An Olympic surfing judge has been removed from the Olympics after a photo of him alongside a competitor in Tahiti circulated online this week.
Australian judge Benjamin Lowe, Australian surfing team member Ethan Ewing and coach Bede Durbidge took a group photo during the Games during a day off from competition that raised eyebrows.
The International Surfing Association released a statement Thursday saying it removed Lowe from the judging panel for the remainder of the competition to “protect the integrity and fairness of the ongoing competition.”
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The entrance to the Olympic surfing venue ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 24, 2024, in Teahupo'o, French Polynesia. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
“The ISA is aware of a photo circulating on social media showing one of Australia's Olympic surfing judges interacting socially with an Australian athlete and team manager,” the ISA said. “It is inappropriate for a judge to interact in this manner with an athlete and their team.”
The decision was made in accordance with the ISA code of conduct and the International Olympic Committee code of ethics, it said.
The surfing federation said it had “communicated with all judges and teams to remind them of their responsibilities regarding appropriate behaviour”.
A buoy inside the playing field during the third round of surfing on day three of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 29, 2024, in Teahupo'o, French Polynesia. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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“I've been getting some hate online, but I don't really know the story or have any insight into it,” Ewing told Stab Mag after Lowe's departure.
“It's sad, for sure.”
Ewing lost his quarter-final match to fellow Australian Jack Robinson, 15.33 to 13.00.
The athletes' village during the second day of training for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 22, 2024, in Teahupo'o, French Polynesia. (Ed Sloane/Getty Images)
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Surfing competitions are held in Tahiti, an island in French Polynesia located almost 3,000 miles east of Australia and almost 10,000 miles from Paris.
This is not the only controversy at the Games. A boxer who was excluded from last year's world championships for failing a gender test has dominated the women's 66kg division.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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