The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has criticised an anonymous online petition attacking controversial breakdancer Rachael Gunn.
Ms Gunn performed under the name Raygun in the inaugural breaking competition at the Paris Olympics this summer.
She went viral for questionable dance moves in her routine, which included one dubbed the “kangaroo dance”, as the 36-year-old Sydney university professor failed to score a single point.
Ms Gunn was subsequently heavily criticised, and parodies of her performance were even played out on late-night TV in the US.
Previously, Australian team chef de mission Anna Meares defended Ms Gunn, but the AOC has now gone a step further.
This, they say, is in light of false and erroneous stories about Ms Gunn circulating online, including a “vexatious, misleading and bullying” petition.
AOC chief executive officer Matt Carroll said they had written to change.org, which published the petition criticising Ms Gunn and the AOC, demanding it be withdrawn.
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Mr Carroll said the petition “contained numerous falsehoods designed to engender hatred against an athlete who was selected in 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,” Mr Carroll added.
He continued: “It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory.
“We are demanding that it be removed from the site immediately.
“No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympic Games should be treated in this way.”
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The petition, which was started on 12 August, has already amassed over 45,000 signatures.
Recent online criticism has included allegations that the Oceania qualifying event, held in Sydney last October, was set up to favour Ms Gunn, and it questioned the judging which allowed her to qualify.
But the AOC strongly rebuked this, saying on Thursday that the event was conducted under the Olympic qualification system determined by the international governing body, World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) and approved by the International Olympic Committee.
It said the judging panel for the event was selected by the WDSF and consisted of nine independent international judges.
Unattributed social media comments also suggested Gunn and her husband, fellow breaker Samuel Free, had held positions within Australian breaking organisations and had qualified at the expense of others.
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“Rachael Gunn holds no position with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia in any capacity,” the AOC said Thursday.
“She is simply an athlete who competed in the qualifying event which she won.”
But breaking at the Olympics might be a one-and-done in Paris.
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It is not on the competition list for the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 and is unlikely to appear in 2032 in Brisbane, Australia.
