- Moment took place in the semi-final of the women’s 200m freestyle
- Fans watching at home commented that the situation was ‘creepy’
Swimming fans attending the Paris Olympics were shocked by the bizarre outcome of the women’s 200-meter freestyle semi-final.
American swimmer Claire Weinstein won the race on Sunday at the Paris La Défense Arena with a time of 1:55.24, ahead of Czech star Barbora Seemanova and Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey.
For viewers on television, graphics showing the athletes finishing revealed the name of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein.
Weinstein, who is currently in hospital with Covid-19 and pneumonia in both lungs, was convicted of a series of sex offences in New York and Los Angeles and served a 23-year prison sentence on the East Coast of America.
In the New York case, he was found guilty of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
However, those charges were dropped earlier this year after a state appeals court ruled he had not received a fair trial.
A tentative new date was set for a new trial, with jury selection set to begin on November 12. However, his conviction in Los Angeles for rape and sexual assault still stands.
Sports journalist Debbie Spillane posted the bizarre image to her X account on Monday, writing: ‘Creepy moment while swimming at #Paris2024’.
A graph showing the results of one of the women’s 200-meter freestyle semifinals at the Paris Olympics accidentally showed the name of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein
Czech swimmer Barbora Seemanova (pictured) came second in the event, but the names of two of her rivals left some viewers scratching their heads when they appeared on TV
Her followers were equally surprised.
“Good grief,” one user responded.
“Even the first name fits the scenario,” said another.
“Ouch,” said a third.
All three swimmers mentioned in the image have qualified for the women’s 200m freestyle final at the Paris La Defence Arena at 5.48am on Tuesday 10 September.
The field of competitors includes Australian world record holder Ariarne Titmus and her biggest challenger, stablemate Mollie O’Callaghan.
Titmus and O’Callaghan both reached the final as the top two qualifiers.
Titmus narrowly beat O’Callaghan, but he did not consider the result that important.
Mollie O’Callaghan (left) and fellow Australian Ariarne Titmus (right) battle for the title in the women’s 200m freestyle final at the Paris La Defence Arena.
“You always want to be in the middle of the pool during a final and put yourself in a good position,” she said.
“But that was really the only plan for tonight, I tried to save as much as possible.”
Titmus finished in 1 minute 54.64 seconds, six hundredths of a second faster than O’Callaghan in second place.
Six weeks ago Titmus broke O’Callaghan’s world record in this event and the final in Paris will be a match race between the swimmers, both coached by Dean Boxall.
Titmus aims to become the first swimmer to successfully defend the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle titles at the Olympic Games.