Brody Buffington, a senior at Catoctin High School in Maryland, was disqualified from his 300-meter race at the Maryland 1A West region meet last weekend after he celebrated while approaching the finish line, according to The Herald-Mail.
Buffington, who has the fastest time in the boys 55-meter dash (6.25) in the country, threw up his arms and waved his hands in celebration, glancing over his shoulder, which apparently broke a rule in the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSH) rule book, according to head meet official, Tim O’Keefe.
According to The Herald-Mail, O’Keefe disqualified Buffington for “an action which brings discredit to an individual or their school.”
More From Runner's World
“The turning around to his opponents and the hand waving all the way down the straightaway is in disagreement with that rule,” O’Keefe told The Herald-Mail. “The coaches did appeal my ruling and it went before a jury of appeals, and they agreed that he had not run by the rules.”
Buffington is the defending champion in the 300-meter race, and because of this disqualification he lost his victory and his chance to defend his title at states.
“I was just trying to get the crowd going,” Buffington told The Herald-Mail. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. I’m trying to have some fun, get the fans going. But the officials didn’t take it that way, so they disqualified me. It’s a mistake. I’ve got to grow from it.”
Pro runners are weighing in on the disqualification, chastising the governing body for “killing the sport.”
Two-time Olympian Kara Goucher tweeted the video, saying, “I’ve watched this video 20x. What am I missing?! I see a kid running hard and having fun. I see him enjoying his moment. I don’t see any disrespect. Gah, track and field, why are we killing our own excitement.”
Olympic medalist sprinter Noah Lyles tweeted, “That’s so stupid. Why do we keep hindering ourselves as a sport.”
Paralympian Lacey Henderson tweeted, “So…. Am I understanding correctly that a high school athlete is being punished by adults/a system for getting excited from having a good performance?”
Buffington was finishing just ahead of his own teammates, looking back to, seemingly, cheer them on. He went on to win the 55 final in 6.29 seconds, his third-fastest time in the event, according to The Herald-Mail.
“When I heard that I got DQ’d, I said that I’m going to go all out in the 55,” Buffington told the paper, noting a PR is hard on that track because runners can’t wear spikes.
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner’s World, the author of The Runner’s World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a seven-time marathoner with a best of 3:31—but she is most proud of her 1:32 half, 19:44 5K, and 5:33 mile. Her work has been published in The Boston Globe, Popular Mechanics, The Wall Street Journal Buy Side, Cooking Light, CNN, Glamour, The Associated Press, and Livestrong.com.
