Rachael Gunn, an Australian breakdancer, describes the reaction to her Olympic performance as "devastating".
As Gunn, also known as B-girl Raygun, made her debut at the Paris Games last week, she instantly became the talk of social media.
More than 54,000 individuals have signed a petition seeking an apology from the 36-year-old Gunn and Australian Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares.Gunn said she was worried that her looks would "open the door to so much hate" in an Instagram video.
Matt Carroll, the chief executive of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), stated on Thursday that the petition was "vexatious, misleading, and bullying," and that it had "stirred up public hatred without any factual basis."A two-time Olympic champion track cyclist Meares and Gunn are accused in the petition of "attempting to gaslight the public and undermining the efforts of genuine athletes" and should apologize.
"I really appreciated the positivity and I'm glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives—that's what I hoped," Gunn added, thanking her followers.
"Well, I did take it very seriously and I had a great time out there. I put in a ton of effort and gave it everything I had to prepare for the Olympics. Really.
"And I’m honoured to have been a part of the Australian Olympic team; to be a part of breaking’s Olympic debut."
Sydney university instructor Gunn was defeated by a total score of 54-0 in all three of her round-robin matches.
She retaliated, though, adding, "Here's a fun truth for you: breaking really doesn't have any purpose.
"If you want to see how the judges scored me compared to my opponents, you can actually see the comparison percentages across the five criteria on Olympics.com, external - all the results are there."
Carroll said that Gunn was "selected through a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process," therefore she also questioned her detractors "in regard to the allegations and misinformation floating around."
"Please, please, please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community, and the larger street dance community," Gunn continued.
"I beg you to kindly respect everyone's privacy since they have all gone through a lot as a result of this.