Australian Olympic Committee launches furious defence of Raygun after 50,000 sign petition demanding public apology

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has slammed an 'appalling' petition which demanded viral breakdancer Raygun publicly apologise for competing at the Paris Olympics.

Yep, it seems people are so annoyed by the breakdancer’s performance they’ve took to change.org to blast authorities.

If you’re wondering just what an athlete must have done to cause so much uproar, you’re probably not so present on social media as Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn quickly went viral.

The 36-year-old represented Australia in the breaking event at the Paris 2024 Olympics and scored zero points in all three rounds of the breaking heats.

Viewers were pretty stunned by her unique moves as the now infamous performances gave her viral fame, as many trolls poked fun at her.

There were many questions over why she had been chosen to perform, with both her best friend and representatives speaking out.

But that’s not stopped over 51,000 people signing a petition since Monday (12 August) calling for ‘immediate accountability and transparency in the recent actions of Rachel Gunn and Anna Meares in the selection process for Australia's female breakdancer representative at the upcoming Olympics’.

It accuses Raygun of ‘manipulating the selection process to her own advantage’ and demands a public apology from her and Paris Chef de Mission Meares ‘for misleading the Australian public and attempting to gaslight the public and undermining the efforts of genuine athletes’.

This is Rachael Gunn, she has a PhD in cultural movement and convinced Australia to pay for her trip to the Paris Olympics.

She participated in break dancing and got 0 points.

🐐 😂pic.twitter.com/8PULsMBxxN

— BowTiedMara (@BowTiedMara) August 10, 2024

There’s no evidence provided to back up the petition’s claims and AOC boss Matt Caroll has called it ‘appalling’.

He explained he had written to change.org demanding the immediate removal of the petition, adding it ‘stirred up public hatred’ against the athlete.

“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,” Carroll said in a statement.

“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.

“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.”