Australian politicians rushed to Rachael Gunn’s aid as the Olympic team closed ranks behind the breakdancer under fire.

The 36-year-old, known as Raygun, failed to score a single point when breakout made its Olympic debut in Paris on Friday.

The sight of the Macquarie University lecturer’s performance sent social media into an uproar and raised questions about the validity of the sport.

At home, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised Gunn when asked about criticism of her program.

“Raygun did it, that’s good for her and a big compliment to her,” he told reporters in Adelaide on Sunday.

“It’s Australian tradition that people try something. She tried to represent our country and that’s a good thing.”

“Whether they won gold medals or just did their best, that’s all we asked. What really matters is participation.”

Breakdancing has been removed from the program for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and there is no guarantee that it will be reinstated in Brisbane in 2032 or later.

Victoria State Premier Jacinta Allan said she enjoyed watching the sport and said Raygun was already a champion having been selected to represent her country on the world stage.

“To quote Taylor (Swift), let the haters hate and just celebrate the successes of our Olympians,” she said in Melbourne.

Chief of Mission Anna Meares also supported Gunn and condemned comments from “trolls and keyboard warriors”.

“I love her character and am very disappointed for her that she was attacked like this,” she said.

Gunn lost all three of her round robin matches by a combined score of 54-0 and admitted after the event that she was not physically able to keep up with the tricks and turns of her younger opponents.

“I wanted to come here and do something new, different and creative – that’s my strength, my creativity,” she said.

Gunn has published a doctoral thesis entitled “Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney’s Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl’s Experience of B-boying.”

The work addresses the question of why so few female participants are part of the male-dominated scene, but speaks of sport as a “space that accepts difference”.