PARIS (Diya TV) —
Team USA swimmer Alex Walsh was disqualified in the 200-meter individual medley at the Olympics, nullifying her third-place finish. Walsh had initially secured a bronze medal, but the joy was short-lived as officials later announced her disqualification.
The disqualification came after a review revealed a technical violation during her swim. According to the officials, Walsh’s mistake was an illegal turn, which is strictly monitored in competitive swimming. Despite her impressive performance, this error led to the decision to disqualify her from the race.
“I was just really heartbroken for her,” said Walsh’s teammate Kate Douglass after the race. “I feel like she deserved to be on the podium with me…When it comes to that, I feel like we have a fair share of mistakes and stuff and I don’t know, it’s just upsetting.”
Gretchen Walsh, Alex’s sister and fellow Olympian, was in the middle of a warmup for her upcoming race when she saw the news of her sibling’s disqualification. “I was just stopped in the middle of the pool, like so upset,” Gretchen said. “I don’t really know how to describe it, but yeah, I knew that I was gonna have to move on from that quickly in the moment and give her a big hug, tell her that I’m here for her and then go out and do this in her honor.” Gretchen went on to win gold in the 4×100 mixed relay.
