Breakdancing’s governing body has been forced to “provide clarity” after controversial Australian Rachael Gunn leapt to the top of its world rankings, despite her widely ridiculed Olympic performances.

Gunn – better known as Raygun – went global after failing to score any points at the Paris Olympics in routines that included a kangaroo dance and sparked a wave of online memes.

Despite the results, the 37-year-old Sydney university lecturer was atop the list when the World DanceSport Federation released its latest rankings on Tuesday.

None of the three women who won medals competing against Gunn in Paris made the official rankings.

The WDSF said its ranking methodology was based on athletes’ top four performances in the past 12 months.

But Olympic events, including the Paris Games and Olympic qualifier series events in Shanghai and Budapest were specifically excluded. Additionally, no ranking events were held between December 2023 and the Olympics – to allow athletes to focus on qualification.

“We would like to take this opportunity to provide clarity on the ranking methodology and address the concerns raised,” WDSF said.

“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.

“Due to the unique circumstances regarding ranking events this year, it is not unusual in the period immediately following the Olympic Games for some athletes to be ranked according to a single event.”

In Gunn’s case, her first-place finish at the Oceania continental championships in October 2023 earned her 1000 points.

Many within the breaking community have criticised the rankings for not giving a clear picture of breaking as a sport and as a culture.

“Speaking of the WDSF, they actually don’t have any real merit with the breakers or the breaking community,” Breaking for Gold USA vice-president Zack Slusser said.

“They also haven’t been able to organise events by their measure that would contribute to creating an accurate world ranking.”

Slusser said breakers performed in events organised by the WDSF – the Lausanne-based governing body for competitive dance sports – only to get enough points to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Dancers “had no incentive, no desire to even continue participating with the WDSF after that”, he said.

“Because they’re not cultural events. They are not enjoyable.”

In contrast, Slusser pointed to international breaking competitions like Red Bull BC One championships, which were “festivals that are geared to the breakers. It’s about the vibe, it’s about the community”.

Gunn last week apologised for the controversy her performance in Paris had brought to breaking.

She thanked supporters, but added she did not realise her entry “would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating”.

“While I went out there and had fun, I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all, truly,” she told The Project‘s Waleed Aly.

Her interview with Network Ten came amid speculation the Sydney academic is in talks with the network and its competitors, Seven and Nine, for a future TV role.

The WDSF said rankings would change after more events were held, starting with the Breaking for Gold World Series in Shanghai in October.

-with AAP