2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES
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In the final of the women’s 200 IM at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, American swimmer Alex Walsh got disqualified for an illegal back-to-breast turn. The World Aquatics rulebook states that you must be touching the wall on your back following your backstroke leg, but in footage shown by Peacock, Walsh is shown touching the wall with her stomach facing the floor of the pool.
— Санкционный фрукт (@Buddy_Judge) August 3, 2024
Walsh had initially won bronze in this race with a time of 2:07.06, which is 0.07 seconds faster than her best time of 2:07.13 from 2022. The 200 IM was her only race of these Olympic Games. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she was the silver medalist in this event.
Because Walsh got DQed, initial fourth-place finisher Kaylee McKeown of Australia ended up being awarded the bronze.
This race is not the first 200 IM race where a major contender has been disqualified. At the 2023 World Championships, McKeown had been disqualified for the same reason as Walsh in the semi-finals. Swimming Australia had called McKeown’s DQ “unjust,” claiming that Walsh completed an illegal turn in the finals of that meet — where she won silver.
Canada’s Summer McIntosh remains the gold medalist from the 200 IM race, while the United States’ Kate Douglass got silver. Douglass got bronze in 2021, and was alongside Walsh on the podium.
I just watched the NBC feed of the race where they showed Alex and Kate a lot in the aftermath, and both of them looked tense before the results even posted. Right after they finished Alex was talking very seriously to Kate and they both just stared at the scoreboard until it the results were posted. She must have known right away she messed up.
Is about time we let swimmers flip on their feet from back to breast. Who’s with me?
Let’s get this rule changed and call it the Alex Walsh rule. Like the Lochte rule. Maybe some good can come out of it.
Put her on the relay tomorrow, prelims
Prelims are over. Only finals tomorrow.
FYI Medley relay prelims was THIS MORNING
I’m sure this result was devastating for her, but I’m excited to see her return to UVA for a 5th year. She will have many successful years ahead of her in and out of the pool. I had the pleasure of training with Alex for many years, and she’s a class act through and through. For such an elite swimmer, she was always so humble, and she extended kindness towards those who were far below her ability level. She will continue to be an inspiration for so many young swimmers in Nashville and around the country.
She finished 2nd in the race. That’s silver. With her DQ others moved up… Great swim marred by an early rotation on the turn – terrible bummer
Uuhhh, no, she touched third.
I’ve been through most of the comments and seen mostly opposing “sad for Alex” and “she’s done it for years and not been caught” comments.
But if the latter if true, I think I haven’t seen the most appropriate critical comment.
Why didn’t her coach (US and Virginia head coach Todd DeSorbo) teach her to do a legal back to breast turn?
Why do you assume he didn’t? At the end of the day it’s her swimming the race. She’s the one who has to execute.
Most US coaches have forgotten how to actually coach
Or maybe they never knew in the first place
No, they absolutely do
And despite all the “forgetting to coach” somehow DeSorbo and his UVa swimmers have won the NCAAs and many are on the US Olympic team. What are your coaching credentials “postgrad swimmer”?
Those commentators are sore losers. The rule’s b*llsh*t, and everyone with any sense knows it. What Alex did provides no advantage. Therefore, the rule has no reason to exist. For God’s sake, for once all get rid of this abomination. Standard backstroke flip turns should apply.
As for blaming DeSorbo, I’m pretty sure he’s had this discussion with all his swimmers in the past. The problem is the rule is not applied equitably because most swimming events don’t have video review and the on-deck officials either are not vigilant or have great variability in visual acuity. In other words, the flip happens so fast that they can’t be sure if there’s “violation” or not. They’re forced to rely on judgment… Read more »
This specific rule 100% prevents an advantage. Staying on your back and doing a legal crossover turn is slower than flipping while on your front.
I agree 100%. Just use the backstroke flip turn rules.
She didn’t seem to celebrate very much at the end, I wonder if she knew she did it and was just holding her breath until results were official.
I think that was because she just got passed by Summer and Kate at the end (AGAIN on free) and missed out on a gold medal
She didn’t celebrate because she wanted gold and got run down in the last 25
I doubt it. She was bummed she lost her half body lead in the final 20m
Yeah, she knew. She turned to the wall and was waiting for the announcement.
I think she very well could have been “not celebrating much” for other reasons (e.g. disappointed she just got ran down by Summer and Kate), but I do think that she had to know… unless she really doesn’t know what a legal crossover turn feels like — which would be stunning, but at the same time not that surprising I guess, because I really don’t understand how she could allow herself to get that far past vertical there unless she didn’t realize she was doing it.