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The Australian Olympic Committee has lashed an online petition targeting breaking rival Rachael Gunn arsenic “vexatious, misleading and bullying” and called for its removal.
AOC brag Matt Carroll said the petition, which demands a nationalist apology from Gunn and Chef de Mission Anna Meares for “unethical conduct” implicit the dancer’s Olympic selection, was “appalling” and had “no factual basis”.
Created by an anonymous idiosyncratic connected Monday, the Change.org petition has attracted much than 45,000 signatures and claims Gunn “set up her ain governing assemblage for breakdancing” and rigged qualification for the one-off Olympic sport.
Carroll said the petition was an “affront” to Meares, who had nary relation successful overseeing the information of Olympic athletes to the AOC enactment committee oregon successful the qualification events for antithetic sports.
He besides said it “stirred up nationalist hatred” against Gunn and the AOC had written to change.org demanding the petition’s contiguous removal.
“The AOC is peculiarly offended by the affront to our Chef de Mission, Anna Meares. The Australian Team Chef de Mission played nary relation successful the qualification events nor the information of athletes to the AOC Selection Committee, of which the Chef and I are members,” Carroll said successful a connection connected Thursday.
“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous idiosyncratic tin beryllium published successful this way. It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory. We are demanding that it beryllium removed from the tract immediately.
“The petition has stirred up nationalist hatred without immoderate factual basis. It’s appalling. No jock who has represented their state astatine the Olympic Games should beryllium treated successful this mode and we are supporting Dr Gunn and Anna Meares astatine this time.
“It’s important that the assemblage understands the facts and that radical bash not signifier opinions based connected malicious untruths and misinformation.”
The AOC said Australia’s breaking qualifiers had been judged by a sheet selected by the World DanceSport Federation featuring “nine autarkic planetary judges”.
It dispelled an online assertion that Gunn’s partner, Samuel Free, had been progressive successful the judging process.
“Dr Rachael Gunn successful winning the Oceania Breaking Championship successful October 2023 was legitimately nominated by DanceSport Australia to the AOC for enactment successful the Australian Olympic Team,” the connection read.
“Dr Rachael Gunn holds nary presumption with AUSBreaking oregon DanceSport Australia successful immoderate capacity. She is simply an jock who competed successful the qualifying lawsuit which she won. There were nary appeals from immoderate athlete.
“Mr Samuel Free is simply a manager who holds nary presumption with AUSBreaking oregon DanceSport Australia successful immoderate capableness and was not a justice astatine the qualifying event.”
The AOC besides refuted mendacious claims that payer wealth had been sought to money Australia’s Olympic breaking competitors’ travel.
“No Federal taxpayer’s funds were sought, nor provided for the Olympic Teams’ Paris campaign,” it said.
“The $25m outgo for the squad was met wholly by the Australian Olympic Committee.”
Gunn did not instrumentality to Australia connected the Qantas charter formation with her Olympic teammates connected Wednesday.
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