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Australian Rachael Gunn said she was not prepared for the level of negative attention she received after her Olympic debut.
Australian breaker Rachael Gunn has said the backlash to her much-ridiculed Olympic breaking performance was “devastating”, stressing that she took the competition seriously and gave it her best effort.
The 36-year-old known as Raygun said in a video posted on Instagram on Thursday that she was not prepared for the level of negative attention she had received since judges awarded her zero points in her Olympic debut.
“I didn’t realise that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has, frankly, been pretty devastating,” Gunn said. “But I went out there and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly.”
The sport of breaking made its Olympic debut in Paris, and one of its most viral images was the performance of Gunn, a university professor from Sydney – who did a “kangaroo dance” among other moves during her routine – and did not receive a single point from any of the nine judges in either round.
Gunn was subsequently mocked for her efforts, including a parody on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in the United States.
In the video, she said she was subjected to abuse that went beyond criticism of her dance moves.
“I’d really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the broader street dance community,” she said. “Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this. So I ask you to please respect their privacy.”
Australia’s Rachael Gunn (R), known as Raygun, competes against France’s Sya Dembele, known as Syssy in Paris [File: Odd Andersen/ AFP] AOC condemns petition against Gunn’s Olympic selection
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) earlier on Thursday condemned an online petition calling for an investigation into Gunn’s selection for the Paris Olympics, saying it contained falsehoods aimed at inciting hatred against her.
AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said the petition had “stirred up public hatred without any factual basis”, adding that it was “vexatious, misleading and bullying”.
Carroll’s statement also said Gunn had been “selected through a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process”.
The change.org petition calling for Gunn to apologise was no longer on the platform on Friday after the AOC asked for it to be removed.
“Either the URL is incorrect, it violated our Community Guidelines or the starter removed it,” read a note at the top of the page.
Breaking is not on the sports programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Gunn said she would take a few weeks of previously planned holiday in Europe and would answer any more questions on her return to Australia.
Gunn is a 36-year-old university professor from Sydney – who did a ‘kangaroo dance'[File: Odd Andersen/AFP]
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