The mind-boggling reason why Raygun is now the world’s No.1-ranked female breakdancer is revealed

The World DanceSport Federation has explained why Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn has been awarded the world number one ranking after her performances at the Paris Olympics drew widespread criticism.

Gunn, 36, became an overnight sensation with her comedic performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which became the most talked about moment of the event.

Her routine includes kangaroo jumps, slithering across the ground like a snake and an odd choice of clothing, with Raygun skipping urban streetwear in favour of an Australian tracksuit.

Raygun failed to score a single competition point in three fights against Nicka, Sya ‘Syssy’ Dembele and Logan ‘Logistx’ Edra.

However, that didn’t stop the World DanceSport Federation from propelling Raygun to the top spot in the world in its latest rankings.

In the September rankings, she was named the world’s best ‘b-girl’, while Olympic medalists Ami ‘Ami’ Yuasa, Dominika ‘Nicka’ Banevic and Liu ‘671’ Qingyi were removed from the list.

The WDSF released a statement explaining how the rankings work. According to the statement, ranking points are based on an athlete’s four best performances over the past 12 months.

They also noted that the recent Olympic Games did not award ranking points “due to limited athlete quotas.”

The Australian dancer received a lot of criticism for her performance at the Olympic Games in Paris

“We would like to take this opportunity to provide clarity on the ranking methodology and address the concerns raised,” the WDSF statement began.

Furthermore, in accordance with the Olympic qualification system, no ranking events were intentionally held between December 31, 2023 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

‘This strategic planning allowed athletes to fully focus on the final part of their Olympic qualification, without the added pressure of additional ranking events.

‘At the end of the Olympic Games, many of the competition results that were included in the rankings were dropped. This has led to the current situation where many athletes have only one competition result that contributes to their ranking.

‘Given the unique circumstances surrounding ranking events this year, it is not unusual for some athletes to be ranked based on a single event in the period immediately following the Olympic Games.’

The statement said their rankings should not be more important than the results of the recent Olympic Games.

Raygun has since returned to Australia and has been linked to a number of reality TV shows

Raygun’s Olympic performance had no impact on her global ranking

The Australian breakdancer will drop from the current rankings when her points expire at the end of October.

“The WDSF remains steadfast in its commitment to transparency and fairness in the competitive ranking process,” the governing body said.

“We trust that this explanation removes any concerns about the methodology behind the current state of affairs.”

Since her star rose with her rival show, Raygun has been linked with reality TV shows including Channel 10’s I’m a Celebrity and has worked with billionaire Richard Branson and 80s pop icon Boy George.

But in her only Australian interview since the Olympics, she told supporters it could be some time before she returns to competitive form.

“I don’t think I’ll be competing for a while. I don’t really want to be in the spotlight, breaking, competing,” she said on The Project.

“It was fun. It was a bit of a process to try to get back into dancing. It was actually quite hard. You know, it was my medicine, and then it became my source of stress.

“So I’m really happy that it can be my medicine again. I can finally feel a little bit free again. I’m looking forward to breaking, but no, I don’t think I’ll be competing for a while.”