Craziest Call In Sports This Week: Swimmer Stripped Of Win After Technical Disqualification - 'So Sad And Stupid'

In what one competitor dubbed, “the dumbest rule in swimming,” a college sportsman was stripped of his win and conference title last weekend for celebrating with his teammate.

Owen Lloyd, an All-American senior on the North Carolina State University swimming team, finished first in the 1,650-yard freestyle final at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Swimming and Diving Championships, having touched the finishing board in just 14:37.04 to claim the top podium position.

Just seconds behind him, and in the adjacent lane, Lloyd’s teammate Ross Dant finished in second place.

In jubilation, Lloyd climbed onto the barrier and, as he reached to Dant to celebrate with him, Lloyd fell into his teammate’s lane, which was spotted by race officials.

Why Should This Matter?

Lloyd’s face turned from joy to horror as he realized he was being disqualified for interfering with another swimmer while the race was still going on — even though Dant had already finished.

The meet’s chief referee enforced Rule 2, Section 5 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association rulebook, that states: "A swimmer who changes lanes during a heat shall be disqualified.”

Speaking to a reporter immediately after the decision, Dant, who was promoted to first place, said: “I think that’s the dumbest rule in swimming. Lloyd beat me fair and square and he should be at the top of that podium.”

Clearly furious at the decision to disqualify his teammate, Dant continued: “He was excited. That was a huge win for him. He earned that, and that was his emotion. We train all year for a moment like that, and to have him disqualified is the dumbest thing ever.”

And in a gesture of solidarity, Dant concluded: “He worked so hard every day. He is going to be on that number 1 trophy. I am not going to stand up there. He will be getting that medal.”

Reaction On Social Media

Amy Van Dyken-Rouen, a former Olympic champion swimmer and the commentator on the coverage of the ACC event, spoke later on a video on X, with her thoughts about the disqualification.

“Owen Lloyd celebrated. Did he go into Ross Dant’s lane? Yes he did. Did he interfere with anybody? No, he did not. My problem with this whole thing is, if you’re going to call that, you have call everything.”

She noted that at the same meet, she’d seen backstroke swimmers entering the pool by diving in, where the rules state they should enter feet first.

“If you call Owen Lloyd for interfering — which he did not — you’ve got to call them all,” she concluded.

Will Kunkel, Fox’s sports director said on X: “Outrageous. Can we not have some discretion here? This is so sad and stupid.”

Keith Backer, in response to Kunkel’s post, replied: “While it is seemingly easy to be sympathetic in this instance (as was I initially), Every competitive swimmer is coached about this rule. It is there to protect the other athletes who may still be swimming.”

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Image created using artificial intelligence with Midjourney.