Team GB star Luke Greenbank won his heat but was subsequently disqualified (Picture: Getty)
Ian Thorpe has criticised Luke Greenbank for taking an unnecessary risk which led to the Team GB swimmer’s disqualification from the men’s 200m backstroke event at the Paris Olympics.
Greenbank appeared to secure a spot in the semi-finals with ease, blowing away the rest of the field to win his heat with the fastest time from Wednesday morning’s qualifying session.
However, Greenbank – a two-time medallist in Tokyo in 2021 – dropped to his knees with his head in his hands after it became clear that he had broken the rules in the final section of his swim.
Competitors are forbidden from travelling more than 15 metres under the water following a turn, a rule Greenbank broke by a matter of inches with 50 metres remaining in the pool at La Defense Arena.
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Subsequent replays showed that the 26-year-old had failed to break the surface of the water with his head before the red markers on the lane ropes.
‘I don’t know what to say, I’m absolutely gutted,’ Greenbank, who won bronze in the event three years ago, said shortly after the race.
‘It’s really annoying, I feel like I’m on good form.’
Greenbank’s joy soon turned to despair at La Defense Arena (Picture: BBC)
Greenbank’s head failed to break the surface of the water before the red markers (Picture: BBC)
Providing commentary on Australia’s Nine broadcast, Olympic great Thorpe had little sympathy for Greenbank, claiming there was ‘no benefit’ in taking such a massive risk.
‘It wasn’t just a little bit, it was a significant amount past [the mark],’ the five-time gold medallist said.
‘That is well past that mark. There is no need for that in a 200m.
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‘Perhaps in a 50m race you might take the chance, but in a 200m there is no benefit.’
There will be no Team GB representation in the final of the men’s 200m backstroke after Oliver Morgan finished down in sixth in Wednesday’s semi-finals.
Hungary’s Hubert Kos posted the fastest time (1.55.96) from the two semi-finals, while Switzerland’s Roman Mityukov secured a first-placed finish in the second race.
Evgeny Rylov is the reigning champion in the event after setting a new Olympic record (1:53.27) at the Tokyo Games.
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