Olympic Viral Breakdancer Raygun's No. 1 World Ranking Explained by Governing Body

The World DanceSport Federation issued a statement Tuesday to explain Rachael "Raygun" Gunn's status as the No. 1-ranked women's breakdancer in the world despite getting shut out at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris last month.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), the breakdancing governing body noted that the Olympics and prior Olympic qualifying events did not factor into the current world rankings.

Since no events that count toward the rankings took place from December 2023 through the Olympics, the rankings of many competitors are based on only one event.

For Raygun, that event was the Oceania continental championships in October 2023 where she finished in first place.

Gunn, who is a 37-year-old university lecturer born in New South Wales, Australia, represented Australia at the 2024 Summer Games in the Olympic debut of breaking.

Raygun went viral for her unique moves, including a kangaroo hop, but it didn't translate to success in the Olympic competition.

In fact, Raygun did not score a single point in losses to Lithuania's Nicka, France's Syssy or the United States' Logistx, leading to her elimination in the group stage.

Despite that, Raygun was one of the most talked about athletes at the Olympics since videos of her performances were shared across social media and led to the creation of many popular memes.

Although scheduling quirks due to the Olympics have impacted the world breakdancing rankings significantly, they figure to receive a shake-up in the near future.

More events that count toward the rankings are scheduled with the Olympics now in the past, starting with the Breaking for Gold World Series, which will be held in Shanghai, China, next month.