- Strange incident in the women’s 200m freestyle semifinal
- Viewers at home commented on the ‘eerie’ occurrence
Viewers of the Paris Olympics were left stunned by a peculiar finish in the women’s 200m freestyle semifinal.
American swimmer Claire Weinstein triumphed with a time of 1:55.24 on Sunday at the Paris La Défense Arena, finishing ahead of Czech competitor Barbora Seemanova and Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey.
However, for those watching on television, the finishing graphics mistakenly displayed the name of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein.
Currently hospitalized with Covid-19 and pneumonia, Weinstein was convicted of multiple sex crimes in New York and Los Angeles and is serving a 23-year sentence on the U.S. East Coast.
In the New York case, he was found guilty of sexual assault against Miriam Haley and the rape of Jessica Mann.
Earlier this year, those convictions were overturned when appellate judges determined he did not receive a fair trial.
A retrial is scheduled, with jury selection beginning on November 12; however, his Los Angeles convictions still stand.
Journalist Debbie Spillane shared the odd graphic on her X account, commenting: ‘Eerie moment in the swimming at #Paris2024.’
A graphic displaying the results of the women’s 200m freestyle semifinals inadvertently showed the name of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein
Czech swimmer Barbora Seemanova finished second, but viewers were puzzled by the names of her competitors displayed on TV
Followers of Spillane expressed similar disbelief.
‘Goodness,’ one user responded.
‘Even the first name fits the situation,’ another stated.
‘Oh my,’ a third remarked.
All three swimmers noted in the graphic secured spots in the women’s 200-meter freestyle final at Paris La Défense Arena at 5:48 AM Tuesday AEST.
The competition includes Australian world record holder Ariarne Titmus and her main challenger, Mollie O’Callaghan.
Both Titmus and O’Callaghan advanced to the final as the top two qualifiers.
Titmus won by a slim margin ahead of O’Callaghan but minimized the significance of the result.
Mollie O’Callaghan (left) and Ariarne Titmus (right) will compete for the title at Paris La Défense Arena in the Women’s 200m Freestyle Final
‘You always want to position yourself well in the middle of the pool during a final,’ she stated.
‘That was really my only strategy for tonight, I aimed to conserve energy as much as possible.’
Titmus finished with a time of 1:54.64, just six-hundredths of a second ahead of O’Callaghan.
Just six weeks ago, Titmus set a world record in the event, and the upcoming Paris final is anticipated to be a direct face-off between the two, both coached by Dean Boxall.
Titmus hopes to be the first swimmer to successfully defend both the 200m and 400m freestyle titles at an Olympic Games.
