TOKYO, Japan — Anna Cockrell was disqualified from the women's 400m hurdles finals at the Tokyo Olympics Tuesday night (ET). The news of her disqualification quickly took over Twitter -- namely because people weren't quite sure why she was disqualified.
Editor's Note: The attached video aired prior to the race on Tuesday.
Cockrell didn't seemingly make visible violations and announcers did not explain her disqualification, leaving many to wonder what happened.
The answer is simple: Cockrell stepped on a lane line during the race, while athletes are required to stay in their lane during the race.
NBC later confirmed the lane violation on air, after the live telecast of the event had concluded.
U.S. athlete Sydney McLaughlin got the gold medal with a finish time of 51.46, and U.S. athlete Dalilah Muhammad got the silver medal with a finish time of 51.58.
Charlotte-native Cockrell qualified for the finals after getting a finish time of 54.17 in the 400m hurdles semifinals -- coming in second, behind first-place finisher Femke Bol, who had a finish time of 53.91.