The Australian Olympic Committee has criticised an anonymous online petition attacking controversial Paris Olympics footballer Rachel Gunn, describing it as “nuisance, misleading and bullying”.
Last weekend, the sport of breaking made its Olympic debut.
One of the most memorable images was the performance of Australian B-girl Raegan (36 years old, professor at the University of Sydney), who performed questionable moves such as the “kangaroo dance” during her performance and only received a zero point.
Gunn subsequently received harsh criticism for her performance, which was even parodied on television. Late night TV shows In the United States.
Gunn, who is yet to return to Australia after the Olympics, received strong support from Australian team captain Anna Mears during his time in Paris.
On Thursday, AOC took an even bigger step, refuting a number of false stories that she says have since appeared online.
CEO Matt Carroll said AOC had written to change.org, which posted the petition criticizing Gunn and AOC, demanding that it be immediately withdrawn.
More than 40,000 people have signed a petition claiming that Gan “manipulated” the Olympic qualification process.
Ms Carroll said the petition “contained numerous falsehoods aimed at inciting hatred against athletes who were selected for the Australian Olympic team through a transparent and independent qualification and nomination process”.
“It is shameful that an anonymous individual has created falsehoods and published them in this way,” Carroll said. “This amounts to bullying, harassment and degrading behaviour and we demand that it be removed from the site immediately. No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympics should be treated like this…”
Online criticism last week included suggestions that the Oceania qualifying rounds held in Sydney last October were rigged to favour Gunn, and comments questioning the judging that allowed Gunn to qualify.
The Oceania qualifiers were organised under the Olympic Qualification System decided by the international governing body, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), and approved by the International Olympic Committee, the AOC said in a statement on Thursday.
The event’s judging panel was selected by the WDSF and is made up of nine independent international judges.
Unattributed social media comments also suggest that Gunn and her husband, fellow breaker Samuel Free, held positions in Australian breaking organisations.
“Rachel Gunn does not hold any position with Breaking Australia or Dancesport Australia,” the Australian Olympic Committee said on Thursday. “She is simply a contestant who competed in and won a qualifying tournament.”
Breakdancing at the Olympics may be a one-off in Paris: It’s not on the list of sports for the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, and it’s unlikely to feature at the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia.
