After viral breakdancing sensation Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn’s departure from the competitive sphere, another South Korean shooter is ready to follow in her footsteps. Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, the Aussie breakdancer who captured global attention with her unconventional performance, recently announced her decision to depart from competing breakdancing. At nearly the same time, another online sensation, South Korean shooting star Kim Ye-ji, revealed she’s taking a hiatus from competitive shooting. 

Both the stars have decided to take a step back. However, for completely different reasons. The Olympic stars rose to stardom with their performances at the Paris Olympics. However, now both Raygun and Kim Ye-ji have decided to recalibrate their paths forward. And each of the two is driven by unique challenges that emerged from their newfound fame.

Raygun’s performance at the City of Love created a buzz in the social media world. Her performance did not only break tradition but generated a firestorm of online reactions. And it resulted in her facing constant backlash and scrutiny from netizens. Such an outcome turned out to be a burden for the young star, which convinced her to settle for a hiatus. Meanwhile, Kim Ye-ji too had taken up a similar decision, although she faced a different sort of spotlight. 

The Olympic silver medalist and South Korea’s viral sensation stunned the world with her cool, unbothered demeanor at the Paris Games. Clad in all-black with shooting glasses and a nonchalant hand in her pocket, she instantly became one of the most celebrated characters of Paris 2024. She too rose to fame, holding the hands of netizens who crowned her for her unconventional style, technique, and main character energy. Her rise was meteoric, propelling her from a celebrated athlete in a niche sport to a global icon and internet favorite. Yet, unlike Gunn, Kim’s decision to step back is rooted in a desire for family time and personal growth rather than disillusionment with the sport.

Kim’s life has been a whirlwind since the Games. Beyond her athletic achievements, she’s quickly become a household name. From modeling for top luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Givenchy to becoming the face of Tesla Korea, she won it all with her winning presence in Paris. She even landed a role in a film spin-off. However, despite all the fame that Kim Ye-ji acquired in such a short span of time, she still chose to remain grounded and stay true to her sport and her family.

Kim Ye-ji recently stated, “As an Olympic medalist, I’m taking a pause in my journey to spend time with my child and focus on my role as a mother.” The Olympic athlete, alongside concentrating on her family, has also made sure to make the right use of her fame by voicing her opinion against AI deepfake issues. The star further added, “I hope this break is seen as part of my process to grow further as a shooting athlete. Although I haven’t set a specific return date, I’ll do my best to come back as soon as possible.” 

Gunn and Kim have chosen a similar path to deal with sudden fame and online acknowledgment that came in very different ways towards the two athletes. While Kim Ye-ji was embraced by netizens, Gunn had to deal with a lot of public scrutiny following her viral moment. And it was the same debates surrounding her that led her to retreat from the limelight.

Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn’s decision to step back from the spotlight to take a bold stand against online backlashes 

In a recent episode of Australia’s The Jimmy and Nath Show, the 37-year-old breakdancer confessed her unfiltered thoughts unapologetically. She expressed how dancing has always been her priority, but the backlashes she had to go through made her life “really difficult.” Stating her opinion, Raygun said, “I don’t think people should feel crap about, you know, the way that they dance.”

The judgment and comments from the online world completely disrupted her lifestyle. However, unfortunately, she could not stop the never-ending trolls. “It was really upsetting, because I felt like I just didn’t have any control over how people saw me or who I was. Think about the level of scrutiny that’s going to be there and the people who will be filming it, and it’ll go online; it’s just not going to mean the same thing.” Thus, after whatever she had been subjected to since her Olympic quest, she has been dealing with the pressure of the negativity that came with the online popularity. And this forced her to take a step back from the competitive world. 

However, Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn also made sure to stick to the activity she has always loved the most. She has stated that not competing won’t stop her from dancing. She’ll continue with her steps inside the four walls with her partner till she decides to make a comeback again.