The USA men’s relay swimming team was disqualified at the World Championship in Spain on Sunday.
The US men’s 4x100mm relay team was disqualified from winning first place because swimmer, Kevin Cordes, 19, dove too early in the second half of the race, according to the Global Post.
The rules in diving allow for swimmers to dive in as early as .03 of a second before the previous swimmer touches the wall. Senors however, caught Cordes, jumping in at .04 of a second.
The US men’s team celebrated finishing first, for only a moment, before it was announced that they were disqualified, and the first place would go to France. The US team has not lost the title of world champion since 2007.
Yahoo Sports reports Cordes went onto his Twitter page to thank everyone for the support they showed after his mistake in the relay.
French swimmer Jeremy Stravius also had to comment on the US disqualification.
“The Americans played with fire and it was a mistake on their behalf which made us world champions, but it was not an undeserved win.”
Also on the US men’s relay team are Ryan Lochte and Matt Grevers, both Olympic swimmers.