SYDNEY (AP) — Australian breaker Rachael Gunn has told a Sydney radio station that she plans to retire from competition just three months after her unconventional routine at the Paris Olympics led to her being ridiculed and spawned conspiracy theories about how she qualified for the Games.
The now 37-year-old Sydney university lecturer failed to get on the scoreboard in all three of her competition rounds in August, with a routine that included unorthodox moves such as a kangaroo hop.
Gunn had initially planned to keep competing but said the experience had been so “upsetting” that she changed her mind.
“I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was,” she told radio station 2DayFM. “I was going to keep competing, for sure, but that seems really difficult for me to do now. I think the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there, and people will be filming it, and it will go online.”
Breaking was being contested at an Olympics for the first time . And it might be a one-and-done, not scheduled on the Olympic program for Los Angeles in 2028 or for Brisbane, Australia in 2032.
“Raygun” as she was known, was later ridiculed on social media, with some posts also questioning the Olympic qualifying process.
In a television interview for The Project on Australia’s Channel 10 in September, she told of being chased by cameras through Paris streets and how she dealt with the very public reaction to her performance.
“That was really wild,” she said. “If people are chasing me, what do I do? That really did put me in a state of panic. I was nervous to be out in public. It was pretty nerve-wracking for a while.”
She apologized for the commotion, but again defended her performance and said she was thankful for support from others in the sport.
She had previously defended how she qualified for Paris, and reiterated it on the TV program.
“I won the Oceania championships. It was a direct qualifier,” Gunn said. “There were nine judges, all from overseas. I knew my chances were slim as soon as I qualified,” for the Olympics.
“People didn’t understand breaking and were just angry about my performance,” she added. “The conspiracy theories were just awful and that was really upsetting. People are now attacking our reputation and our integrity — none of them were grounded in facts.”
Gunn’s performance was mocked online and on television, including in a sketch on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night TV show.
In her Sydney radio interview Wednesday, Gunn said she won't stop breaking entirely.
“I still dance and I still break." she said. "But that’s like, in my living room with my partner.”
AP Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
FILE - Australia's Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin, File)
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Jonathon Cooper had a wild swing of emotions over the weekend.
First, he signed a four-year, $60 million extension with the Denver Broncos at the team hotel in Baltimore on the eve of a 41-10 shellacking at the hands of the Ravens.
The real pain came Monday when the Broncos (5-4) traded Baron Browning, his teammate for the last four years in Denver and four seasons at Ohio State, to the Arizona Cardinals.
“Baron's been my guy, my teammate, for eight years,” Cooper said Wednesday. “I was really hurt and really sad to see him go. But it's a good opportunity for him and I know he'll take full advantage of it.”
Cooper and Browning were both drafted by Denver in 2021. Browning was a third-rounder and Cooper a seventh-rounder after an irregularity in an EKG just before the draft led to three heart ablation surgeries that May. He missed most of the offseason program that year.
After serving as a spot starter for two years, Cooper has started all 26 games for Denver over the last two seasons, totaling 14 sacks, 14 quarterback hits, 14 tackles for loss and an interception.
For his career, Cooper has 18 1/2 sacks, 183 tackles, 38 quarterback hits and 20 tackles for loss. Browning, who has played 13 fewer games than Cooper because of injuries, has 9 1/2 career sacks to go with 114 tackles, 22 QB hits and 15 tackles for loss.
Browning missed a month this season with a left foot injury and didn't have any sacks in five games whereas Cooper has been a key component of the Broncos' stingy defense that has 31 sacks, behind only the New York Giants' 35.
So, it was an easy choice when general manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton were deciding which would get an extension and which would get traded.
“I’m excited for him," Payton said of Cooper. "He’s tough, he’s competitive. I think he’s a really good teammate ... he certainly deserved it.”
As for parting ways with Browning, Payton said, "It’s never easy to trade someone, and yet I thought just in our visit, George and I and Baron sitting down he totally understood. He was looking forward to getting more snaps and certainly in the (contract) year for him it’s important.”
That means the Broncos game at Kansas City (8-0) on Sunday will mark Cooper's first game without his old pass-rush partner since his freshman year at Ohio State in 2016. He redshirted that season, a year before Cooper arrived in Columbus.
“We all know how talented Baron is, fantastic football player, fantastic dude, man," Cooper said. "That’s my brother, and you know I wish him all the best. I talked to him before I went and I know he’s going to go there and ball, so I’m just excited to see what he does.”
Cooper likely could have made more money as a free agent after this season but he said he was pleased with the Broncos' offer.
“The process went really smooth, and I felt like I didn’t need to take it any further than what it was because I love this program, I love this team, I love the organization,” Cooper said, "and signing it there in the hotel, it just worked out as well as it could.
But, he added, “I’m still (upset) about the game.”
Cooper is the second Denver defender to sign an extension this year, joining star cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who inked a new deal last summer.
“I’m very proud of Coop," Surtain said. "When you talk about a guy who came in with the right approach, right work ethic and everything along the lines of becoming a great player, that’s him. Him being a seventh-round pick and going through the roster this and that — for him to be able to secure that contract is huge.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) and linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) sack Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, left, is pursued by Denver Broncos linebackers Nik Bonitto, center, and Jonathon Cooper, right, in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
