CNN
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Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, the Olympian commonly known as B-Girl Raygun who went viral after her performance at the Paris Games, is now considered the No. 1 breaker in the world.

The 37-year-old took first place in the latest women’s rankings of the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), the umbrella organization for breaking and other dance sports.

Raygun failed to score any points in her Olympic bouts against breakers from the USA, France and Lithuania in August, losing all three rounds 18-0.

However, she won the gold medal at the 2023 WDSF Oceania Championships, securing 1,000 ranking points and catapulting herself to No. 1 – tied with world number two Riko of Japan – ahead of the breakers who defeated her in the French capital. Her victory at the Oceania Championships also secured her a place in Paris.

Curiously, none of the Olympic medalists in B-girl sport are in the top 10. Japan’s Ami, Lithuania’s Nicka and China’s 671 won gold, silver and bronze respectively.

In a statement on Tuesday, the WDSF clarified that its rankings are updated based on each athlete’s four best performances over the past 12 months. Points earned in these competitions remain valid for 52 weeks from the date of the event.

The governing body also confirmed that the Olympic qualifying competitions in Shanghai and Budapest, as well as the Paris Games themselves, will not count towards the rankings due to the limited athlete quotas. In addition, the WDSF stated that competitions that traditionally award ranking points will not be held so that competitors can fully concentrate on preparing for the Games.

“In line with the Olympic qualification system, no ranking competitions were intentionally held between 31 December 2023 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This strategic planning allowed athletes to focus exclusively on the final part of their Olympic qualification without the added pressure of additional ranking competitions.

“By the end of the Olympic Games, many of the competition results that counted towards the rankings had expired, which means that for many athletes today only one competition result counts towards the rankings.”

It added that the current rankings should be viewed “in context” with more recent results and that the list will change when the next 12-month points expire and the Breaking for Gold World Series takes place in Shanghai in October.

Raygun rose to fame after her unique free skate at the Olympic Games attracted worldwide attention.
Dressed in Australia’s green and gold tracksuit, she showed off some unconventional moves, including a kangaroo jump, a backward roll and various contortions with her body while lying on the ground or crawling.

Her performance drew criticism online, with one user on X (formerly known as Twitter) calling her numbers “incredibly silly” and another asking how she made it that far.

Celebrities also took notice of the event: singer Adele took the time during her concert in Munich to ask whether the whole thing was a “joke,” and actress Rachel Dratch imitated some of the moves on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

Olympic breakdancer Raygun says the online reaction was “devastating”

Raygun – who works as a university lecturer by day – recently apologized to the breaking community, saying she was “very sorry for the mixed reactions the community has had to experience” following her performance. Some in the sport have defended her.

“It’s about originality and bringing something new to the table and representing your country or region,” said Martin Gilian, the chief breaking judge at the Olympics, also known as MGbility.

“She created some original moves that might be funny or entertaining to other people, but to us she essentially embodied breaking and hip-hop. She was trying to be original and bring something new. From our perspective, there was nothing really shocking about it.”

Raygun described the online reaction as “devastating,” but remained optimistic about the overall experience.

“I knew I was going to get beat and I knew people wouldn’t understand my style and what I was going to do,” she said in an interview with Australian news program The Project. “The odds were against me, that’s for sure.”

“I’d rather focus on the positive, the positive reactions and the joy I brought to people,” she said. “It’s about going out there, just having fun and fighting as hard as you can, even if you have to, well, accept defeat.”

Breaking made its Olympic debut at the 2024 Games in Paris, but will not be on display in Los Angeles in 2028.