Raygun now ranked No. 1 breakdancer in the world by sport's governing body

Rachael Gunn, the Australian breakdancer who broke the internet with her performance at the 2024 Paris Games, has been ranked the best breaker in the world by the sport’s governing body.

Gunn — more widely known by her nickname, Raygun — failed to score a single point during her Olympics showing, landing her in second to last place, ahead only of an athlete who was disqualified from the games.

Still, she set the internet abuzz, sparking an avalanche of memes and mockery with her wild performance, which included moves like the sprinkler and kangaroo-inspired hopping.

Raygun, however, had a significantly more successful turn at the 2023 WDSF Oceania Championships, where she claimed gold and raked in 1,000 points. The performance was enough to secure her the No. 1 spot on World DanceSport Federation‘s ranking list, the sport’s governing body announced this week.

Internet users were still left flummoxed by her placement, particularly given her showing in Paris, and took to social media to voice their confusion.

“Raygun ranked world number one after Paris Olympics controversy — how funny is this? World no 1???!!!” one person wrote on X.

Another added: “This crazy is just failing upwards.”

In response, the Federation issued a statement on Tuesday clarifying its ranking system. It said it considers each athlete’s best four performances over the last 12 months and that the points earned during each competition are valid for 52 weeks from the performance date.

The Olympics qualifying events in Shanghai and Budapest, as well as the Paris Games themselves are not factored into the rankings, the WSDF clarified. The federation also noted that it did not hold ranking events between Dec. 31, 2023 and the Paris Games this summer, to allow breakers “to focus solely on the last part of their Olympic qualification.”

The statement continued: “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.”