The ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) Swimming and Diving Championships bubbled with drama after North Carolina State swimmer Owen Lloyd swam his way to first place only to have the title stripped away and given to his teammate due to a controversial technicality.
The young swimmer finished the 1650-yard freestyle in 14:37.04 to clinch the first place on Saturday, but his victory was short-lived.
After touching the wall to claim his well-deserved first place, Owen quickly celebrated his win by hopping on top of the divider that separated his lane from that of his teammate, Ross Dent.
Perched on top of the divider, Owen let out a triumphant scream while Ross pointed towards him, joining in the joy of his teammate’s big moment. Ross had finished the race by then, just seconds after Owen, to bag the second place.
Owen's first-place winner title was taken away from him and given to his teammate, Ross
Owen’s quick celebration led to him falling into Ross’s lane while the race was still going on. This prompted race officials to disqualify Owen, as they saw his celebration as a violation of a rule that states swimmers are not allowed to interfere with another swimmer’s lane before the race officially ends.
"Any competitor who interferes with another swimmer during a race shall be disqualified from that race, subject to the discretion of the referee…" reads Section 5 of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) rulebook.
"A swimmer who changes lanes during a heat shall be disqualified," the rules state. "A team representative or spectator who enters the water in the area in which a race is being conducted before all contestants have completed the race may disqualify all of their team’s entrants in that race."
Owen quickly celebrated his win by hopping on top of the divider that separated his lane from that of his teammate, Ross Dent
Image credits: Owen Lloyd
Ross was awarded the title of the first-place winner after Owen was stripped of the same. However, Ross threw his support behind Owen and said it was the “dumbest rule in swimming.”
"Owen beat me fair and square. He should be on that podium. He was excited. That was a huge win for him. He earned that, and that's his emotion," Ross said. "That's what we get in the sport of swimming when we do well. We train all year for a moment like that, and to have him disqualified is the dumbest thing ever. He works so hard every day."
"He is gonna be on the No. 1 trophy. I am not going to stand up there," Ross added.
Watch Owen's moment of celebration below
Owen later shared a post on Instagram about the incident and said, “Upset, angry, and confused about what happened tonight, but not defeated. They can take away the points and the official win but they can never take away my drive, my passion, and my love for my team.”
“There are lessons to be learned and I'm sure I will find the silver linings in this experience but I know that I am not finished and that all of this just added more fuel to the fire,” he added.