Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has finally broken her silence, taking to Instagram in a video to address the swirling storm after her Olympic performance.
The 36-year-old Australian has been widely panned across social media as well as by celebrities including Adele and Jimmy Fallon in the fallout of her performance in Paris.
Gunn’s performance at the Olympics included moves which mimicked a snake and a kangaroo, and even did the sprinkler.
She lost all three of her battles 18-0.
Even her fashion was criticised as the other competitors came out in street clothes, while Gunn wore her Australian Olympic tracksuit and cap.
But with various accusations swirling around, Gunn has taken to Instagram to clear the air.
“Hi everyone, Raygun here. I just want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me, I really appreciate the positivity and I was glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives — that’s what I hoped,” the video began.
“I didn’t realise that that would also open the door to so much hate which has frankly been pretty devastating.
“While I went out there and had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly.
“I’m honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of Breaking’s Olympic debut. What the other athletes have achieved has just been phenomenal.
“In regards to the allegations and misinformation floating around, I’d like to ask everyone to please refer to the recent statement made by the AOC as well as the posts on the Ausbreaking Instagram page as well as the WDSF Breaking for Gold page.
“Bit of a fun fact for you: there are actually no points in breaking. If you wanted 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.
“I’m going to be in Europe for a few weeks for some pre-planned down time. But I’d really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community, and the broader street dance community.
“Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this so I ask you to please respect their privacy.
“I’ll be happy to answer more questions on my return to Australia.
“Thanks everyone.”
The Australian Olympic Committee released a statement on Thursday after a petition was launched calling for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the AOC to “Hold Raygun Rachel Gunn and Anna Mears (sic) accountable for unethical conduct (and) Olympic selection”.
The petition, which has over 50,000 signatures at time of writing, was slammed by AOC CEO Matt Carroll, who called it “vexatious, misleading and bullying” as well as demanding it be taken down.
Carroll said that the petition contains “numerous falsehoods” and is designed to “engender hatred” against Dr Gunn, who he says was selected “through a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process”.
“The AOC is particularly offended by the affront to our Chef de Mission, Anna Meares,” Mr Caroll said in a statement on Thursday.
“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.
“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.”
Raygun won her place at the Olympics when she won the Oceania Qualifying event in Sydney in October 2023.
The AOC confirmed the event was conducted under the Olympic qualification system determined by the international governing body, World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) as approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
They stated that the judging panel for the event was selected by the WDSF and consisted of nine independent international judges who were brought to Australia specifically to provide “fair, expert and transparent adjudication”.
The commission added that Dr Gunn “holds no position with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia in any capacity” and is “simply an athlete who competed in the qualifying event which she won” with no appeals from any other athletes.
They deny Dr Gunn having “any responsibility for funding decisions in her sport” and confirmed that no federal taxpayer’s funds were sought, nor provided, for the Olympic Teams’ Paris $25 million campaign.
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