Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, a.k.a. Raygun, may have been mocked for her bizarre dance moves while competing, and losing, at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but the B-girl is having the last laugh after she was recognized as the No. 1 breakdancer in the world.
The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), the international governing body of dancesport and Para dancesport, issued the latest women's rankings, where she took the top spot.
Gunn, who turned 37 on September 2, was Australia’s first Olympic qualifier for breaking after she won the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney.
However, she did not score a single point or advance beyond the competition’s round-robin stage.
She lost 18-0 in all three rounds facing off against B-girls from the United States, France, and Lithuania.
While Japan’s Ami, Lithuania’s Nicka, and China’s 671 won the gold, silver, and bronze respectively in August, none of the medalists made the WDSF top 10, and for a specific reason.
The WDSF clarified in a statement that the Breaking World Ranking List was governed by the federation's Breaking Rules and Regulations Manual (BRRM) and is updated based on each athlete’s top four performances within the past 12 months.
The points earned from those competitions remain valid for 52 weeks, starting with the date of the event.
Excluded from the Breaking Ranking List "due to limited athlete quotas" were Olympic Qualifier Series events in Shanghai (May 16-19, 2024), Budapest (June 20-23, 2024), and the Paris Summer Games (August 9-10, 2024).
Gunn previously won gold at the 2023 WDSF Oceania Championships along with B-Girl Riko of Japan, who placed first at the Breaking for Gold World Series in Hong Kong. Both earned 1,000 ranking points in their respective events.
Despite both securing the same scores, the WDSF explained that Gunn ranked higher than Riko because Gunn's result from the Continental Championship took precedence according to Article 5.1.1 of the BRRM.
By the time Gunn battled in Paris in August, social media users wondered how she got this far with her wild interpretation of dance, some of which you can see here.
While critics bemoaned her impressive ranking, her position was securely popped and locked in place.
Users acknowledged Gunn's popularity despite previous ridicule.
The governing body noted:
“In alignment with the Olympic Qualification System, ranking events were intentionally not held between 31 December 2023 and the Olympic Games Paris 2024."
"This strategic scheduling allowed athletes to focus solely on the last part of their Olympic qualification without the added pressure of additional ranking events."
“By the end of the Olympic Games, many of the competition results included in the ranking had expired, leading to the current situation where many athletes have only one competition result contributing to their ranking.”
Gunn is a lecturer at Sydney's Macquarie University with a Ph.D. in dance, gender politics, and the dynamics between theoretical and practical methodologies.
She didn't start breaking until she was in her 20s.
After her performance at the Olympics went viral for the wrong reason, and she said the online reaction was “devastating,” she held her head up high.
Speaking with Australian current affairs show The Project for an interview, Gunn said:
“I knew that I was going to get beaten, and I knew that people were not going to understand my style and what I was going to do."
“The odds were against me, that’s for sure.”
According to the Independent, Gunn said she tried to be “new, different and creative” since she couldn't compete athletically with her younger rivals.
She explained that all her moves were "original," and said of her performance that “Creativity is really important to me. I go out there and I show my artistry."
She continued:
“Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about."
“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 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.”
Breaking was first introduced to the competition lineup at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
However, the sport will not be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.
The WDSF is already looking ahead to ensure breaking's inclusion at the 2032 Brisbane Summer Olympics.
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