Australian breakdancer Rachel Gunn, otherwise known as Raygun, went from being known as a meme at the 2024 Paris Olympics to now being the top ranked women's breaker in the world.
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Australia’s Rachael 'Raygun' Gunn is now ranked the No. 1 breakdancer in the world 🔥
(via World DanceSport Federation, @DanceSportTotal) pic.twitter.com/1sEPHlybPn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 9, 2024
That is to say, this was decided by the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), who acts as the governing body of international breaking.
The World DanceSport Federation has listed Raygun as the No. 1 breakdancer in the world.
This is not satire. pic.twitter.com/cLxLpiUgLo
— Clown Down Under 🤡 (@clowndownunder) September 10, 2024
To point out, what makes this puzzling is that Raygun finished last at the Olympics and scored 0 points. Even more, the three Olympians that medaled: Japan's AMI (gold), Lithuania's Nicka (silver), and China's 671 (bronze) all did not earn a top-10 spot on the list.
WDSF released a statement regarding the peculiar ranking system, while clarifying the Olympic performances did not affect the rankings.
"In alignment with the Olympic Qualification System, ranking events were intentionally not held between 31 December 2023 and the Olympic Games Paris 2024. This strategic scheduling allowed athletes to focus solely on the last part of their Olympic qualification without the added pressure of additional ranking events."
As the sport of breaking made its debut at the Olympics, 36-year-old Raygun became one of the most popular athletes, albeit it was mostly from people making fun of her, and along with this has come backlash for her performance.
Australian breakdancer Raygun breaks her silence after being mocked online over her bizarre Olympics performance.
The dancer called the criticism “Devastating” and asked people to stop “harrasing” her.
“I didn’t realize that would also open the door to so much hate which has… pic.twitter.com/D2iZD5cgF6
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) August 15, 2024
A reporter asked Raygun, "Do you genuinely feel you are the best female breaker in Australia?"
She responded, "I think my record speaks to that."
Considering this, Raygun previously won the WDSF Oceania Championship, which allowed her to qualify for the Olympics. And supposedly from winning this tournament Raygun earned 1,000 points, which is enough to solidify her in the No. 1 spot.
Rachael 'Raygun' Gunn has been ranked the world's number one breaker thanks to the points she claimed for winning the WDSF Oceania Championship which booked her spot in the Paris Olympics. pic.twitter.com/oKxro61rJD
— The Project (@theprojecttv) September 9, 2024
However, it should be noted that there is conspiracy regarding this, as reports later have come out that Raygun and her husband, Samuel Free, were the founders of the Australian Breaking Association. So allegedly this corresponded not only with her winning the qualifying tourney, but also evidently now influencing her current top world ranking.
Provided that, Raygun basically has been accused of "electing herself" to represent Australia for this event at the Olympics, and some fans have enjoyed this, while others feel it is unfair to those who actually have real breakdancing skills, with all due respect.
Before we dig too deep, here’s Molly Chapman, the breakdancer who “lost” to Raygun in the qualifying event to represent Australia at the Olympics.
You be the judge… pic.twitter.com/kkAFNAH7CK
— Kicks (@kicks) August 15, 2024
Raygun will go down as the most successful troll in Olympics history. How she pulled off this nonsense to be an Olympian representing her country in something she has zero talent or skill in needs a documentary. I wanna hear her story. #Raygun pic.twitter.com/oPTmuUL0s0
— JaMarrio Velaryon (@Hthemagnificent) August 12, 2024
