Anna Meares issued an impassioned defence of under-fire breaking competitor Rachael Gunn, as Australia’s chef de mission hailed the country’s most successful Olympic team at an emotional press conference on the penultimate day of Paris 2024.
Gunn, who competes under the name Raygun, came in for intense online criticism after she failed to receive a point from the judges in the women’s event on Friday and was knocked out at the round-robin stage.
The breaking athlete stood up to the trolls and vowed to continue to “do my thing”, before Meares hit out at the “keyboard warriors” at a press conference on Saturday.
Related: Australia’s first Olympic breaker ‘Raygun’ vows to keep being herself amid online jibes
“I love Rachael,” said Meares. “I think that what has occurred on social media, with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them airtime, has been really disappointing.
“She is the best [female breaking competitor] that we have for Australia. Now you look at the history of what we have had, what women athletes have faced in terms of criticism, belittlement, judgment and simple comments like ‘they shouldn’t be there’.
“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 represented here, and 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.”
Meares, herself a two-time Olympic gold medal winning track cyclist, was in tears as she commended the Australian team’s outstanding performance at the Games, which midway through Saturday stood at 18 gold, 16 silver and 14 bronze medals . The showing in Paris betters Australia’s previous best Olympic performances, when the team won 17 gold medals at Athens 2004 and Tokyo 2020.
“I said to our teams as they were welcomed into the village, the pages of the chapter that is Paris 2024 were blank,” Meares said. “They were there for them to leave their mark, from a personal and a performance perspective. Those pages are almost complete. The mark that this team will leave on those pages will show that they are the most successful Australian Olympic team ever.”
Related: Golden Games: how Australia achieved its greatest ever Olympic medal haul | Jack Snape
She added: “Congratulations. Job well done. Bonne journée, au revoir, merci beaucoup.”
Meares represented Australia at four consecutive Olympics, from Athens 2004 to Rio 2016, winning medals at all four Games. Paris is her first Olympics leading the Australian delegation.
“The way they have supported each other, in success and in defeat,” she said. “The way they have shown courage, and been the great roles that they are. They have truly inspired the next generation.
“We have always talked about the Cathy Freeman effect,” Meares continued, referencing the runner who won gold on home soil at the Sydney 2000 Games in one of the most iconic moments in Australian sporting history. “Now we have the Jess Fox effect , the Emma McKeon effect , the Ariarne Titmus effect , the Cameron McEvoy effect , the Saya Sakakibara effect , the Keegan Palmer effect , the Arisa Trew effect , the Stingers effect , the Opals effect , the Harry Garside effect . The sky really is the limit.”
The bulk of the Australian team will depart for home on Monday on a chartered flight, landing first in Perth before heading to Sydney, where the team will be greeted by the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, alongside the athletes’ friends and family.
Earlier on Saturday, Meares announced that swimmer Kaylee McKeown and sailor Matthew Wearn had been chosen to carry the Australian flag at the closing ceremony on Sunday evening. They will be joined by about 300 Australian Olympians at the Stade de France.
“I have struggled over [that decision] this whole Games,” Meares said. “For me I couldn’t go past Kaylee. To be the first woman, the first Australian Olympian, to win four individual gold medals. To go back to back in her 100m, the 200m [backstroke].”
Wearn, meanwhile, defended his Tokyo gold medal with victory in the men’s dinghy (Laser) sailing class – the first sailor to do so. “I think that speaks for itself,” said Meares, who added that she hoped Paris would not be her only stint leading the Australian Olympic team.
“I am so proud,” she said. “Proud for them. Proud of them. And proud to be here with them.”.
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