Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn speaks out after Paris Olympic performance: "I gave my all"
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, also known as B-Girl Raygun, is speaking out after she received criticism and ridicule for her viral performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In an Instagram post Thursday, she broke her silence.
"I really appreciate the positivity, and I'm glad I was able to some joy in your lives," she said. "That's what I hoped. I didn't realize that would open the door to so much hate, which is frankly, been pretty devastating."
"I went out there and I had fun," the 36-year-old breaker said. "I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all."
Gunn, a professor from Sydney who holds a PhD in cultural studies, lost all of her three round-robin battles with a score of 54-0, drawing backlash for the lack of points and mockery over some of her moves in her routine, including a "kangaroo dance." It was even made fun of on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." She responded to some of her critics.
"Bit of a fun fact for you," she said. "There are actually no points in breaking. If you want to see how the judges thought I compared to my opponents, you can actually see the comparison percentages across the five criteria on Olympics com. All the results are there."
She also drew questions over how she was selected to represent Australia.
The Australian Olympics Committee came out in defense of Gunn on Thursday, condemning a anonymous petition on Change.org that demanded an apology from her and Australia's chef de mission, Anna Meares, for their "unethical conduct" in choosing Gunn. The AOC said Gunn was selected to the Australian Olympic Team through a "transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process."
"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," AOC CEO Matt Carroll said in a statement.
As of Thursday afternoon, the petition was no longer live on the site.
The committee pointed out that Gunn held no position within AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia — two entities that oversee competitive breaking in the country — in any capacity.
Accusations were also aimed at Gunn's husband and fellow breaker, Samuel Free. The AOC said Free doesn't and was not a judge at the qualifying event.
Breaking made its Olympic debut in Paris and won many fans. However, the sport did not make it onto the roster of sports for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.