- Aussie went viral after failing to score point in competition
- 36-year-old’s routine branded ridiculous and embarrassing
- Country’s chef de mission has lashed out at her critics
Australia’s Olympic chief has slammed critics of breakdancer Rachael Gunn as typical of misogynistic abuse which female athletes endure.
Chef de mission Anna Meares says Gunn should be applauded for her courage, rather than pilloried for her performance at the Paris Games.
Gunn, known as Raygun, failed to score a point when breaking made its debut as an Olympic sport in Paris on Friday.
Gunn has since been a target of criticism for not only her performance but her appearance, online and in some mainstream media.
She hopped like a kangaroo, resembled a T-Rex at times and rolled around the floor in a disjointed way that confused and amused Aussies back home watching the sport for the first time.
Gunn hit back at her critics and blasted the IOC for scrapping the sport for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
‘I love Rachael,’ Meares told reporters on Saturday.
‘What has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them air time, has been really disappointing.
Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn’s breaking routines in Paris saw her go viral for all the wrong reasons after she failed to pick up a single point as the sport made its Olympics debut
The Aussie’s effort saw her become the butt of joke after joke on the internet – but she hit back at her critics and blasted the International Olympic Committee for dropping the sport
Australia’s chef de mission in Paris, Anna Meares (pictured) said criticism of Raygun is the same sort of misogynistic abuse that has been directed at generations of female athletes
‘Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team.
‘She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit, with great enthusiasm.
‘And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has.’
Gunn, a 36-year-old Australian university lecturer, lost all three of her round-robin battles by a combined score of 54-0.
She works for Sydney’s Macquarie University as a creative arts researcher specialising in ‘the cultural politics of breakdancing’, and she also has a PhD in the sport.
‘In 2008, she was locked in a room crying, being involved in a male-dominated sport as the only woman,’ Meares said.
‘And it took great courage for her to continue on and fight for her opportunity to participate in a sport that she loved.
‘That got her to winning the Olympic qualifying event to be here in Paris.
‘She is the best breakdancer female that we have for Australia.’
Raygun left many viewers either in hysterics or scratching their heads with a routine that saw her hop like a kangaroo and even resemble a T-Rex at times
In a blistering social media post, Gunn lashed out at people criticising her Olympics uniform – after some trolls suggested she looked like a tennis line official
Meares likened the criticism to historic misogynistic abuse directed at female athletes as they fought for recognition in the sporting world.
‘Now you look at the history of what we have had as women athletes, have faced in terms of criticism, belittlement, judgement, and simple comments like ‘they shouldn’t be there’,’ she said
‘One-hundred years ago, leading into Paris 1924, Australia sent a team of 37 athletes – none were women.
‘One-hundred years later, we have 256 women representing here.’
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Australian Jeff ‘J-Attack’ Dunne was also unable to make it out of the round-robin stage in the men’s event held on Saturday.
Dunne suffered three straight losses although at least collected a point in his both his second and third battles.