Winning high-school swimmer disqualified for showing too much butt cheek

Swimmer
A swimmer. Photo credit: Getty/File

A teenage swimmer was disqualified after winning a race because her bathing suit revealed too much "butt cheek".

Breckynn Willis, 17, is one of Alaska's top female swimmers and has won multiple state titles for both freestyle and butterfly.

On Friday (local time) she competed in four races at her school, Dimond High School, in Anchorage. She won the 100m freestyle, but as she climbed out of the pool, she was told she'd been disqualified. 

The referee ruled that Breckynn had violated swimsuit coverage rules as too much of her behind was visible - despite her approved, school-issued swimsuit meeting the modesty rules outlined by the National Federation of High Schools.

The requirements state that female high school swimmers must have their breasts and buttocks covered while competing, reports The Anchorage Daily News. Male swimmers must also have their buttocks covered.

According to a report on the incident, the referee described Brecklynn's swimsuit as "so far up, I could see butt cheek touching butt cheek".

The controversial decision has been met with outrage. There are suspicions that Breckynn was singled out because she is more curvaceous than her white teammates.

In a statement to the publication on Monday (local time), the Anchorage School District said the referee's decision appeared to stem "from a difference of opinion in the interpretation of the rules governing... swim uniforms".

On Tuesday (local time) the Anchorage School District decided the disqualification "was heavy-handed and unnecessary".

"We cannot tolerate discrimination of any kind, and certainly not based on body shape," the district wrote in a statement.

The district seeks to reverse Brecklynn's disqualification, return all points to the team and decertify the official.

They also plan to suspend and revise the National Federal High School suit coverage rule due to its "ambiguity" and "potential for bias".

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