FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Breaking - B-Girls Round Robin - La Concorde 1, Paris, France - August 09, 2024. Raygun of Australia in action. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth/File Photo
(Reuters) - The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) on Thursday condemned an online petition calling for an investigation into breakdancer Rachael Gunn's selection for the Paris Olympics, saying it contained falsehoods aimed at inciting hatred against her.
Gunn, a 36-year-old Australian university lecturer known in breaking as B-Girl Raygun, was pilloried online and in mainstream media after she lost all three of her round robin battles by a combined score of 54-0.
The petition on change.org, which calls for an apology from Gunn as well as Australia's Olympic Chef de Mission Anna Meares, had over 45,000 signatures by Thursday morning.
Meares defended Gunn from trolling in a media conference last Saturday.
In a statement, AOC Chief Executive Matt Carroll said the petition attacking Gunn was "vexatious, misleading and bullying".
"The petition has stirred up public hatred without any factual basis," he said. "No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympic Games should be treated in this way and we are supporting Dr Gunn and Anna Meares at this time."
The AOC has written to change.org demanding it take down the petition immediately, Carroll added.
Carroll also said that Gunn 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," he added. "(She) 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."
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; editing by Miral Fahmy)
