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The World DanceSport Federation, breaking’s governing body, finally explained what seemed to be inexplicable. How was Dr. Rachael Gunn, AK B-girl Raygun, ranked so high heading into the Paris Olympic Games?
How, after seeing her perform at the Summer Olympics, was Raygun Australia’s number one ranked female breakdancer? How?
There were some who claimed Gunn only made the Olympics because she “set up her own governing body for breakdancing” and manipulated it for her own benefit.
Whether that was true or not is open to debate. What isn’t open to debate is the fact that Raygun made the Olympics after the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) created its own governing body to oversee breaking prior to the 2024 Games.
Therefore, only breakdancers who were members of the WDSF were eligible to qualify for the Olympics. Raygun apparently somehow won one of the few qualifying competitions the WDSF held in Australia.
Now, the World DanceSport Federation is speaking out, offering more clarification (if you can call it that) about how Dr. Rachel Gunn managed to kangaroo hop her way to Paris.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the WDSF wrote that it “acknowledges the recent inquiries regarding the current status of the WDSF Breaking World B-Girl Ranking List.”
The WDSF states that their Breaking World Ranking List is based on each dancer’s “top four performances within the past 12 months.”
“Points earned in these competitions remain valid for 52 weeks from the date of the event,” they added.
The WDSF goes on to explain, “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. Consequently, by the end of the Olympic Games, many of the competition results included in the ranking had expired, leading to the current situation where many athletes have only one competition result contributing to their ranking.”
This meant “some athletes [were] ranked according to a single event.”
They go on to say B-girl Raygun placed first at the Oceania Continental Championships in October 2023. Another B-girl, Riko, also won the Gold World Series in Hong Kong in December 2023.
Raygun ended up representing Australia at the Olympics because the “result from the Continental Championship takes precedence according to Article 5.1.1 of the BRRM [WDSF Breaking Rules and Regulations Manual].”
“We trust that this explanation resolves any concerns regarding the methodology behind the current standings,” the WDSF said in conclusion.
Clear as mud.