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U.S. swimmer Alex Walsh, who appeared to be on the way in which to successful the ladies’s 200-m particular person medley however completed third, was disqualified.
Walsh was main till the final 25 m of the ultimate freestyle lap however was out-touched on the wall by Canada’s Summer McIntosh and fellow teammate Kate Douglass.
But Walsh, who gained a silver within the occasion in Tokyo, was disqualified for an inappropriate flip from backstroke to breaststroke, in response to USA Swimming. The transition is a tough one which’s been the subject of a lot debate amongst swim officers. According to the worldwide swimming federation FINA, the identical guidelines for every stroke apply in a medley race, and for backstroke “the swimmer should contact the wall whereas on the again.” In the person medley, that has to occur earlier than the swimmer strikes into the subsequent stroke, which is the breaststroke that’s swum face down. On Saturday, when Walsh touched the wall to complete her backstroke leg, her abdomen confronted the underside of the pool, ensuing within the disqualification.
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There are a number of ways in which swimmers select to make the backstroke-to-breastroke transition—touching the wall whereas nonetheless on the again after which pulling their knees in to their chest to push off the wall whereas on their abdomen; going deeper and doing a backflip like a gymnast and flipping round to the abdomen; and the ultimate, riskier choice often called the crossover flip. The crossover might be finished in two methods—within the first, the swimmer touches the wall on their facet, after the final stroke on the again however ensuring to not rotate previous 90 levels. With this selection, the swimmer touches the wall, leaving the arm prolonged and rotating to get on their abdomen all whereas sustaining contact with the wall, for the breaststroke. In the second model, the swimmer turns to the facet stretching out a hand to push the wall behind them whereas remaining totally on their again and never rotating previous 90 levels, which might lead to a disqualification. Then the swimmer pulls the brow to the knees to show and face the route from which they got here to begin the breaststroke.
Walsh’s youthful sister Gretchen can also be competing within the Paris Games. She gained gold within the 4×100-m combined medley relay and silver within the 100-m butterfly and the 4×100-m freestyle relay.
