- Moment occurred in women’s 200m freestyle semifinal
- Fans watching at home remarked on the ‘creepy’ situation
Swimming fans watching the Paris Olympics have been shocked by a bizarre finish to the women’s 200m freestyle swimming semifinal.
American swimmer Claire Weinstein won the race with a time of 1:55.24 on Sunday at the Paris La Défense Arena ahead of Czech star Barbora Seemanova and Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey.
For those watching on TV, the graphics showing how the athletes finished revealed the name of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein.
Weinstein, who is currently in hospital suffering from Covid-19 and pneumonia on both lungs, was convicted in New York and Los Angeles for a string of sex offences and had been serving a 23-year sentence on America’s east coast.
In the New York case, he was found guilty of sexual assault against former production assistant Miriam Haley and the rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
However, those charges were overturned earlier this year after a state appellate judges ruled that he did not receive a fair hearing.
A tentative new date was set for a retrial, with jury selection set to begin on November 12 – but his conviction in Los Angeles for rape and sexual assault still stands.
Sports journalist Debbie Spillane posted the bizarre graphic to her X account on Monday, writing: ‘Creepy moment in the swimming at #Paris2024’.
A graphic showing the result of one of the women’s 200m freestyle semifinals at the Paris Games inadvertently showed the name of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein
Czech swimmer Barbora Seemanova (pictured) finished second in the event – but the names of two of her rivals had some viewers scratching their heads when they appeared on TV
Her followers were equally surprised.
‘Good grief,’ replied one user.
‘Even the first name fits into the scenario,’ said another.
‘Oh dear,’ posted a third.
All three swimmers mentioned in the graphic have qualified for the women’s 200-metre freestyle final at Paris La Defence Arena at 5.48am Tuesday AEST.
The field includes Aussie world record holder Ariarne Titmus and her main challenger, stablemate Mollie O’Callaghan.
Titmus and O’Callaghan both cruised into the final as the top-two qualifiers.
Titmus won narrowly ahead of O’Callaghan but dismissed any significance of the result.
Mollie O’Callaghan (left) and her fellow Aussie Ariarne Titmus (right) will compete for the title at Paris La Defence Arena in the final of the Women’s 200m Freestyle Final
‘You always want to be in the middle of the pool in a final and get yourself in a good position,’ she said.
‘But that was really the only plan for tonight, I tried to conserve as much as I could.’
Titmus touched in one minute 54.64 seconds, six-hundredths of a second quicker than O’Callaghan in second.
Titmus six weeks ago broke O’Callaghan’s world record in the event and the Paris final looms as a match-race between the swimmers who are both coached by Dean Boxall.
Titmus is seeking to become the first swimmer to successfully defend 200m and 400m freestyle titles at an Olympic Games.
