Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and b-girl Regan hit back at criticism leveled at the organization and Breaker over her performance at the Paris Olympics.
The performance of Regan, whose real name is Rachel Gunn, sparked widespread ridicule as she received zero points in three events for her “kangaroo dance” and other stunts on the floor. The ridicule led to theories about the AOC’s decision to send her to the Summer Games.
Over 40,000 people signed a petition on Change.org claiming Regan had “manipulated” the vote. Olympic Qualification Other claims were made about the validity of the Oceania qualifying event and speculation arose that he and fellow breaker Samuel Free had positions in Australian breaking organisations.
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Rachael Gunn of Australia, better known as B-Girl Regan, competes during the Round Robin Battles in the Breaking competition at the La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Friday, August 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
Though Regan received support from Australian team chief Anna Meares, the AOC issued a statement on Thursday rejecting the criticism.
AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said the organisation had written to the petition company demanding it be withdrawn because “numerous falsehoods have been spread to stir up hatred against an athlete who was selected for the Australian Olympic Team through a transparent and independent qualifying competition and nomination process.”
“It’s shameful that these false stories fabricated by an anonymous individual could be published in this way,” Carroll said. “This amounts to bullying and harassment and is outrageous. We are demanding that this be removed from the site immediately. No athlete representing their country at the Olympic Games should be treated this way.”
The AOC said the relevant qualifying event was held under the Olympic qualification system set out by the international governing body, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), and approved by the International Olympic Committee.
Team Australia’s Regan competes in the Women’s Round-Robin – Group B on Day 14 of the Paris Olympic Games. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The WDSF said the jury for the competition consisted of nine independent international judges, the AOC said.
“Rachel Gunn does not hold any position with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia in any way,” the AOC said. “She is simply an athlete who competed in a qualifying event, which she won.”
Regan posted a video on her Instagram in which she thanked people for their support and said that she took her performance seriously.
“I really appreciate the positivity, and I’m glad I was able to bring some joy to your lives — that was my hope,” she said. “I didn’t know it would also open the door to so much hate, which is really devastating.
“While I went out there and had fun, I took it very seriously. I worked my ass off preparing for the Olympics and I gave it my all. I am honoured to be part of the Australian Olympic team and to be part of the Olympic debut of breaking. It’s amazing what the other athletes have achieved.”
Regan referenced He expressed displeasure over AOC’s statement and asked the media to stop harassing people close to him.
“In regards to the allegations and misinformation, I would urge everyone to check out the recent statement made by the AOC as well as the posts on the Oz Breaking Instagram page and the (World DanceSport Federation) Breaking for Gold page,” she added.
Rachael Gunn of Australia, known as Regan, competes in the Women’s Breaking Dance Round Robin at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on August 9, 2024 at La Concorde in Paris. (Odd ANDERSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“I would really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the wider Strict dance community. Everyone has suffered a lot as a result. So I ask that you please respect their privacy.”
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She said she would holiday in Europe before returning to Australia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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