Rachael Gunn caused quite a sensation at the Olympic Games in Paris. The 36-year-old university lecturer represented Australia in her Olympic debut in the breaking event. The problem was that she did it exceptionally poorly. The judges gave her performance a zero, and internet users were even harsher, creating hundreds of memes and writing even more mocking comments. Although some viewers liked the dance and there were comments praising Gunn for “expressing herself”, a huge scandal broke out in the country.
Her performance was seen by millions of people around the world. Now she has a problem. There is a petition regarding the “star” of the games
According to some Australians, the launch of the “Raygun” was an affront to the Australian Teamsand even the entire nation. Questions began to appear in the public sphere, how it was possible that a 36-year-old with such a low level was at the top of the national ranking and even qualified for games. Finally, a petition addressed to the country's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared on the Change.org platform, whose signatories demand an explanation.
The petition claims that Gunn has set up her own governing body for national breaking and manipulated the selection process to her advantage. It also notes that her husband is also a coach representation and a member of the selection committee, which is a clear conflict of interest. Gunn is also said to have refused to fund the qualifiers for talented athletes who were in financial difficulty.
Australia in uproar after performance that went viral around the world. “We demand a public apology”
– We demand a public apology from Rachel Gunn and Anna Mears (head of the Australian Olympic delegation – editor's note) for misleading the Australian public and attempting to deceive the public and ruin the efforts of real people. athletes – we read in the petition. – We also call for a full investigation into the selection process and an audit of Gunn's financial interests. We look forward to an apology to the entire community for the unethical behavior that has tarnished this sport – added.
The petition was signed by over 23,000 people in just two days. In turn, the AusBreaking federation responsible for the national qualifiers issued a special statement in which it stated that: “the selection process for the Australian team in Paris was conducted over two days and aimed to ensure a fair and transparent result”. As revealed by nine.com, the selection was made based on just one competition, which also leaves a big taste in the mouth.