Skating athlete Rachel “Raegan” Gunn has broken her silence, posting a video to Instagram about the controversy that erupted after her Olympic performance.
The 36-year-old Australian singer has faced widespread criticism on social media as well as from celebrities such as Adele and Jimmy Fallon in the aftermath of his performance in Paris.
Gunn’s Olympic routines included imitating snakes and kangaroos and even using a sprinkler.
She lost all three fights 18-0.
Even Gunn’s fashion was criticised, as she wore Australia’s Olympic tracksuit and cap while the other athletes competed in street clothes.
But amid a flurry of accusations and conspiracy theories, Gunn took to Instagram to try and defuse the situation.
“Hi everyone, it’s Raegan. I want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me. I really appreciate all of your positivity and I’m happy I was able to bring joy into your lives, that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” she began.
“I honestly never expected to attract so much hate. It was just devastating. I enjoyed competing, but I also took it very seriously. I prepared really hard for the Olympics and really gave it my all.”
“I’m honoured to be part of the Australian Olympic team and to have been a part of Breaking’s Olympic debut and the achievements of the other athletes are just phenomenal.
“Regarding the allegations and misinformation circulating, I would like to refer everyone to AOC’s recent statements, as well as posts on the Ausbreaking Instagram page and WDSF’s Breaking for Gold page.
“Little fun fact: there are actually no points for breaks. If you want to know how the judges rated me and my opponent, you can see the comparison percentages for the five criteria on Olympic.com. All the results are there.”
“I will be in Europe for a few weeks and taking my planned holiday but I ask the media to stop harassing my family, friends, the Australian breaking community and the entire streetdance community.”
“This has caused you all great distress as a result and we ask that your privacy be respected. We will be happy to answer any further questions once we return to Australia. Thank you everyone.”
The Australian Olympic Committee released the statement on Thursday after a petition was launched calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the AOC to “hold Rachel Gunn and Anna Meares to account for their unethical behaviour and Olympic selection”.
The petition, which has garnered over 50,000 signatures at the time of writing, has been denounced by AOC CEO Matt Carroll as “nuisance, misleading and bullying” and has demanded that it be removed.
Ms Carroll said the petition contained “numerous falsehoods” and was designed to “incite hatred” against Dr Gunn, who she said was selected “through a transparent and independent qualifications and nomination process”.
“The Wine Board of Australia is particularly outraged by the insults levelled at our chairperson, Anna Mears,” Mr Carroll said in a statement on Thursday.
“The Australian team captain had no involvement in the qualification events or in the nomination of athletes to the AOC selection committee, of which he and I are members.
“It is shameful that lies fabricated by anonymous individuals are being published in this way. It amounts to bullying, harassment and defamation. We demand that it be removed from the site immediately. This petition is inciting hatred among our people without any factual support. It is outrageous.”
“No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympics should be treated this way. We support Dr Gunn and Anna Meares at this time. It is important that the community understands the facts and does not form opinions based on malicious lies and misinformation.”
Reagan won the Oceania Qualifiers in Sydney in October 2023 and qualified to compete in the Olympics.
The AOC confirmed that the event was approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and took place under the Olympic Qualification System set out by the international governing body, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF).
The organisation said the judging panel for the event was made up of nine independent international judges selected by the WDSF and specially invited to Australia to deliver a “fair, professional and transparent adjudication”.
The committee added that Dr Gunn “is not affiliated with the Australian Breaking Association or DanceSport Australia” and was “simply a contestant who took part in and won a qualifying competition” without any challenge from other contestants.
They denied that Dr Gunn “has any responsibility for funding decisions in her sport” and confirmed that no federal taxpayer funds were sought or provided for the Olympic team’s $25 million campaign in Paris.
