Olympian reveals what happened when Raygun returned to the athletes’ village after viral breakdancer’s disastrous Paris performance

Ariarne Titmus has revealed how Raygun was received when she returned to the Olympic village after her disappointing breakdancing performance.

Rachael Gunn became the biggest news of the Olympics when she failed to score a single point from the judges for her routines in the first women’s competition, in which she imitated a kangaroo and performed a dance move called the sprinkler.

She has since been mercilessly ridiculed online and has chosen not to return to Australia with her teammates given the critical reaction to her performance at home.

But a number of high-profile figures, including Anthony Albanese and Jess Fox, have come out in support of the 36-year-old university lecturer, with many crediting her for putting her best foot forward during the competition.

The AOC has also responded angrily to an online petition calling for an investigation into the selection process that led to Raygun representing Australia on the world stage.

And swimming champion Titmus expressed her sympathy for Raygun on The Project on Thursday night, telling how Australians managed to bypass her in the village amid all the online attacks.

“I’m one of hers, we’re all teammates,” she said. “You really have to put yourself in her shoes.

‘No matter the circumstances, bullying is not okay, you just don’t want that for anyone. I really hope she’s okay, it’s crazy how much this has inflamed everyone. I honestly can’t believe it.’

Rachael Gunn scored zero points with her breakdancing routine that has since gone viral

Reflecting on the atmosphere within the team after Raygun returned to the athlete center, she said: ‘It was surreal. We made a circle for her, we had dance battles, we all went around her.

“We’re the Australian team and she’s an Australian Olympian, so we’ve bypassed her. I think she’s probably struggling at the moment, so I hope she’s OK.”

Nearly 50,000 people have signed the change.org petition calling for a public apology since it was launched.

There are calls for “immediate accountability and transparency over the recent actions” of Gunn and Paris mission chief Anna Meares over the manner in which Gunn was selected to represent Australia in Paris.

The call to action accuses the 36-year-old of “manipulating the selection process to her own advantage” so she would be chosen over more talented Australian female breakers, a charge that is described as “raising serious questions about the fairness and integrity of the process”.

Titmus says the Australian Olympians welcomed her with open arms when she returned to the village in Paris

No evidence has been provided to support the allegations in the petition.

AOC director Matt Carroll said the petition, which demands that Gunn and Meares publicly apologize, is “shocking” and “not based on fact.”

Carroll said the petition was an “insult” to Meares, who played no role in overseeing the nomination of Olympic athletes to the AOC selection committee or the qualifying events for various sports.

He also said it had incited “public hatred” against Gunn and that AOC had written a letter to change.org requesting that the petition be removed immediately.