Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn, who went viral during the Paris Games, was ranked number one in the world by the sport’s governing body.
The World DanceSport Federation released its world ranking list, saying in a statement Tuesday that Gunn secured the top spot after she came in first place at the 2023 Oceania Continental Championships.
The ranking puzzled many people, some of whom took to social media to point out that the 37-year-old B-girl, who performs as Raygun, did not receive a single point from the Olympic judges.
“Raygun ranked world number one after Paris Olympics controversy — how funny is this? World no 1???!!!,” one person wrote on X.
The federation clarified that the ranking is “updated based on each athlete’s top four performances within the past 12 months” and that the points earned in the competitions are valid for 52 weeks from the performance date.
The Paris Games as well as the Olympic qualifier events in Shanghai, China, and Budapest, Hungary, did not contribute to the ranking.
“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,” the federation said.
“Consequently, 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,” the statement read.
The ranking will change after the points expire and after the World DanceSport Federation’s Breaking for Gold World Series in October.
“The WDSF remains steadfast in its commitment to transparency and fairness in the competitive ranking process,” the federation said. “We trust that this explanation resolves any concerns regarding the methodology behind the current standings.”
Gunn defended her Olympic performance in a recent interview with the Australian current affairs show “The Project,” saying that she wanted to “bring out some Australian moves and themes.”
“I love our Olympic mascot BK, the boxing kangaroo, and I wanted to show that,” she explained. “That’s the wonderful thing about breaking, you can take inspiration from any source. I had to go with what I was good at, I had to go with my strengths.”
In an Instagram post last month, Gunn said the hate she’s received over her performance was “devastating” and that she worked hard to prepare for the Olympics.
The breakdancer told “The Project” that she had to take a social media break following the backlash and she received mental health support.
“It’s been a pretty wild ride. I’m not gonna lie,” she said. “I definitely have my ups and downs, my good and bad days but it has been honestly so amazing to see the positive response to my performance. I never thought that I would be able to connect with so many people in such a positive way so that has just been so amazing. But, yeah, it definitely has been tough at times.”
