Rachael Gunn — the Australian B-girl known as Raygun whose awkward breaking style at the Paris Olympics stoked considerable backlash — has responded to critics of her moves, asking the world to "please stop."
The 36-year-old college professor from Sydney has been the subject of online ire ever since her Olympic-breaking routine went viral for deviating from the vast majority of her competitors. Her flailing style — chock full of moves such as "the kangaroo" and others that have been compared to a dog squirming in grass — lost all three of her matches 0-18.
“We have five criteria in the comparative judging system. Her level was maybe not as high as the other competitors,” said top Olympic breakdancing judge Martin Gilian at a post-event press conference. "Again, we’re using a comparative judging system. Her competitors were just better but it doesn’t mean that she did really bad. She did her best. She was representing Australia and Oceania and did her best. She won the Oceania qualifier officially. If some people are wondering how she got into the Olympic Games, she qualified from her region. . . . Unfortunately for her, the other b-girls were better. That’s why she didn’t score any votes in her rounds.”
Speaking to ESPN, Gunn acknowledged her "underdog" status, claiming, "What I wanted to do was come out here and do something new and different and creative — that's my strength, my creativity.
"I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get that in a lifetime to do that on an international stage," she added.
Since her Olympic debut, however, steadily intensifying criticism of her performance has persisted. An anonymous Change.org petition published on Sunday accused Gunn of “manipulating the selection process to her own advantage," and insisted that Gunn and Australia’s Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares apologize for “misleading the Australian public and attempting to gaslight the public and undermining the efforts of genuine athletes," as noted by CNN. The petition, which NBC reported gained over 56,000 signatures, was addressed to the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Gunn on Thursday took to social media to speak out following the mounting online scrutiny. “Hi everyone, Raygun here. I just want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me, I really appreciate the positivity and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives, that’s what I hoped,” she began.
“I didn’t realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating," Gunn added. "While 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. I’m honored to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal.”
The AOC released a separate statement labeling the petition's attempts intentions "as vexatious, misleading and bullying."
Per the statement, AOC Chief Executive Officer Matt Carroll has stated that the petition "contains numerous falsehoods designed to engender hatred against an athlete who was selected in the Australian Olympic Team through a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process."
The statement went on to quote Carroll, who said, "The AOC is particularly offended by the affront to our Chef de Mission, Anna Meares. The Australian Team Chef de Mission played no role in the qualification events nor the nomination of athletes to the AOC Selection Committee, of which the Chef and I are members."
“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way. It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory. We are demanding that it be removed from the site immediately," Carroll continued. “The petition has stirred up public hatred without any factual basis. It’s appalling. No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympic Games should be treated in this way and we are supporting Dr. Gunn and Anna Meares at this time. It’s important that the community understands the facts and that people do not form opinions based on malicious untruths and misinformation."
It appears that the Change.org petition is no longer available to view online.
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