Luke Greenbank won silver and bronze in the 4x100m medley and 200m backstroke at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The double Olympic medallist has been in breach of a rule that swimmers cannot be more than 15m underwater after a start or turn.
The rule, which came into effect in 1988, states that swimmers cannot be more than 15m underwater at the start of each swim. That is, the swimmer’s head must be above the water at the specified time.
The rule applies to backstroke, butterfly and freestyle, but not breaststroke. The full rule reads: “Some part of the swimmer must be above the water during the race. The swimmer is permitted to be completely submerged during the turn, at the finish line and for a distance of no more than 15 metres after the start and each turn. At the end of that time, the swimmer’s head must be above the water.”
In the men’s 200m backstroke, Luke Greenbank finished first in the race with a time of 1 minute 56 seconds, one second faster than Hungarian Hubert Kos. However, his joy of victory quickly turned to disappointment when the organisers announced that Greenbank had violated a rule rarely mentioned in swimming, according to The Telegraph.
Greenbank, who had the best time to qualify for the semi-finals of the 200m backstroke, was completely submerged after crossing the 15m mark in his third leg. The rule violation resulted in Greenbank being disqualified.
The 26-year-old looked shocked when he looked up at the screen immediately after the race to see his result. He put his head in his hands and appeared to be in disbelief at his disqualification. “It was really frustrating, I felt like I was in good form,” he said afterwards, adding that he was “absolutely devastated”.
Greenbank, one of Britain’s favourite Olympic medal contenders, had no reason to protest the decision after video replays clearly showed he had been disqualified.
Greenbank completely submerged, while other athletes had their heads above water. Photo: BBC.
