Australian breaker Raygun, whose real name is Rachael Gunn, has been ranked the No. 1 female breakdancer in the world by the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) as of September 9. The 37-year-old’s top spot comes after her viral performance at the Paris Summer Olympics. Behind her in the rankings are Japanese breaker Riko at No. 2 and Ukrainian B-girl Stefani at No. 3.
The WDSF explained the tie in points between Gunn and Riko, clarifying that Gunn’s first-place finish at the 2023 Oceania Continental Championships took precedence over Riko’s win at the Breaking for Gold World Series in Hong Kong.
“Due the unique circumstances regarding ranking events this year, it is not unusual in the period immediately following the Olympic Games for some athletes to be ranked according to a single event,” the WDSF continued, adding that the rankings will change when the breakers compete in the next Breaking for Gold World Series in October.
The ranking sparked surprise and controversy on social media, especially since Gunn’s Olympics performance received mixed reactions and zero points. Some speculated that Gunn and her husband manipulated her Olympic selection as alleged founders of the Australian Breaking Association. This claim was debunked by the Sydney Morning Herald, which confirmed that Lowe Napalan founded the organization.
In response to the backlash, Gunn addressed her critics on Instagram, saying, “I didn’t realize that [the Olympics] would open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating. I worked my butt off, preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all.”
