After Sunday’s shocking disqualification of Usain Bolt in the 100 meter final, questions about the IAAF’s (International Association of Athletics Federation) “one and done” false-start rule have been coursing throughout Track and Field communities. Unlike the Olympics – where an athlete is warned after the first false-start and only disqualified if he or she should false-start a second time – in IAAF competitions, a single false-start spells immediate removal from the race. The IAAF does allow athletes to protest a disqualification should a false-start be caused by anything beyond an athlete’s control – like the flash of a camera or a yelling fan, but rarely do protests result in an overturned ruling. Intending to preserve the integrity of the sport, the “one and done” false-start policy is designed to deter athletes from attempting to time the start of the race to gain an advantage – quite literally jumping the gun. The dangerous yet indiscriminately fair nature of this rule, as seen Sunday night, is that no athlete is exempt, and even the world’s fastest man can lose a race in a single fraction of a second’s misstep. The good news, however, is that a disqualification in one race does not impact an athlete’s eligibility to compete in other events. For Bolt, this means there’s still a chance of redemption in either the 4x1 relay (September 4th) or the 200 meter dash final (September 3rd). For fans and spectators, this means two more opportunities to potentially see world records fall.
What are your thoughts on the IAAF’s “one and done” rule? What effect do you think the disqualification will have on the rest of the world championships, and do you think Bolt will bounce back? Please share your thoughts in our running communities on Facebook and Twitter or post your comments in the box below.
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