Photo exposes Aussie robbery, ‘game-changing’ swimming farce

A furore has erupted at the World Aquatics Championships with one photo showing an Aussie Olympic champ was absolutely robbed.

Aussie Kaylee McKeown and how Alex Walsh hit the wall on Monday night.

Aussie Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown has been breathing fire at the World Aquatic Championships — and she has good reason to do so.

The three-time Olympic gold medallist was sensationally disqualified in Sunday’s semi-finals for an illegal move in the women’s 200m individual medley event on a wild day in the Fukuoka swimming centre in Japan.

The silver medallist at last year’s world championships was one of three swimmers in the race to be disqualified as a result of their transitions from backstroke to breaststroke while approaching the wall.

Britain’s Katie Shanahan and Italy’s Sara Franceschi were also eliminated upon video review at the end of the race. A protest from the Australian camp was thrown out.

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McKeown would almost certainly have been left spitting chips after watching the final of the event on Monday night when at least one swimmer was seen committing a similar act — without any penalty being applied.

Replays of the race, won by Kate Douglass — who claimed the United States’ first gold of the championships — showed silver medallist Alex Walsh made a dubious turn from the backstroke to the breastsroke in the final. She could be seen racing on her stomach with her face looking down to the bottom of the pool still metres from the wall.

The inconsistent ruling has led to serious concern from across the swimming world, despite legends of the sport, including Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps saying the judges got it right with the decision to disqualify McKeown.

It is the inconsistent rulings that have left Aussie great Giaan Rooney worried.

She said on Channel 9 the recent introduction of a video review system has been a “game-changer”.

Aussie Kaylee McKeown and how Alex Walsh hit the wall on Monday night.

Kaylee McKeown was disqualified for this turn.

“It’s a relatively new ruling, but the fact that video judging has come in, you have to be more aware of it,” she said.

Other commentators were much more scathing of the process that robbed McKeown of a chance to chase a medal in the event.

Swimming journalist Braden Keith posted on Twitter: “If NBA officiating were as bad as swimming officiating, there would be a federal investigation and the fans would start burning arenas to the ground”.

It will not soften the blow for McKeown in any way.

Making the disqualification even harder to swallow was the fact the 22-year-old was considered a genuine chance for gold in the 200m IM after Canadian Summer McIntosh pulled out of the event.

McKeown qualified second-fastest in the 100m backstroke heats on Monday morning but she was still upset about what had happened the previous night.

Here's the turn that caused the DQ for Kaylee McKeown... pic.twitter.com/Cd6HnqV832

— Kyle Sockwell (@kylesockwell) July 23, 2023

Controversy in Fukuoka: Kaylee McKeown (left) was disqualified for a back-to-breast turn infraction in the semi-final of the Women's 200m Individual Medley.

Alex Walsh (right) did not receive a DQ for her turn in the Final en route to a silver medal.

The specific rules applied… pic.twitter.com/4ES8WSgSif

— Buttstroke Swimming (@ButtstrokeSwim) July 24, 2023

“It’s sport, and that’s what happens in sport,” she said.

“I didn’t see my turn last night but when I saw it this morning I thought it was completely unfair … sh*t happens.”

“Unfortunately, some people get dealt the bad hand and I just got that bad hand.

“It’s just a matter of trying to flip it into a positive and give them a big FU.”

McKeown said she had “a bit of a cry” after watching the footage, and admitted that the incident was still playing on her mind.

She appears to be running hot and will get her next chance to turn that anger into medals on Tuesday night when she returns for the 100m backstroke final.

Silver medallist USA's Alex Walsh poses after the medals ceremony for the women's 200m medley. Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP.

She will swim from Lane 5 in one of the most exciting showdowns of the meet after American Regan Smith qualified with the fastest time in the semi-finals.

Smith, the reigning champion, was quickest in a time of 58.47sec, ahead of McKeown on 58.90 and American Katharine Berkoff on 59.04.

McKeown said she “can’t really waste time” as she looks to make an impact in her other events in Fukuoka.

“There’s Americans and Canadians coming left, right and centre,” she said.

“I’ve got to put my best foot forward and see where that gets me over the next two days.”

McKeown is the Olympic champion in both the 100m and 200m backstroke.

Meanwhile, Australia’s head coach Rohan Raylor also found it hard to hide his frustrations about the disqualification.

“It’s done, they say no, they upheld it. I disagree 100 per cent. but I don’t think it’s definitive. That’s what we protested,” he said.

“I’ve watched the video … It’s about the angle. I said I don’t think it’s definitive and that’s what we protested but they said they’re standing by it.

“At the end of the day, that’s the rules. They have that in place, they don’t want you to roll past the 90 degree. I disagreed but the rules are the rules.

“They have cameras on every lane. That’s why it’s taking so much time in the heats, because they’re reviewing everything, looking at things.

“It’s absolutely going to be the world we live in now. That’s where it’s going to be … She’ll learn from it. She’s got to move on to the next thing.”

— with AFP

Originally published as Photo exposes Aussie robbery, ‘game-changing’ swimming farce