Raygun apologises to breaking community but defends record in wake of viral Paris Olympics performance

Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has made an apology to the breaking community while stating that her “record speaks” to being Australia’s best B-girl, in her first sit-down interview since her controversial appearance at the Paris Olympics made global headlines.
The Australian breakdancer was at the centre of an international wave of controversy after she was knocked out of the round-robin stage of the event for her performance routine that included hopping like a kangaroo and flailing on the floor.
The full interview will air on The Project on Wednesday evening but an excerpt of the prerecorded interview published on news.com.au showed Gunn making an apology to the breakdancing community, after the criticism she had damaged the art form’s reputation.
“It is really sad to hear those criticisms,” she told The Project host Waleed Aly.
“And I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced, but I can’t control how people react.”
When asked by Aly if she thinks she is the best female breaker in the country, Gunn, who is a Macquarie University academic, said: “I think my record speaks to that.”
She also spoke about the reaction to her performance and how it felt during the ordeal, which saw her chased down the street by reporters.
“That was really wild,” she said.
“If people are chasing me, what do I do? But that really did put me in a state of panic.”
It follows a statement released via social media where Gunn described the response to her performance as “devastating”.
She thanked supporters but added she did not realise her entry “would also open the door to so much hate which has frankly been pretty devastating”.
“While I went out there and had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly.”
The breaker added she was remaining in Europe for a few weeks and would “be happy to answer more questions on my return to Australia”.
Gunn lost all three of her round-robin battles by a combined score of 54-0, prompting a hostile response to her performance and appearance online and in some mainstream media.
– with Australian Associated Press.