Watching the live streaming of the Texas Relays – thank you CBS Sports. The Invitational Section of the Men’s 4×1 just completed. At the initial start of this race the USA Blue Team in lane 4 was called for a false start and thrown out of the race. The fans reacted by booing vehemently, and stomping their feet for several minutes. Finally to satisfy the fans who had paid their hard earned money to see this event – among others – they inserted the team back in the race to run “under protest”. To the delight of the crowd, the Wallace Spearmon anchored team WON the event in 38.81!<\/p>\n
The infield announcer has interviewed Spearmon as the anchor of the winning team. Unfortunately the “live” online scoreboard has stopped updating, and there has come just come word from the announcer that “while the winning time appears to be 38.81 we will have to wait approximately a half an hour while the “protest” is reviewed.<\/p>\n
The sad thing is that, as with the women’s 60 meter final at the US Indoor Championships where a false start was called on Lisa Barber, the second start of the race went off without incident. And Ms Barber – who also ran under protest – got no advantage over the other athletes and finished in third position. Which based on her performances over the course of the season was where she should have finished. Unfortunately in that instance, Barber was not awarded third as her original false start was upheld – even though she got NO advantage in the final!<\/p>\n
This has to be the dumbest rule in all of sport. This meet reminds me of two high school instances that were very similar – one of them happened at THIS same meet. At the Texas Relays of 1985 one of the biggest high school sprint showdowns in history never occurred as Henry Thomas of Hawthorne High School in California was tossed out of the race for a false start after the starter held them for some 3 or 4 seconds – an eternity in sprinting and clearly the starter was at fault. Roy Martin went on to win the final in a blistering 10.18 (#2 time ever at the time) over Joe Deloach at 10.26. Thomas himself was defending California Champion and a 10.25 performer who went on to run a blazing 44.5 anchor on the winning 4×4 that set the still standing national high school record of 3:07.40. With Thomas in that race there is no telling what the final outcome – and time – may have been. <\/p>\n
The other instance that comes to mind is the boys 400 meter final at the California State Championships of 1987 where Steve Lewis – one of the biggest favorites in meet history – was tossed out for a false start. Like in Texas today the crowd went nuts, until finally the starter reinserted Lewis in the race. Lewis simply went out and beat the field by a country mile in 46.7 over second place 47.2. Again the second start of the race was even for all with no one getting an advantage.<\/p>\n
Which I THOUGHT was the idea of calling false starts! Not to eliminate individuals but to ensure that no one athlete gets an unfair advantage. As I’ve said on more than one occasion this rule has simply become punitive in nature and is nothing about the races themselves any more. I watched Usain Bolt commit a false start in a race last summer, I can only imagine what will happen if he does so again with the current rule in effect! <\/p>\n
Crowd noises, being off balance, catching a glimpse of your neighbor moving, the click of a camera, there are so many reasons why athletes false start. It’s rarely about “trying to cheat”! The recent change to the false start rule is just as dumb as the recent change in the wind requirements for the decathlon. This sport is hurting its athletes and doing damage to its fan base with rules that make absolutely NO sense. The fans in Texas had it right today – just as they did in California in ’87 – let the athletes compete, just make sure they all get a fair shot! Lewis was the right winner in Cali. USA Blue was the right winner today even though as I get ready to post this it says online that their protest was denied – just as Jeter was the right winner indoors. We need to worry less about throwing athletes out of the race and simply make sure everyone starts equally. Then let the athletes sort out who is best!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Watching the live streaming of the Texas Relays – thank you CBS Sports. The Invitational Section of the Men’s 4×1 just completed. At the initial start of this race the USA Blue Team in lane 4 was called for a false start and thrown out of the race. The fans reacted by booing vehemently, and stomping their feet for several minutes. Finally to satisfy the fans who had paid their hard earned money to see this event – among others – they inserted the team back in the race to run “under protest”. To the delight of the crowd, the Wallace Spearmon anchored team WON the event in 38.81! The infield announcer has interviewed Spearmon as the anchor of the winning team. Unfortunately the “live” online scoreboard has stopped updating, and there has come just come word from the announcer that “while the