B-girl Raygun is ranked #1 in breaking—but critics say the system is broken. Here’s why | Trending

Despite Olympic performances that sparked internet mockery, Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, also known as “b-girl Raygun,” is at the top of her sport’s newest world rankings. On Tuesday, the sport’s governing organisation released a statement attempting to “provide clarity” as to why Raygun leads the rankings. Raygun, a 37-year-old university lecturer from Sydney, scored no points at the Paris Olympics in routines that included a “kangaroo” dance. Australia’s Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, competes at the breaking competition at the Paris Olympics. (AP) The World DanceSport Federation said the ranking methodology is based on each athlete’s top four performances within the past 12 months — but excludes Olympic events including the Paris Games and Olympic qualifier series events in Shanghai and Budapest. Additionally, no ranking events were held between December 2023 and the Olympics — to allow athletes to focus on qualification. (Also Read: Australian breakdancer ‘Raygun’, who left fans mortified with bizarre moves at Paris Olympics, fires back at online hate) The organisation emphasized that due to the uncommon nature of this year’s tournament calendar, several athletes were ranked only on a single event. Raygun’s first-place finish at the Oceania continental championships in October 2023 earned her 1000 points. Many members of the breaking community have criticised the rankings for not providing a clear image of breaking as a sport and a culture. “Speaking of the WDSF, they actually don’t have any real merit with the breakers or the breaking community,” said Zack Slusser, vice president of Breaking for Gold USA. “And they also haven’t been able to organize events their measure that would contribute to creating an accurate world ranking.” According to Slusser, breakers only performed in events organized the WDSF — the Lausanne-based governing body for competitive dance sports — to get enough points to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Breakers “had no incentive, no desire to even continue participating with the WDSF after that,” Slusser said. “Because they’re not cultural events. They are not enjoyable.” (Also Read: Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn ‘devastated’ with all the ‘hate’ messages: ‘Stop harassing my family’) In contrast, Slusser pointed to international breaking competitions like Red Bull BC One championships that “are like festivals that are geared to the breakers. It’s about the vibe, it’s about the community.” The WDSF said rankings will change once more events occur, starting with the Breaking for Gold World Series in Shanghai in October.