SYDNEY (AP) — Australian breakout player Rachael Gunn said the reaction to her much-mocked Olympic performance was “devastating,” adding Thursday that she took the competition seriously and did her best.

The 36-year-old B-Girl, known as Raygun, said in a video posted on social media that she was not prepared for the level of negative attention she has received since the judges gave her zero points in her Olympic debut. Meanwhile, the Australian Olympic Committee criticised an anonymous online petition calling for the Paris Games competitors and said it was “harassing, misleading and intimidating.”

“I didn’t realize that it would also open the door to so much hate, which was pretty devastating, to be honest,” Gunn said. “But I went out there and had fun. I took it very seriously. I worked my ass off preparing for the Olympics and really gave it my all.”

The sport of breaking made his Olympic debut in Paris, and one of the lasting images was the performance of Gunn, a 36-year-old university professor from Sydney, who, among other things, performed a “kangaroo dance” during her free program and did not receive a single point from any of the nine judges in any round.

Gunn was subsequently mocked for their efforts, including a parody of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” in the US. In the video, she said she was subjected to insults that went beyond criticism of her dance moves.

“I would really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breakdancing community and the wider street dance community,” she said. “Everyone has been through a lot because of this, so I ask that you please respect their privacy.”

Gunn, who has not yet returned to Australia, received strong support in Paris from Australian Olympic team leader Anna Meares. On Thursday, the AOC went a step further, taking aim at what it described as erroneous material posted online.

Board Chairman Matt Carroll said AOC had written a letter to Change.org, which had published a petition criticizing Gunn and AOC, demanding that it be withdrawn.

More than 40,000 people signed the petition accusing Gunn of “manipulating” the Olympic qualification process.

Change.org said in a statement on Thursday that the petition had been removed after it was flagged for misinformation.

“Change.org strictly adheres to policies against content that constitutes harassment, bullying, or the spread of false information,” the statement said. “We take such matters seriously and remove any content that violates these standards to protect our users and maintain the integrity of our community.”

Carroll said the petition “contains numerous falsehoods designed to incite hatred against an athlete who was selected for the Australian Olympic team through a transparent and independent qualification and nomination process.”

“It’s a disgrace that these falsehoods, fabricated by an anonymous person, can be published in this way,” Carroll said. “This is bullying and harassment and defamatory. We demand that this is removed from the website immediately. No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympics should be treated in this way.”

The Olympic breakthrough may have been a one-off event in Paris. The sport is not on the competition list in Los Angeles in 2028 and is unlikely to appear in Brisbane, Australia, in 2032.

In the online criticism of Gunn last week, it was suggested that the Oceania Qualifying Tournament held in Sydney last October was Gunn’s… Gunn qualified.

The AOC said on Thursday that the Oceania qualifying event was held under the Olympic qualifying system established by the international governing body, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), and approved by the International Olympic Committee.

It was said that the jury for the event was selected by the WDSF and consisted of nine independent international judges.

Unattributed comments on social media also suggested that Gunn and her husband, fellow breakdancer Samuel Free, held positions in Australian breakdancing organizations.

“Rachael Gunn does not hold any role with AUSBreaking or DanceSport Australia,” the AOC said on Thursday. “She is simply an athlete who competed in the qualifying event, which she won.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games