Raygun is the highest rated breaker in the world

Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, aka “b-girl Raygun,” is ranked No. 1 in the latest world rankings for her sport, despite an Olympic performance that was ridiculed online.

On Tuesday, the sports federation issued a statement to “provide clarity” about why Raygun is at the top of the rankings.

Raygun, a 37-year-old university lecturer from Sydney, failed to score a single point at the Paris Olympics with routines that included a ‘kangaroo’ dance.

According to the World DanceSport Federation, the ranking methodology is based on each athlete’s four best performances over the past 12 months, but excludes Olympic events including the Paris Olympics and the Shanghai and Budapest Olympic Qualifying Series.

Additionally, no ranking events were held between December 2023 and the Olympic Games, allowing athletes to focus on qualifying.

The federation clarified that the unusual circumstances of this year’s competition schedule meant that many athletes were ranked based on a single event. In Raygun’s case, her first place at the Oceania Continental Championships in October 2023 earned her 1,000 points.

Many people within the breakdance world criticize the rankings because they do not give a clear picture of breakdancing as a sport and as a culture.

“Speaking of the WDSF, they really have no real merit with the breakers or the breaking community,” said Zack Slusser, vice president of Breaking for Gold USA. “And they have also failed to produce events to their standards that would contribute to creating an accurate world ranking.”

According to Slusser, breakers only competed in events organized by the WDSF, the Lausanne-based umbrella organization for competitive dance sports, to score enough points to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Breakers “had no reason, no desire to continue participating in the WDSF after that,” Slusser said. “Because they’re not cultural events. They’re not fun.”