Coming off the debut of breakdancing at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, the World DanceSport Federation (WSDF) just released their list of top female B-girls in the game, and you’ll never guess who’s number one. That’s right, none other than viral Australian breaker Rachael “Raygun” Gunn.
The controversial announcement had lots of folks scratching their heads, especially since Gunn lost three battles during the round-robin stage of Olympic competition with moves that inspired way too many memes across social media to count, like this one:
And this one:
Gunn, who teaches at Macquarie University in Sydney, where she researches the cultural politics of breakdancing, defended her controversial Paris performance.
“I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced, but I can’t control how people react. Unfortunately, we just need some more resources in Australia for us to have a chance to be world champions,” she said in an interview with Australia’s Channel 10 TV after the games. “In the last year, I have trained my hardest. ... I have really put my body through it, put my mind through it. But if that’s not good enough for someone, what can I say?”
For its part, the WSDF released a statement explaining that breakers’ performances in the Olympic qualifying competitions or the games themselves were not included in the ranking.
“The WDSF Breaking World Ranking List is governed by the WDSF Breaking Rules and Regulations Manual (BRRM) and is updated based on each athlete’s top four performances within the past 12 months. Points earned in these competitions remain valid for 52 weeks from the date of the event,” the statement read.
The statement went on point out that Raygun’s ranking was determined by her first place finish at the Oceania Continental Championships in Sydney in October 2023 which earned her 1,000 points. Kind of makes you wonder who she was competing against, right?
But when it comes to the culture, most people believe the WSDF rankings don’t hold much weight, as Zack Slusser, Vice President of Breaking for Gold USA, told the Associated Press.
“[They] actually don’t have any real merit with the breakers or the breaking community,” he said.