Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn says the backlash to
her performance at the Olympics has been "devastating".
Gunn - who is known as B-girl Raygun - has been the subject
of a social media storm since breaking's debut at the Paris Games last week.
A petition calling for an apology from Gunn, 36, as well as
from Australia's Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares, received more than 54,000
signatures before it was taken down.
In an Instagram video,, external Gunn
said she didn't realise her appearance would "open the door to so much
hate".
On Thursday, Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief
executive Matt Carroll said the petition had "stirred up public hatred
without any factual basis", adding it was "vexatious, misleading and
bullying".
The petition said Gunn and track cyclist Meares - who is a
two-time Olympic champion - should say sorry for "attempting to gaslight
the public and undermining the efforts of genuine athletes".
Change.org said the petition was “flagged for
misinformation” and removed after review.
After thanking her supporters, Gunn said: "I really
appreciated the positivity and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your
lives - that’s what I hoped.
"Well, I went out there and I had fun - I did take it
very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my
all. Truly.
"And I’m honoured to have been a part of the Australian
Olympic team; to be a part of breaking’s Olympic debut."
Gunn, a university lecturer from Sydney, lost all three of
her round-robin battles.
"Bit of a fun fact for you: there are actually no
points in breaking," she said.
"If you want to see how the judges scored me compared
to my opponents, you can actually see the comparison percentages across the
five criteria on Olympics.com, external - all the results
are there."
She also asked her critics "in regard to the
allegations and misinformation floating around", to refer to Carroll's
statement, in which he said Gunn was "selected through a transparent and
independent qualification event and nomination process".
Gunn added: "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."
