Controversial Disqualification of Owen Lloyd at University Swimming Competition leads to Outrage

Fuss in the American swimming world. During a university competition, winner Owen Lloyd was disqualified for a very bizarre reason.

Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 11:35 AM

The 22-year-old swimmer from North Carolina State took a shot at winning the 1,500-meter freestyle this week at the ACC Swimming and Diving Championships in Greensboro. Lloyd also won convincingly in a time of 14:37.04. His teammate Ross Rant came second.

Lloyd celebrated his victory with Rant while the match was still in progress. Even though he did not hinder a competitor, the jury promptly decided to remove the American from the results for… “hindering another swimmer”. That’s what the rules say.

“Shaken, angry and confused about what happened tonight, but not defeated,” a disillusioned Lloyd wrote on Instagram. “They can take away the points and the official victory, but they can never take away my drive, my passion and my love for my team. There are lessons to be learned and I am sure I will find the positive side of this experience, but I know I am not done yet and all of this has only added fuel to the fire.”

Teammate Rant, who was suddenly declared the winner, also thought it was bizarre. “I think this is the dumbest rule in swimming. Owen beat me fair and square. He should be on that stage. He was excited because this was a big victory for him. He deserved it too and this was his emotion. That’s what we get in swimming when we do it right. We train all year for such a moment and disqualifying him is the stupidest thing ever.”

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A critical post from Lloyd on his social media. — © rr