TAHITI – Australian Benjamin Lowe was removed from his position as judge for the Paris 2024 Olympics surfing competition after a photo of him alongside Australian surfing team member Ethan Ewing and coach Bede Durbidge began circulating online. According to the Associated Press, the picture was shared to a commentator’s social media during one of the competition’s off days.
The International Surfing Association released a statement on Thursday, saying that they removed Lowe from the judging panel in an effort to “protect the integrity and fairness of the ongoing competition.”
“The ISA is aware of a photo circulating on social media in which one of the Olympic surfing judges from Australia is seen socially interacting with an Australian athlete and the team manager. It is inappropriate for a judge to be interacting in this manner with an athlete and their team.“
The former judge and Team Australia are yet to release any followup statements. The ISA decision does apparently follow their own code of conduct, in addition to the International Olympic Committee’s code of ethics. All judges and teams have been reminded of the expectations for appropriate behavior through the competition.
The surfing medal matches for the 2024 Paris Olympics are currently scheduled to take place beginning at 1p.m. ET on August 3, but two reserve days, August 4 and August 5, are still in place in case the weather and waves don’t allow.
