As noted in "Swim Rant" I was DQ'd in the 100 M BR yesterday,after swimming a really great race for me(unfairly I believe.)I was talking to Laura Val who was DQ'd in the 200 BK after a WR time(unfairly she thought).She thought we should have a thread to ventilate,commiserate,etc.Has it happened to you?How did you cope?
I felt like leaving the pool and not competing any more,for about 5 minutes,then I felt really sad for about an hour. Then I woke up at 2:30 in the morning and had a terrible time going back to sleep.Finally I decided to focus my emotions on my next swim.Fortunately for me that worked and I swam a 50 M BR that I was really happy with.If I had swum a lousy 50 I suspect I'd still be in a funk.
So what about you?
By the way,we don't need to limit this to DQs,any meet disappointments that you want to vent about are fair game as far as I'm concerned.
I remember Chris Stevenson's story from 2009 LC nats about getting DQ'd in the 200 back, where he would have won a national championship. Remembering that story helped me feel better about my own insignificant DQ (At nats! In a 1000 free! For the start! And they let me swim the whole race!) Laura Val's story about getting DQ'd for a world record swim has to be the biggest heartbreaker I've heard so far.
On the other hand ... I went to a senior olympics meet last summer where, you know, participation is everything. They weren't deeking people for anything. Illegal suits, flagrant one-handed turns in breaststroke, yanking on the lane lines in backstroke ... everything was ok. No DQ's. About halfway through the meet I wondered, why am I here?
DQ's, and the possibility of DQ's, and the fact that DQ's rain down on even the most elite, as well as also-swams like myself, is what keeps our sport high-quality and worth doing.
So after hearing these stories from the likes of Chris Stevenson and Laura Val and Allen Stark I believe that anyone who's anyone MUST have at least one DQ in their history! I am now proud of my insignificant DQ! This is as close as I'll ever get to being anything like Chris Stevenson, and my (hopefully only) contribution of this type to the integrity of the sport.
Allen, I am sorry for your DQ and for the possibly faulty judgement of the ref. You guys who push the limits of our sport, who come ever so close to crossing the line, hooray for what you do and also for occasionally taking a hit for the team. Hope that helps.
I remember Chris Stevenson's story from 2009 LC nats about getting DQ'd in the 200 back, where he would have won a national championship. Remembering that story helped me feel better about my own insignificant DQ (At nats! In a 1000 free! For the start! And they let me swim the whole race!) Laura Val's story about getting DQ'd for a world record swim has to be the biggest heartbreaker I've heard so far.
On the other hand ... I went to a senior olympics meet last summer where, you know, participation is everything. They weren't deeking people for anything. Illegal suits, flagrant one-handed turns in breaststroke, yanking on the lane lines in backstroke ... everything was ok. No DQ's. About halfway through the meet I wondered, why am I here?
DQ's, and the possibility of DQ's, and the fact that DQ's rain down on even the most elite, as well as also-swams like myself, is what keeps our sport high-quality and worth doing.
So after hearing these stories from the likes of Chris Stevenson and Laura Val and Allen Stark I believe that anyone who's anyone MUST have at least one DQ in their history! I am now proud of my insignificant DQ! This is as close as I'll ever get to being anything like Chris Stevenson, and my (hopefully only) contribution of this type to the integrity of the sport.
Allen, I am sorry for your DQ and for the possibly faulty judgement of the ref. You guys who push the limits of our sport, who come ever so close to crossing the line, hooray for what you do and also for occasionally taking a hit for the team. Hope that helps.
