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Three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines recently reacted to Owen Lloyd's disqualification from the 1650y freestyle event at the ACC Championships.
Lloyd faced a major setback at the 2024 ACC Championships held from February 20 to 24 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Lloyd competed in the 1650y freestyle final events on Saturday, February 24, 2024. The North Carolina State Senior spearheaded the lineup, touching the finish line first. He was followed by his teammate Ross Dant in second position.
Shortly after the North Carolina State swimmers finished their races, Lloyd, who was overflowing with excitement and happiness, climbed the rope separating the lane and dropped into Dant's lane, leading to his disqualification.
Lloyd's disqualification was termed as "Lane interference." Although both the swimmers completed their races before the 22-year-old celebrated the victory, the rest of the athletes were yet to touch the finish line. The race officials' decision sparked a debate among the swimming community, compelling the three-time Olympic gold medalist to share his viewpoint.
Gaines, who secured gold medals in the 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, and 4x100m medley at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, backed the NC State swimmer and said (via Buttstroke Swimming's X handle):
"He did not hinder anybody, that's the spirit of the rule."
Gaines criticized the rule further and wrote:
"Ridiculous rule and I needed to comment on it."
Before his disqualification, Owen Lloyd completed the race in 14:37.04 He was followed by Dant and Ilia Sibirtsev, who registered 14:39.34 and 14:47.31, respectively.
Owen Lloyd records his personal best to secure the All-American title after the major blow
A month after witnessing a substantial drawback, Owen Lloyd displayed his remarkable swimming skills at the 2024 NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships held from March 27 to 30 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He again competed in the 1650-yard freestyle event and finished in fifth position after registering a time of 14:39.18, clocking his personal best. He completed the race behind Zalan Sarkany - 14:30.57, Gio Linscheer - 14:36.01, Andrew Taylor - 14:37.80, and Krzysztof Chmielewski - 14:39.10.
Lloyd also competed in the 400-yard individual medley, recording 3:43.21 in the preliminary round. As a result of his notable performance, the North Carolina State swimmer was awarded the All-American Title.
Owen Lloyd also achieved the prestigious accolade in 2023 after he recorded 14:46.16 at the NCAA Championships and 14:50.21 at the ACC Championships.
