Alex Walsh Gets Disqualified From 200 IM Final After Initially Winning Bronze (2024)

steve busch

1 day ago

Kitajima to Lochte to Walsh

3 days ago

The rule needs to change. Felt the same way in 2023 with Kaylee. Make it like the actual backstroke turns. Less confusion.

So much more consistent and equitable to enforce where so few races actually have video review. Video review is so extremely rare when thinking about all the meets that go on in the world. So when a close call rule only gets slow-mo video replay at a major national or international championship, is by definition not equitable. So very few actually make it to that level and are judged by video in slow motion. I wish I was good enough to worry about video review but no one cares about my turns.

Precedent – Kitajima. No one…Read more »

Good point(s). There was also the breaststroke stroke rule that prohibited the crown of your head from going underwater. That was changed for the same reason: almost impossible to consistently/accurately enforce.

Aragon Son of Arathorne

3 days ago

No way, she is not faster than any of those girls. The Olympic final is not for sympathy swims

Keith

4 days ago

love A Walsh to pieces but you are 100% correct.

I’m an old guy, but I had a couple of SEC records (IM and backstroke). Have seen a bunch of rule changes relative to strokes and turns, all of which were made in order to reduce confusion and increase certainty. And not coincidentally, allowed for faster swims. I think this turn rule has a good chance of being changed/clarified also.

Matthew McElroy

4 days ago

Many people are advocating for changing or removing the rules, based on one swimmer’s inability to follow the rule. Or, as many of you pointed out- a coach’s inability to fix a problem, or officals’ hesitancy to DQ the dominant swimmer in the region.
My understanding is that the IM requires you to swim a COMPLETE 50 or 100 of each stroke. If a swimmer was doing the final leg of the 100 backstroke and rolled over, they would be DQed. If the backstroker in a relay rolled over, they would disqualify the relay.
This is something I used to work on with my low-level high school team. You have to fix those things routinely. We saw someone…Read more »

I used to do stroke and turn judging at summer swim team meets, always felt bad about dq’ing the kids. But the coach pointed out, better a dq here so they can fix it, than a dq at a high-level meet later..

Big Cheese

4 days ago

The DQ was overdue, esp. after the no-calls at f*ckuoka 2023.

She probably got away with it plenty of times and now turns this way by force of habit.

The international commentators blamed it on poor coaching, but her teammate Kate’s back-to-breast turns have mostly been safe.

That’s why I say: DQ early, DQ often, and DQ consistently. Otherwise old habits die hard, and you end up DQ’ed in the most important race of your olympic career.

That wasn’t a marginal infraction like barely missing with the second hand on a two-hand touch — that was a flagrantly illegal turn. It is likely poor coaching all the way back to the age group level, where Kate likely perfected her turn. But there is no question that somebody should have been seeing this (on video if nothing else) and helped her fix it more recently.

Awsi Dooger

4 days ago

Tswimmer

4 days ago