Theories began circulating online about how Gunn had qualified for the Olympics. A Change.org petition alleging that she had manipulated the qualification process garnered more than 45,000 signatures before the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) requested that it be removed.
AOC director Matt Carroll called the petition “disgraceful” and said it spread misinformation based on opinion.
“The conspiracy theories were just horrible,” Gunn said. “That was annoying because it wasn’t just people who didn’t understand the breaking and were just upset about my actions. It was people who were now attacking our reputation and integrity. None of that was based on fact.”
Gunn secured a spot in the Paris Games after winning the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney, an automatic qualifier with 15 breakers. She said she knew “the odds were against me” going into the Olympics.
“I knew I was going to get beat and I knew people weren’t going to understand my style and what I was going to do. I wanted to bring in some Australian moves and themes. I love our Olympic mascot, BK, the boxing kangaroo, and I wanted to show that. … I had to do what I was good at. I had to do what I was strong at.”
Gunn added that she has no plans to compete for the time being to stay out of the spotlight and is focused on the positive reactions to her Olympic achievements.
“It’s really amazing to see the positive reactions to my performance. I never thought I could connect with so many people in such a positive way.”
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(Photo: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
