‘We should put the safety of the athlete and their mental safety in first place’
Raygun, the Australian breakdancer who went viral at the Olympics, has been offered mental health support following the reaction to her performances.
The breaker, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, became an internet sensation for her unique moves and performances.
The 36-year-old became the subject of memes jokes on social media thanks to her moves.
She qualified for breaking’s debut at the Games by winning the Oceania qualifying competition, but sadly didn’t score any points during her performances.
Raygun herself has spoken out about the reaction to her performance, saying that she wanted to “do something new, different and creative”, and was pleased with how she did.
Although university lecturer from Sydney seems to be brushing off any criticism of her Paris 2024 performance, some have criticised the reaction.
For example, Anna Meares, Australia’s chef de mission at the Games, said the social media reaction to the Olympian amounted to ‘trolling’ and was “really disappointing.”
Now, it’s been announced that Gunn has been offered safe-guarding and mental health support in the aftermath of the Olympics.
Sergey Nifontov, general secretary of the World DanceSport Federation, said he was “worried” by the response to Gunn’s performance, saying: “That should not happen in our world. Something is going in the wrong direction.”
NBC New York reports that that federation has been in contact with the breaker and Australian Olympic team officials to offer the support of its safe-guarding officer.
In a statement, Nifontov added: “We are aware about what has happened, especially on social media, and definitely we should put the safety of the athlete, in this case, mental safety in first place. She has us as a federation supporting her.”
One of the breaking judges at the Games has also come out an defended Gunn. Martin Gilian who goes by MGbility in the world of breaking – said he felt “very sorry” for the Olympian and that she had the support of the breaking community.
He also explained why she was unable to score any points during her performances.
Paris 2024 was the first time breaking had been included at the Olympics, but it has already been confirmed that it will not be an event at the next games in Los Angeles.
