Canberra, Australia – After her groundbreaking performance at the Paris Olympic Games went viral for the wrong reasons, Australian athlete Rachael Gunn was heavily abused online. Now the 36-year-old has broken her silence.
After her breakthrough performance at the Paris Olympics went viral for all the wrong reasons, Australian athlete Rachael Gunn was faced with a barrage of online abuse. © Collage: IMAGO / AAP & Screenshot/Instagram/@raygun_aus
In a new Instagram video shared earlier this week, she spoke about the hate she received following the Games, calling the nasty reactions to her performance “pretty devastating.”
Gunn stressed that she took her groundbreaking performance seriously despite claims to the contrary online.
“I worked my ass off preparing for the Olympics and really gave it my all,” she said.
The Australian went on to say that all of her moves were “original,” adding: “Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and show my artistic ability.”
Gunn, who is a university lecturer and holds a doctorate in cultural studies, attracted attention during her Olympic appearance as a breaker with unusual movements – she rolled around on the floor, kicked her legs wildly and even jumped like a kangaroo.
She received a straight zero from the jury for her performance and was eliminated from the competition as the worst of the 16 participants. Clips of her performance subsequently went viral, with users criticizing her moves.
The Australian Olympic Team (AOC) later condemned the attacks, describing them as “harassing, misleading and bullying”.
