Australian surfing judge removed from Olympics over photo with Ethan Ewing

A surf judge from Australia has been removed from the Paris Olympics after a picture surfaced showing the judge with Australian surfer Ethan Ewing and national team coach Bede Durbidge.

Ben Lowe has been a judge for the World Surf League for many years and recently served as a member of the judging panel at the Tokyo Olympics. He spent the past week in Tahiti, where he was assessing heats as top surfers from around the globe took on the daunting Teahupo'o wave in pursuit of Olympic glory.

However, on Thursday, Lowe was taken off his responsibilities when an Instagram picture surfaced of the judge posing with Australian Olympic surfer Ewing and team coach Durbidge. The picture was labeled: "These 3 Straddie boys showcasing their skills at the Olympics". All three come from North Stradbroke Island in Queensland.

Following the photo gaining attention on the internet, the International Surfing Association (ISA) released a statement regarding the judge being spotted "socially interacting" with the Australian team members.

The governing body stated that it is not acceptable for a judge to be engaging with an athlete and their team in this way. They have decided to remove the judge from the judging panel for the rest of the competition to uphold fairness and integrity, as per the ISA Code of Conduct and IOC Code of Ethics.

It was not certain who first uploaded the picture on Instagram.

Lowe has been a controversial figure in the surfing community, with passionate Brazilian supporters accusing the Australian of showing favoritism against three-time world champion Gabriel Medina. Surfing competitions are subjective by nature, and criticisms towards judges are sometimes unwarranted. However, Lowe has been singled out as a target in Brazil.

"This is beneficial for us," said a Brazilian team representative to surf media outlet Stab after Lowe stepped down from the judging panel. "Without a photo, nothing likely would have been done. But the situation is clearly wrong."

After a pause in the competition because of bad surf, the Olympic event in Tahiti started again on Thursday. Tyler Wright from Australia, who is the sister of Owen Wright, secured her spot in the quarter-finals with a smart win in her heat against Anat Lelior from Israel.

In the men's tournament, Australian players Ewing and Jack Robinson will compete against each other in the fourth quarter-final match on Friday at Tahiti, according to the local time.