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'Heartbreaking': Bizarre podium debacle at swimming championships

Justin Ress (picture right) on the podium at the FINA World Championships after winning (pictured left) the 50m backstroke.
Justin Ress was initially disqualified from the 50m backstroke (pictured left) before it was overturned and he was presented the gold medal on the podium by himself (pictured right) in bizarre scenes at the FINA World Championships. (Images: Twitter)

Viewers witnessed some bizarre scenes at the FINA swimming world championships after the 50m backstroke medals were presented twice after a rare and brutal controversy.

American Justin Ress appeared to win the 50m gold medal when he touched the wall first, but was quickly disqualified after it was deemed he was completely submerged upon finishing.

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The meant his US swimming teammate Hunter Armstrong claimed first place winning with 24.14 seconds.

Armstrong was emotional after claiming the gold medal at the podium, but shared some words for his teammate.

“I’m very disappointed my teammate was disqualified and hopefully Team USA’s protest will be successful,” Armstrong said.

And incredibly, US swim team's appeal was successful and Ress was awarded the gold medal.

In bizarre scenes, the podium ceremony was held again.

But this time, only Ress stood on the block with the American national anthem playing again.

The swimming world was left questioning the bizarre scenes and why they would make Ress stand alone on the podium.

After the podium finish, Ress tweeted: "I felt every single human emotion there is in the span of 30 minutes, so that's fun."

Hunter Armstrong praised for sportsmanship

In a touching moment, Armstrong was seen handing over his gold medal to Ress after it was announced the disqualification was overturned.

Earlier, Armstrong had said he would rather finish second and share the podium with Ress, instead of his teammate being disqualified.

Earlier, swim star Sarah Sjostrom picked up gold in the 50m freestyle to mark her 19th individual medal at the world championships.

Having won the 50m butterfly 24 hours earlier, the speedster collected her 10th world gold.

Teen sensation Summer McIntosh - a 15-year-old Canadian - held off American Katie Grimes in the 400m individual medley to win her second gold medal in Budapest.

McIntosh won the 200m butterfly event on Wednesday and claimed her fourth medal of the championships wit the individual medley victory.

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