- Nearly 50,000 people sign a petition demanding an apology for Raygun
- Olympic officials are furious over a ‘bullying’ claim
The Australian Olympic Committee has launched a furious attack on a petition demanding a public apology for breakdancer Rachael Gunn’s performance at the Paris Games, slamming it for bullying her and promoting a series of lies.
Nearly 50,000 people have signed the change.org petition since it was created on Monday.
It is demanding “immediate accountability and transparency over the recent actions” by Gunn and Paris chef de mission Anna Meares over how Gunn won selection to represent Australia in Paris.
The call to action accuses the 36-year-old of “manipulating the selection process for her own benefit” so that she could be chosen over other, more talented Australian breakout performers, an allegation described as “raising serious questions about the fairness and integrity of the process”.
No evidence has been provided to support the petition’s claims.
AOC boss Matt Carroll said the petition, which demands a public apology from Gunn and Meares, is “appalling” and has “no basis in fact.”
Carroll said the request was an “affront” to Meares, who had no role in overseeing the nomination of Olympians to the AOC selection committee or in qualifying events for the different sports.
She also said it “sparked public hatred” against Gunn and that AOC had written to change.org demanding the petition be removed immediately.
A petition demanding a public apology from breakdancer Rachael Gunn (pictured) and Paris Games chef de mission Anna Meares has been criticised by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) for being full of lies.
At the time of writing, more than 46,000 people had signed the call to action (pictured)
AOC CEO Matt Carroll (pictured) called the petition “appalling” and said it had “no basis in fact.”
“The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is particularly aggrieved by the affront to our Chef de Mission, Anna Meares. The Chef de Mission of Team Australia played no role in the qualification trials or the nomination of athletes to the AOC Selection Committee, of which the Chef de Mission and I are members,” Carroll said in a statement on Thursday.
“It is shameful that these falsehoods fabricated by an anonymous person could be published in this way. They constitute an act of intimidation and harassment and are defamatory. We demand that they be removed from the site immediately.
‘The petition has sparked public hatred without any factual basis. It is appalling. No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympics should be treated in this way and we stand with Dr Gunn and Anna Meares at this time.
“It is important that the community understands the facts and that people do not form opinions based on malicious falsehoods and misinformation.”
The AOC said Australia’s breaking qualifiers had been judged by a panel selected by the World Dance Sport Federation made up of “nine independent international judges”.
This belied an online claim that Gunn’s partner, Samuel Free, had been involved in the evaluation process.
AOC’s statement strongly refuted 12 falsehoods about ‘Raygun’ (pictured), including that she only gained selection for the Olympics because her husband was one of the judges at the qualifying event she won.
‘Dr Rachael Gunn, by winning the Oceania Breaking Championships in October 2023, has been legitimately nominated by DanceSport Australia to the AOC for selection into the Australian Olympic Team,’ the statement read.
‘Dr Rachael Gunn has no position with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia. She is simply an athlete who competed in the qualifying event which she won. There was no appeal from any athlete.
‘Mr Samuel Free is a coach who holds no position with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia and was not a judge at the qualifying event.’
The AOC also refuted false claims that taxpayer money had been requested to fund the travel of Australia’s Olympic breakdancing competitors.
“No federal taxpayer funds were requested or provided for the Olympic teams’ campaign in Paris,” he said.
‘The $25 million cost of the equipment was covered entirely by the Australian Olympic Committee.’
Gunn and her husband did not return home with the rest of the Australian team on Wednesday amid the furor.