An Olympic judge has been removed after posting what has been described as an ‘inappropriate’ photo on social media.
The 2024 Olympic Games are currently ongoing in the capital city of France, Paris.
However, one event is actually happening 9000 miles away from the French capital.
The surfing events are being held in Teahupo’o on the island of Tahiti in the French Polynesia.
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During the event, a judge was sent home after he posted a picture on Instagram.
Ben Lowe, who is an experienced World Surf League judge posted a picture of himself alongside Austrian surfer Ethan Ewing and national coach Bede Durbidge.
The caption of the picture read: “These 3 Straddie [Stradbroke Island] Boys doing their stuff at the Olympics.”
As reported by The Metro, the International Surfing Association decided to remove Lowe from the judging panel.
A statement read: “It is inappropriate for a judge to be interacting in this manner with an athlete and their team.
“To protect the integrity and fairness of the ongoing competition, and in accordance with the ISA Code of Conduct and IOC Code of Ethics, the ISA Executive Committee has decided to remove the judge from the judging panel for the remainder of the competition.”
Reacting to thew announcement, Brazil’s surfing team told Stab: “This is good for us. If there’s no photo, nothing probably happens. But the situation is clearly not right.”
The waves at Teahupo’o have been described as life or death.
Big wave surfer Garrett McNamara said to NPR: “It's one of the most beautiful and dangerous waves in the world. It is just life or death from start to finish, big or small. The razor-sharp coral reef is just inches below you when you fall.
“It’s not like other waves. Usually, you can see these giant swells on the horizon. At Teahupo'o ... the whole ocean moves forward. You don't see lines coming.”
Marcus Chan