Hackett Disqualified

From Swimming World - Big thanks to Steve Munatones! 10K Disqualifications With so much on the line and so many men swimming aggressively, there were two disqualifications in the 10K race at the 2008 World Open Water Championships. Jose Francisco Hervas of Spain was red-carded when he clearly pulled back another swimmer within 10 meters of the finish. According to FINA Open Water Swimming Rule 6.3.2, Hervas committed an infraction that was deemed "unsporting" in the opinion of the Referee. With four referees on the course in escort boats positioned on either side of the swimmers, the infraction was not appealed and accepted by the Spanish team. Fortunately, the infraction did not impact the Olympic selection of the athletes because several Europeans finished ahead of Hervas with the European continental representative selection going to a French swimmer. However, it was the disqualification of Olympic double gold medalist in the 1500 that drew grasps from the crowd when it was announced. Hackett was disqualified because he committed two separate infractions of the FINA open water swimming rules. One hour and 24 minutes into the race when there were still 45 men swimming over one another in the lead pack, Hackett was given a yellow card for impeding the progress of another swimmer during the third loop. Officially, he committed an infraction of FINA Rule 6.3.1 for interfering with another swimmer. After the infraction, a card bearing Hackett's number of 35 was written by the Head Referee on a white paper and shown to the swimmers as an indication of a rule violation. The second infraction was committed with less than 250 meters from the finish in the mad dash to the finish. When the pace picked up with less than 1000 meters to go, Hackett was caught in the middle of the surging pack. With every stroke, unintentional collisions were made due to the close proximity of the swimmers to each other. As Hackett tried to create more space between himself and the swimmer alongside him, he apparently slowed down and tried deliberately to go over the back of Chip Peterson's legs. Apparently, the degree of separation between Hackett and Peterson was not enough. Unfortunately for both swimmers, Hackett swam over Peterson in a manner that three referees believed impeded the progress of Peterson. With the second violation, a red flag was raised and Hackett's goal for competing in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim was over. "It is unfortunate that any swimmer is disqualified, but in my opinion, the Referee gave the correct decision," explained Sid Cassidy, the chairman of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee. "The call was confirmed by both Assistant Referees who were also in very close proximity to the infraction. All the referees are experienced international referees." The disqualification was protested by the Australian team, but the protest was rejected and the official results were issued. Fortunately, the disqualification did not directly affect the athletes who earned the available spots in Beijing. Ky Hurst who tied for fifth was ahead of both Hackett and Peterson at the time of the infraction and it was clear that Hurst was going to finish in the top ten. With Hurst's top ten finish, Hackett had to finish in the top ten to earn a 10K spot in Beijing. Hackett also cannot enter the second qualifying race in Beijing on June 1 for the same reason (i.e., Hurst getting into the top 10 in Seville). It was estimated that Hackett was in 15th position at the time. Peterson, who had similarly been knocked around by other competitors throughout the race, ultimately finished in 12th, only 2.2 seconds from a coveted Olympic selection. Being the gentlemen that he is, Hackett told the Sydney Morning Herald that "I just did not have it in the legs in the end and the decision not to compromise my pool program was a risk you take and in the end I was only two body lengths off the top ten. That is how close it is. But I am going to hold my head up and move on and get back and prepare for the pool program."

From Swimming World - Big thanks to Steve Munatones! 10K Disqualifications With so much on the line and so many men swimming aggressively, there were two disqualifications in the 10K race at the 2008 World Open Water Championships. Jose Francisco Hervas of Spain was red-carded when he clearly pulled back another swimmer within 10 meters of the finish. According to FINA Open Water Swimming Rule 6.3.2, Hervas committed an infraction that was deemed "unsporting" in the opinion of the Referee. With four referees on the course in escort boats positioned on either side of the swimmers, the infraction was not appealed and accepted by the Spanish team. Fortunately, the infraction did not impact the Olympic selection of the athletes because several Europeans finished ahead of Hervas with the European continental representative selection going to a French swimmer. However, it was the disqualification of Olympic double gold medalist in the 1500 that drew grasps from the crowd when it was announced. Hackett was disqualified because he committed two separate infractions of the FINA open water swimming rules. One hour and 24 minutes into the race when there were still 45 men swimming over one another in the lead pack, Hackett was given a yellow card for impeding the progress of another swimmer during the third loop. Officially, he committed an infraction of FINA Rule 6.3.1 for interfering with another swimmer. After the infraction, a card bearing Hackett's number of 35 was written by the Head Referee on a white paper and shown to the swimmers as an indication of a rule violation. The second infraction was committed with less than 250 meters from the finish in the mad dash to the finish. When the pace picked up with less than 1000 meters to go, Hackett was caught in the middle of the surging pack. With every stroke, unintentional collisions were made due to the close proximity of the swimmers to each other. As Hackett tried to create more space between himself and the swimmer alongside him, he apparently slowed down and tried deliberately to go over the back of Chip Peterson's legs. Apparently, the degree of separation between Hackett and Peterson was not enough. Unfortunately for both swimmers, Hackett swam over Peterson in a manner that three referees believed impeded the progress of Peterson. With the second violation, a red flag was raised and Hackett's goal for competing in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim was over. "It is unfortunate that any swimmer is disqualified, but in my opinion, the Referee gave the correct decision," explained Sid Cassidy, the chairman of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee. "The call was confirmed by both Assistant Referees who were also in very close proximity to the infraction. All the referees are experienced international referees." The disqualification was protested by the Australian team, but the protest was rejected and the official results were issued. Fortunately, the disqualification did not directly affect the athletes who earned the available spots in Beijing. Ky Hurst who tied for fifth was ahead of both Hackett and Peterson at the time of the infraction and it was clear that Hurst was going to finish in the top ten. With Hurst's top ten finish, Hackett had to finish in the top ten to earn a 10K spot in Beijing. Hackett also cannot enter the second qualifying race in Beijing on June 1 for the same reason (i.e., Hurst getting into the top 10 in Seville). It was estimated that Hackett was in 15th position at the time. Peterson, who had similarly been knocked around by other competitors throughout the race, ultimately finished in 12th, only 2.2 seconds from a coveted Olympic selection. Being the gentlemen that he is, Hackett told the Sydney Morning Herald that "I just did not have it in the legs in the end and the decision not to compromise my pool program was a risk you take and in the end I was only two body lengths off the top ten. That is how close it is. But I am going to hold my head up and move on and get back and prepare for the pool program."