In case you didn’t realise, the 2nd most important athletics event (behind the Olympics) just took place in Daegu, South Korea. By all accounts it was a disastrous location – sub standard accommodation, poor attendances, windy conditions – chosen mainly to take advantage of a stadium built for the 2002 World Cup and hardly used since.
Instead of high level performances attracting the most attention, it was the disqualification of Usain Bolt in the men’s 100m final which dominated discussion. Under new rules introduced last year, competitors are disqualified without warning for a false start. Supposedly it makes for better TV, but the reality is it robbed us of seeing the best athlete in the world race in the most popular discipline. Funnily enough Bolt has been in favour of the rule since it was introduced.
But can London 2012 afford to have a similar disqualification in such a blue riband event? I don’t think so. Expect the rule to be changed sooner rather than later.
Check this breakdown of what happened with the graphs behind it.
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2011/08/bolts-false-start-and-blakes-twitch.html
Well I can understand your disappointment, but Icons like Mr. Bolt work hard every day, and deals with new rules, that you can be sure.
Unfortunately Mr. Bolt can also makes mistake, that you can be sure now.
greetings from France, good work guys.
What’s the issue here? It’s a clear rule and like you said, he even endorsed it. It’s cool if some no-name false starts and DQ’s but if a superstar does it, then we should turn a blind eye?
I agree, they did what they had to do. But for me I look at why the rule is even there. It’s because broadcasters put pressure on organisers so that the races would commence at their scheduled time. That’s it. So from that point of view, losing a world icon like Usain Bolt is more damaging to ratings than the risk of races taking too long. And like it or not, Yohan Blake (the eventual winner) will always have an * next to his name by virtue of Bolt not running. With all of the troubles that Athletics has faced in the last 2 decades, it can’t afford to leave its best athletes on the sidelines due to technicalities.