00:00He finished in first place and he smashed his lifetime personal best by over four seconds.
00:05It was supposed to be one of the greatest moments of his college career.
00:08However, as Owen exited the pool and got ready for his post-win interview,
00:13a notification came over the speaker.
00:16What?
00:17Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.
00:18Hold on.
00:19They're just saying that Owen Lloyd was disqualified.
00:21Owen and the crowd couldn't believe what they were hearing.
00:23And as Owen's coach took him aside and told him about the rule he'd unknowingly broken,
00:28he completely fell to pieces.
00:30See, when he climbed up on the lane line to celebrate his incredible win
00:34and tumbled over into his teammate Ross Dance Lane,
00:38he had broken NCAA rule 2.5B.
00:41A swimmer who changes lanes during a heat shall be disqualified.
00:45Even though they had both already finished the race
00:47and Owen wasn't interfering with any active swimmers,
00:50the judges held onto a very strict and literal interpretation of the rule.
00:54They stripped Owen of the win and they awarded Ross with first place.
00:58But as Ross received the headset to speak to the commentators,
01:01he tore into the judges.
01:03I think that's the dumbest rule in swimming.
01:05Owen beat me fair and square.
01:06He used to be on that podium.
01:07We train all year for a moment like that.
01:09And to have him disqualified, I think, is the dumbest thing ever.
01:11No, he earned that fair and square.
01:13He will be getting that medal.
01:14Ross refused to stand on the top step of the podium,
01:17and he handed Lloyd the gold medal during the ceremony.
01:20However, that didn't change the official standings.
01:23Owen had swam the fastest time in his life,
01:25and if it had been allowed to stand,
01:27he would have been granted an automatic qualification
01:29to the NCAA championships.
01:31He went home completely defeated.
01:34However, as the year went on,
01:36Owen continued competing and performing so well
01:38that even with the disqualification,
01:40he still managed to rank high enough
01:42to make it to the NCAA championships.
01:45At the championships,
01:46Owen secured his place as an All-American,
01:48as one of the fastest young athletes in the country.
01:51He even technically swam a personal best,
01:53but the time still wasn't as fast
01:55as the one he clocked in earlier that year
01:57before it was ripped away from him.
01:59It was a bittersweet victory for Owen.
02:01He'd placed fifth overall in the national rankings,
02:04and he would have been third
02:05if the ACC judges had been more reasonable.
02:08However, Owen still had one more year of eligibility
02:11in the ACC's,
02:12so he knew he still had one more chance
02:15for revenge on the judges.
02:16And when the day arrived,
02:17as the race played out,
02:19it was clear that Owen wasn't going to let
02:21this opportunity slip through his fingers.
02:23Everyone is on their feet.
02:25That knows what happened.
02:27Everyone is so excited for this young man.
02:29Anyone who deserves it more,
02:32I cannot find them right now.
02:35And as he pulled off the win
02:37and the crowd roared and shook the stadium,
02:39Owen swam up to the lane line,
02:41stared at the judges,
02:42put his hands on the rope, and...
02:46Did you see?
02:48He laughed to himself,
02:49he climbed out of the pool,
02:50and he soaked it all in.
02:52Owen hadn't just won the race,
02:53he'd officially smashed through
02:55his own personal best once again.
02:57First thing I want to say is,
02:59ball don't lie.
