OLYMPICS/Taiwan out of Paris women's swimming after disqualification

Paris, Aug. 2 (CNA) The Olympic journey of Taiwanese-American swimmer Angela Coe came to a halt on Friday after she was disqualified from the women's 200m individual medley.

Representing Taiwan under her Chinese name Han An-chi (韓安齊), Coe initially finished second in the second of five heats of the event, from which the 16 fastest swimmers advance to the semifinals.

Judges then disqualified the 19-year-old, however, citing improper form during her butterfly swim. Even without the disqualification, her time would not have been good enough to get into the semifinals.

Speaking with CNA, the coach of the Chinese Taipei swimming delegation Huang Chih-yung (黃智勇) said Coe's dolphin kick, which requires a swimmer's legs to flap up and down in unison during the butterfly, were uneven when she performed the stroke.

"There was a video playback which confirmed that she had indeed broken the rule," Huang said. "Otherwise, given the condition she was in today, I think she performed relatively well."

Coe grew up in Taiwan and started swimming at the age of 6.

She swam competitively at Taiwan's Jilin Elementary School and then at the Taipei City Municipal Jinhua Junior High School.

Coe then moved back to the United States to attend Charleston High School in Illinois before joining the swim team of the University of Texas in Austin where she trained under the tutelage of Carol Capitani.

Capitani is both the head coach of the school's women's swimming program and also one of the coaches for Team USA at the Paris Olympics.

Coe returned to Taiwan in June 2024 to compete in Taiwan's National Zhongzheng Cup Swimming Championships organized by the Chinese Taipei Swimming Association (CTSA), where she broke national records for the women's 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle.

Her results in June earned her the recommendation of the CTSA to swim as Taiwan's only female representative in Paris.