The Helsinki Incident (1951)
41 seconds on a pool deck, and the birth of the Fish Out of Water rule.
Before 1951, the rules said nothing about leaving the water. During the Helsinki final, one finalist, cornered against the north wall, climbed out of the pool and stood on the deck for 41 seconds until the Marco moved away. Under the Vevey Rules this was entirely legal.
The protest that followed lasted two days. The Jury of Appeal ordered the first re-swum final in FIMP history, which Ottavio Marzanello of Italy won. That autumn, Congress adopted the Fish Out of Water rule: any evader whose body is wholly above the waterline, or who touches the pool deck with any part of the body other than the hands, commits an infraction.
Today, the rule allows an evader up to 3.0 seconds out of the water before an infraction is called, measured by the poolside light curtain. Each infraction costs five points. If an evader commits three in a single chukka, the Marco is credited with a tag.