Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn – who was mocked for her performance at the Olympics – has been ranked number one in the world.
She has been elevated to the top spot despite her unique and controversial routine for Team Australia – that included a “kangaroo” dance – going viral on the internet and drawing criticism.
The 37-year-old, who is known competitively as B-Girl Raygun, failed to impress judges and earn a single point in all three round-robin battles at the Paris Games – where breaking made its debut as an Olympic sport.
The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), the sport’s governing body, issued a statement to “provide clarity” on why Raygun is the number one female breakdancer in the world.
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It said the ranking methodology is based on each athlete’s top four performances within the past 12 months – but excludes Olympic events including the Paris Games and Olympic qualifier series events in Shanghai and Budapest.
No ranking events were held between December 2023 and the Olympics – to allow athletes to focus on qualification.
The federation clarified the unusual circumstances of this year’s competition schedule resulted in many athletes being ranked based on a single event.
In Raygun’s case, her first-place finish at the Oceania continental championships in October 2023 earned her 1,000 points.
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The WDSF said although Japan’s Riko Tsuhako – who follows Raygun in the world rankings – earned the same points by winning the Breaking for Gold World Series in Hong Kong in December 2023, the Australian breaker’s result “takes precedence” under the rules.
This “explains her higher ranking compared to B-Girl Riko”, it said.
It added rankings will change once more events occur, starting with the Breaking for Gold World Series in Shanghai in October.
Zack Slusser, vice president of Breaking for Gold USA, accused the WDSF of failing “to organise events by their measure that would contribute to creating an accurate world ranking”.
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Judge defends Raygun’s breaking routine
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Raygun, a university lecturer from Sydney, apologised for the backlash following her performance in Paris.
“It was really sad how much hate that it did evoke,” she said.
However, she insisted she was the best female breaker in Australia.
“I think my record speaks to that,” she said. “I was the top ranked Australian B girl in 2020 and 2022, and 2023… so the record is there.”
She recently said in an interview with Australian current affairs show The Project that she would be staying away from competition for a while.
