A Team GB swimming star dropped to the floor in despair after suffering Olympic heartbreak as he was thrown out of Paris 2024 despite finishing first in his race.
Luke Greenbank was disqualified from the 200m backstroke for breaking a little-known rule in the heats, having thought he was through to the semi-finals – on another otherwise-glorious day for British competitors.
The double Olympic medallist clocked a time of 1min 56sec, more than a second ahead of Hungarian favourite Hubert Kos in the French capital’s La Defense Arena.
But joy quickly turned to misery for the 26-year-old as footage showed Greenbank had swam too far underwater at the start of the race – and the 26-year-old from Crewe could not contain his emotions as the news sunk in.
The ruling denied Britain a potential third gold following stunning successes for Adam Yee in the men’s triathlon and the women’s quadruple sculls rowing team.
Luke Greenbank looks distraught after being disqualified from the…