Olympic boss calls for "appalling" petition against Raygun to be "immediately withdrawn"

The Olympic row surrounding viral breakdancing star Raygun has taken another turn after The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) heavily criticised a petition launched against her.

In case you missed it, Raygun went viral on social media after her performance at Paris 2024, with her routines failing to pick up a single point from the judges over the course of three rounds.

Since then, a petition criticising Raygun has racked up more than 45,000 signatures. It was posted by an anonymous person who goes by the name “Someone Who hates corruption”. It accuses RayGun – real name Rachael Gunn – of “manipulating the selection process for her own advantage” as well as questioning the “fairness and integrity of the process”.

However, accusations made against Raygun and her husband online surrounding her Olympic selection process have been debunked after the petition was launched.

Various claims have been circulating online that Gunn, her husband and coach Samuel Free were the founders of the Australian Breaking Association - the organisation that chose who would take part in the games. However, that was debunked by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Now, AOC Chief Executive Officer Matt Carroll has hit out at the “appalling” petition and called for the “vexatious, misleading and bullying” petition to be “immediately withdrawn”.

Carroll released a statement, saying that the petition contained “falsehoods” made against Gunn, who 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,” the statement reads.

“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.”

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