False start rule to be tightened.
Any athlete making a false start could soon suffer instant disqualification.
In a bid to "prevent gamesmanship", athletics' governing body the IAAF is proposing to disqualify any athlete making a false start.
At present, an athlete can false start once, but any competitor who does so a second time is disqualified.
The proposal will go before the IAAF Congress in August for confirmation, just ahead of the World Championships in Helsinki.
"The opinion of a majority of council members was that this rule change would prevent gamesmanship, by penalising those athletes who deliberately false start to unsettle their rivals," said IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai. "But this is just a recommendation, and Congress will take a decision in Helsinki."
Jon Drummond protesting after disqualification at the 2003 Worlds
.
Any athlete making a false start could soon suffer instant disqualification.
In a bid to "prevent gamesmanship", athletics' governing body the IAAF is proposing to disqualify any athlete making a false start.
At present, an athlete can false start once, but any competitor who does so a second time is disqualified.
The proposal will go before the IAAF Congress in August for confirmation, just ahead of the World Championships in Helsinki.
"The opinion of a majority of council members was that this rule change would prevent gamesmanship, by penalising those athletes who deliberately false start to unsettle their rivals," said IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai. "But this is just a recommendation, and Congress will take a decision in Helsinki."
Jon Drummond protesting after disqualification at the 2003 Worlds
.
