The No. 1 breaker in the world is … Raygun?

Rachael Gunn, known as Raygun, performs in the b-girls breaking competition during the Paris Summer Olympics, on Aug. 9, 2024. Raygun, whose Olympic routines were widely mocked, is now the No. 1 woman in breaking’s official world ranking, thanks to a dearth of competitions over the past 12 months other than the Olympics and qualifiers that did not count toward the rankings. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)

By Victor Mather

The breaker known as Raygun did terribly at the Olympics, losing all three of her head-to-head battles, each by scores of 18-0. Her unusual routines also made her an unexpected face of the Paris Games and earned her mockery worldwide.

But she did receive one accolade last week. Somehow, improbably, B-girl Raygun — yes, the same Raygun who hopped like a kangaroo in her Olympic routines — is now the No. 1 ranked women’s breaker in the world.

Raygun is the nom de break of Rachael Gunn, a 37-year-old professor from Australia. While other Olympic breakers spun dazzlingly on their heads and backs in this year’s Games, Raygun thrashed about on her side, reached for her toes, and hopped around in a salute to the kangaroos of her native country. Fans around the world, many being exposed to breaking competition for the first time as the sport made its Olympic debut, were baffled, amused, and in some cases outraged.

Raygun’s total score of 0 points put her in last place among the 16 breakers in the main Olympic competition.

So, in the latest world rankings, how could Raygun be in the No. 1 spot? After receiving a barrage of questions, the World DanceSport Federation, which oversees the sport internationally, released a statement Sept. 10 explaining the seeming incongruity.

The ranking is based on events over the past year, the federation explained. During that time, the majority of breakers were focused on qualifying for the Olympics.

But because they have limited fields with a small number of competitors, Olympic qualifying events and the Olympics themselves do not count toward the world rankings. Therefore, Raygun’s low-scoring performance at the Games did not hurt her ranking at all.

Further complicating the rankings, there were hardly any events in the last 52 weeks that weren’t Olympic qualifiers. The federation said that no official breaking events were held in 2024 before the Olympics, to allow “athletes to focus solely on the last part of their Olympic qualification without the added pressure of additional ranking events.”

For Raygun, her only ranked competition in that time period was the Oceania Continental Championships in Sydney in October 2023. She won that event, which was hardly of international importance. Of the top 15 finishers, 13 were from Australia and two from New Zealand. It was not a strong field: Raygun, the winner, had finished 64th at the world championships the month prior.

(In fact, the Oceania event itself caused a stir after Raygun’s performance at the Olympics. The Australian federation released a statement after the Games saying to respond to speculation about her win at that event: “Contrary to circulating misinformation, Dr. Gunn’s husband, Raygun’s coach, was not a member of the selection panel or judging committee. This would have constituted a conflict of interest.”)

Raygun got 1,000 points in the world rankings for that win. Riko Tsuhako of Japan also had 1,000 points, from a victory in a World Series event with a stronger field of competitors from all over the world. But the ranking rules state that continental championships take precedence over World Series events. Thus, Raygun won the tiebreaker and got the No. 1 spot.

Gunn is a lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney, where her research interests include “breaking, street dance, and hip-hop culture,” and the “politics of gender and gender performance.” After the Olympics, she received a deluge of criticism, with her dancing style and even her uniform — green track pants and a polo shirt — being mocked.

“I’m glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives,” she said in a video on social media. “I didn’t realize that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating.”

Raygun seemed to be bouncing back from the hate, posting photos of herself smiling and laughing with Richard Branson and Boy George.

Raygun’s Oceania victory will drop out of the rankings next month when it becomes a year old, and she will tumble way down the charts. But for now, Raygun, green track pants, kangaroo hops and all, is looking down from the No. 1 spot at every other breaker in the world.