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France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard Disqualified in 100 Back Semifinals After Crashing Into Wall
While defending Olympic champion and world-record holder Ryan Murphy was swimming his way towards the top seed for the men’s 100 backstroke final, a swimmer had a very different outcome three lanes over. France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard had qualified sixth out of prelims in 53.13, just a bit off his seed time of 52.96, and he had his sights set on qualifying for the 100 back final. But as Ndoye-Brouard raced towards the midway turn, he apparently never saw the flags.
While his seven competitors flipped as they normally do and pushed off on their backs for their underwater dolphin kicks and the return trip, Ndoye-Brouard crashed into the wall midstroke. He seemed to instantly realize his mistake, and he pushed off the wall to try to get back into the race, but he was on his stomach when his feet left the wall, so he was disqualified. Ndoye-Brouard finished last in the heat, so he would not have qualified for the final regardless.
The 20-year-old Frenchmen was competing in his first Olympics after placing second in the event at the 2019 World University Games, and he won bronze in the 100 back at the European Championships earlier this year. Ndoye-Brouard would have been a longshot to win a medal in the event with Murphy, Chinese two-time world champion Xu Jiayu and Russians Kliment Kolesnikov and Evgeny Rylov the most likely candidates to get on the podium. Still, it’s a bummer that Ndoye-Brouard won’t have his chance to compete in what could have been his first Olympic final.
