(Sports news) What does Disqualification mean for a Swimmer Swim?
Major disqualifications (DQs) at international swimming meets have invariably been the talking point. DQs have created a furor in the minds of seasoned swimmers. False starts, touching the bottom of the pool, or crossover turns from back to breaststroke are red-lined rules in Competitive Swimming.
Violation of any of these rules shall cease a swimmer’s dream run to secure a podium finish; causing disqualification and setback to deal with. So, whether it is the best swim of the season or clocking a personal best time, DQ overshadows scoring points, awards, and qualification time.
In an event of this magnitude as the World Aquatic Championships, officials thoroughly monitor every lane and have a constant eye on a swimmer’s conduct. A swimmer is flagged if he/she is found to not observe rules set by World Aquatics. Coaches and Officials are often embroiled in a clash of opinions when a decision on DQ is given.
Here we look at the top 5 major disqualifications at the World Aquatic Championships meets held until recently –
# 1 The World Aquatics Championships 2023, held at Fukuoka, Japan was engulfed with major disqualifications. A highly action-packed drama unfolded during the semi-finals of one such event, the Women’s 200 Individual Medley (IM).
Kaylee McKeown, the champion backstroker from Down Under was DQed in the first semifinal of the 200 IM. Mckeown, also the World Championships’ 2022 silver medalist in the 200 IM, had her eyes set on reversing the colour of her medal this year.
Things took a different turn when she was DQed while transitioning from back to breast. Judges saw it as a violation of technique, for not maintaining the verticality and turning past 90 degrees while shifting from back to breaststroke. This led to the DQ of Mckewon.
Moreover, two other semi-finalists Katie Shannahan from Great Britain and Sara Franceshchi representing Italy were DQed in the same heat. Where Shanahan was disqualified for a false start, Franceschi faced the axe likewise Mckeown.
# 2 Penny Oleksiak, a name to reckon with on the Canadian swim circuit, faced disqualification at the World Championships, 2022 held in Budapest. Oleksiak had a false start in the 200 free semifinals. Officials noticed a flinch and movement before the starting command was given.
Oleksiak’s disqualification came as one of the major upsets of the swim season of 2022.
# 3 Frenchman Maxime Grousset failed to get past the semis in the Men’s 100 IM at the World Aquatic Championships 2023. He was flagged due to the backstroke infringement. Grousset too missed out on touching the wall, during the crossover from back to the breast.
# 4 Australian champ Brendon Smith too couldn’t get away from the clutches of disqualification. Smith swam a foul turn in the 400 IM, while switching from back to breast. Swimmers swimming a medley race have been usually caught off guard while changing from back to breaststroke. Officials claimed that Smith was not on his back while taking the turn. This DQ got Smith on the list of swimmers who had/have not observed the rule.
Unfortunately, the 2022 Short Course Championships were marred with DQs. Team Netherlands and Team Germany were disqualified in the finale of the 4x50m mixed relay, as their swimmers had an early start during the takeovers.
#5 Prior to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea played host to the FINA World Championships in 2019. This meet too was flagged by one of the major upsets in the Women’s category. Lilly King, America’s ace breaststroker, faced the brunt of disqualification in the heats of 200 meter breaststroke event
The rules books categorically mention that the wall has to be simultaneously touched with both hands. While King touched the wall with one hand, leading to her DQ.
Though an odd violation of the rule, it ended her run of squaring the medal count in the breaststroke events. King had already bagged a gold in the 100-metre breaststroke.
Olympian Coach Peter Carswell shares his views
It remains a matter of concern for medley swimmers, as maximum DQs are attached to Medley events. Be it an IM race or a Medley relay, swimmers often face DQ while the crossover turns from back to breast is performed. Swim officials crack down heavily on swimmers for not adhering to the rules.
Let’s understand what ace Australian Swimming Coach Peter Carswell has to say about the major DQs at this year’s World championships “ At this World Championships, it was indeed for the very first time that judges could review turns. Judges critically viewed the videos of the turns before the ratifications of the results. Additionally, there were cameras placed above each lane and not just underwater that helped in providing granularity of the transitioning from back to breast.”
Peter has been a Competitive Swimming Coach for more than 25 years. Having coached Olympic medalists and grassroots-level swimmers, Peter demonstrates a spectrum of effective Swimming techniques that has helped Swimmers achieve podium finishes at International Level. He strongly focuses on assisting Swimmers mentally. Under his mentorship and tutelage, Peter has been instrumental in crafting the careers of swimming champions such as
- Kaylee McKeown (current world record holder in the long course 100-metre backstroke and both the long course and short course 200-metre backstroke)
- Patrick Murphy (FINA WC and Olympic medalist)
- Cameron Prosser (Commonwealth Games, 2006)
While DQs remain a grave concern for Swimmers and Coaches to withstand, do you think that swim officials should relook at the rules? Let us know your take on this.
By -Shefali N.
About the author: Shefali is a Communication and Content Specialist, an ardent Sports enthusiast and a Happy Swim Parent. She was associated with the Public Relations Domain, working for various Corporates; she has independently worked on varied Content Writing projects, weaving articles primarily for webpages and marketing collaterals. Of late, Shefali has been pursuing her passion- teaching, wherein she tutors and facilitates Speech and Dramatics to prep, middle school and high school students.
Additional inputs by Tannishtha Prashanth Nair, National Level Swimmer, and Khelo India athlete
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