Ridicule doesn't kill: why Australian breakout star 'Raygun', mocked for her Olympic performance, was named world number one

La breakeuse australienne Raygun a été la risée du concours des JO avec sa danse du Kangourou. MAXPPP – John Walton

La breakeuse australienne "Raygun" reste au coeur de la polémique. 

Australian breakdancer “Raygun”, mocked after her ridiculous performance at the Paris Olympics, has been crowned world number one, the sport's governing body confirmed on Wednesday.

Her performance, a kangaroo impersonation, was parodied on talk shows, and her Australian tracksuit was mocked on social media as breakdance fans around the world wondered how she had been selected.

Rachael Gunn, 37, has now got her revenge after being eliminated in the qualifying rounds without a single point: she has been named the world's best breakdancer by the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF).

The ranking is based on the athlete's four best performances over the past 12 months, the Federation said. With few events scheduled between December 2023 and the Olympics to establish this ranking, “many athletes have only one result from a competition that counts toward the ranking”, according to a statement from the WDSF.

The rule in question

“Raygun” had won the Oceania Championship during this period, earning him 1,000 points in the rankings. Japanese breaker Riko won the Gold World Series in Hong Kong in December, also earning her 1,000 points, but the WDSF awarded the top spot to “Raygun”, believing her competition carried more weight.

I knew I was going to get beaten and that people wouldn't understand my style

That top spot on the podium is likely to be short-lived, however, as the Federation has confirmed “that the rankings will change after the 12-month points period expires and when the next WDSF Breaking for Gold World Series is held.” will be held in Shanghai in October 2024″.

Last week, University of Sydney lecturer Rachael Gunn apologised on Australian television for provoking backlash against the breakdancing community. She said she didn't expect to feature prominently at the Olympics, but that her record showed she was Australia's best breakdancer. “As soon as I qualified, I wondered what I had done because I knew I was going to get beaten and people weren't going to understand my style and what I was going to do,”, she said.