Britain’s Jess Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown saw their heartwarming moment torn apart as they were disqualified for attempting to win a World Triathlon Olympic qualifier together in Tokyo.
Learmonth was given the victory after a photo finish, but both Brits were later disqualified from the event for breaking rules forbidding a ‘contrived tie’.
It meant third placed Flora Duffy from Bermuda was promoted to first, with Italy’s Alice Betto in second and Britain’s Vicky Holland in third.
In the extreme heat in Tokyo, with temperatures rising well above 30 degrees Celsius and the humidity pushing above 80 per cent, the British duo were neck and neck as they came onto the final straight.
But their hand-in-hand finish broke International Triathlon Union competition rule 2.11.f, which says: ‘Results of tied athletes will be sorted according to race numbers. However, athletes who finish in a contrived tie situation, where no effort to separate their finish times has been made will be disqualified.’
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