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The FINA swimming world championships got a little strange on Saturday as the officials had to hold two medal ceremonies due to some controversy.
American swimmers Justin Ress and Hunter Armstrong initially finished first and second in the men’s 50 meter backstroke, separated by only .02 seconds. However, Ress was disqualified from the event when he appeared to submerge underwater at the finish.
Armstrong was elevated to the gold medal, but instead of joy, he felt sorrow towards his friend and fellow American.
“I would rather have taken second with him,” Armstrong said. “To have it taken away from him sucks.”
The world championships held the medal ceremony while Team USA appealed on Ress’s behalf. Then, the team won the appeal, putting Ress back at the top of the leaderboard and dropping Armstrong to second.
Armstrong first presented Ress with the gold medal that he got earlier, before Ress had to stand on the podium by himself to receive the medal officially.
It was a very long and winding road, but Ress got what he earned in the end.
