Anna Meares issues furious response after Aussie breakdancer Raygun caught in Olympics storm

Australia's Chef de Mission Anna Meares has launched a passionate defence of breakdancer Rachael Gunn (Raygun), after she became the subject of international backlash at the Paris Olympics. Gunn failed to score a single point as breaking made its debut as an Olympic sport in Paris on Friday.

Gunn has become a target of some brutal criticism - both internationally and at home - for her performance and appearance - both online and in mainstream media. Questions have been asked about how she made it as far as the Olympics and whether breaking should be in the Games at all.

But Meares declared on Saturday that Gunn should be applauded for her courage, rather than pilloried for her performance. "I love Rachael," Meares told reporters in Paris. "What has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them air time, has been really disappointing.

"Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team. She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit, with great enthusiasm. And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has."

Anna Meares calls out trolls targeting Raygun

The 36-year-old Gunn is a lecturer at Macquarie University, and lost all three of her round-robin battles by a combined score of 54-0. "In 2008, she was locked in a room crying, being involved in a male- dominated sport as the only woman," Meares said.

"And it took great courage for her to continue on and fight for her opportunity to participate in a sport that she loved. That got her to winning the Olympic qualifying event to be here in Paris. She is the best breakdancer female that we have for Australia."

Meares said it was a case of misogynistic abuse directed at female athletes fighting for recognition in the sporting world. "Now you look at the history of what we have had as women athletes, have faced in terms of criticism, belittlement, judgement, and simple comments like 'they shouldn't be there'," she said

"One-hundred years ago, leading into Paris 1924, Australia sent a team of 37 athletes - none were women. One-hundred years later, we have 256 women representing here."

Have we seen breaking at the Olympics for the first and last time?

On Saturday night, 16-year-old Australian Jeff 'J-Attack' Dunne was also unable to make it out of the round-robin stage in the men's event. Dunne suffered three-straight losses, but he did collect a point in both his second and third battles.

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The athletes are judged on creativity, personality, technique, variety, musicality and vocabulary - which is the variation and quantity of moves. Gunn said she knew she couldn't compete athletically with her opponents' tricks and spins and strength moves, so tried to be more creative.

"What I wanted to do was come out here and do something new and different and creative - that's my strength, my creativity," she said. "I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get that in a lifetime to do that on an international stage. I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way."

We might have seen breaking for the last time at the Olympics, with organisers of the LA Games in 2028 choosing not to carry it. And considering the backlash it's received, it's unlikely to be part of the program in Brisbane in 2032 either.

with AAP