Tommy Latham is one of the biggest stars in track and field on the high school level. That is especially true in Georgia.
However, he reportedly will not be allowed to run in the state championships this weekend due to a disqualification.
Latham, who is currently committed to compete in track and field at North Carolina, became the first Georgia high schooler to break the four-minute mile. He ran the 21st fastest time in United States history with a 3:59:79 at the end of March.
It was expected that Latham would win the 1,600-meter event at the GHSA Track & Field State Championships, which are scheduled to begin this Friday. He already won three state titles in the 3,200, two in the 1,600 and three in cross country during his well-decorated career at the Marist School in Atlanta. This weekend would’ve been an opportunity to add another title in the 1,600 as well as his first in the 800.
That will no longer be a possibility. He will not be allowed to run.
According to Max Wolborsky of Score Atlanta, Tommy Latham is preemptively disqualified from the upcoming state championship. This comes after he performed an obscene gesture during the regional round of the state competition last month.
Although I have yet to see a video of what happened, Latham allegedly flipped the bird at a competitor during the anchor leg of the 800-meter relay. He was supposedly lapping the runner and sent him an explicit message with his middle finger as he ran by.
Marist and Latham may try to appeal the ruling over the next few days, but it seems as though his fate is sealed. The greatest miler in state history will not be allowed to defend his title. His high school career is over just like that.