Team GB swimmer disqualified after finishing first in heat for unbelievable reason

31 July 2024 , 14:43

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Swimmers are only allowed to spent 15m underwater after making the turn

Team GB have missed out on a possible gold with swimmer Luke Greenbank winning his heat but getting disqualified due to the amount of time he spent under water

Team GB swimmer Luke Greenbank was disqualified after it was deemed he swam too long under water during his heat.

Greenbank finished first in one of the heats on Wednesday morning with a time of 1:56.08, but his hopes of Olympic glory were immediately dashed. He was judged to have travelled more than 15m under water - the limit allowed in the competition - after the final turn of his race at the 150m mark. 

The Brit had posted the quickest time in qualifying and was ahead of German’s Lukas Martens and Hubert Kos in his heat whilst he also beat Team GB team-mate Oliver Morgan into sixth. He said after the race: "I don’t know what to say, absolutely gutted. It’s really annoying, I feel like I’m on good form."

Morgan moved up to fifth and qualified for this evening’s semi-finals as a result of the disqualification. Greenbank had been looking to emulate his success at the Tokyo Olympics when he won a silver and bronze in 2021.

Under global rules, a swimmer is allowed to remain underwater for up to 15 metres before they must resurface and continue their strokes. Team GB have already landed themselves a gold in the pool in Paris after emerging victorious in the men’s 4x200m freestyle. James Guy, Tom Dean, Matt Richards, and Duncan Scott combined for Britain to see off the Americans and Australia.

Adam Peaty is among those to deliver silver in the men’s breaststroke event. The former Olympic champion was tipped as a possible winner but missed out by milliseconds as he was pipped by Italian Nicolo Martinenghi. 

Peaty said after his second place: "I got blindsided. There were two on one side who I beat but I did not see the man on the other side. It could have gone either way.

“It’s not sad at all. These are happy tears. If you’re willing to put yourself on the line every single time, I think there’s no such thing as a loss. I’m so happy the right man won." 

Richards was another male to win silver - to go alongside his relay gold - but was just two-hundredths of a second off winning gold on what was his Olympic debut. He confessed afterwards that he thought he’d just got there ahead of his rivals - but it wasn’t to be.

"I thought I had got it," he told the BBC. "It felt as if I had touched it first. The time says differently. It is not a sport that is up for debate, it is black and white. I can’t be too disappointed with that."

James Smith