winning time appears to be 38.81 we will have to wait approximately a half an hour while the “protest” is reviewed. The sad thing is that, as with the women’s 60 meter final at the US Indoor Championships where a false start was called on Lisa Barber, the second start of the race went off without incident. And Ms Barber – who also ran under protest – got no advantage over the other athletes and finished in third position. Which based on her performances over the course of the season was where she should have finished. Unfortunately in that instance, Barber was not awarded third as her original false start was upheld – even though she got NO advantage in the final! This has to be the dumbest rule in all of sport. This meet reminds me of two high school instances that were very similar – one of them happened at THIS same meet. At the Texas Relays of 1985 one of the biggest high school sprint showdowns in history never occurred as Henry Thomas of Hawthorne High School in California was tossed out of the race for a false start after the starter held them for some 3 or 4 seconds – an eternity in sprinting and clearly the starter was at fault. Roy Martin went on to win the final in a blistering 10.18 (#2 time ever at the time) over Joe Deloach at 10.26. Thomas himself was defending California Champion and a 10.25 performer who went on to run a blazing 44.5 anchor on the winning 4×4 that set the still standing national high school record of 3:07.40. With Thomas in that race there is no telling what the final outcome – and time – may have been. The other instance that comes to mind is the boys 400 meter final at the California State Championships of 1987 where Steve Lewis – one of the biggest favorites in meet history – was tossed out for a false start. Like in Texas today the crowd went nuts, until finally the starter reinserted Lewis in the race. Lewis simply went out and beat the field by a country mile in 46.7 over second place 47.2. Again the second start of the race was even for all with no one getting an advantage. Which I THOUGHT was the idea of calling false starts! Not to eliminate individuals but to ensure that no one athlete gets an unfair advantage. As I’ve said on more than one occasion this rule has simply become punitive in nature and is nothing about the races themselves any more. I watched Usain Bolt commit a false start in a race last summer, I can only imagine what will happen if he does so again with the current rule in effect! Crowd noises, being off balance, catching a glimpse of your neighbor moving, the click of a camera, there are so many reasons why athletes false start. It’s rarely about “trying to cheat”! The recent change to the false start rule is just as dumb as the recent change in the wind requirements for the decathlon. This sport is hurting its athletes and doing damage to its fan base with rules that make absolutely NO sense. The fans in Texas had it right today – just as they did in California in ’87 – let the athletes compete, just make sure they all get a fair shot! Lewis was the right winner in Cali. USA Blue was the right winner today even though as I get ready to post this it says online that their protest was denied – just as Jeter was the right winner indoors. We need to worry less about throwing athletes out of the race and simply make sure everyone starts equally. Then let the athletes sort out who is best!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-4O","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1820,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1820","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":0},"title":"March Closes Out in Style","author":"CHill","date":"April 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Now that's the way to end a month of track and field - with some stellar competition! The Texas Relays officially signals the start of the relay season and went off in fine style. As is often the case, the it was the hot meet of the weekend - and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Barrett\"","block_context":{"text":"Barrett","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=barrett"},"img":{"alt_text":"Placeholder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Placeholder_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":385,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=385","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":1},"title":"He\u2019s Baaack \u2013 Wariner 44.13 in Zurich","author":"CHill","date":"August 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Zurich\u2019s Weltklasse invitational lived up to it\u2019s storied tradition with some outstanding races on the track. In a meet with several standout events, the men\u2019s 400 was especially sweet because, for me, it marked the true return to form of Jeremy Wariner. Now THAT is how Jeremy Wariner is supposed\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Jeremy Wariner of the U.S. celebrates after winning the men's 400 metres event at the IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich August 19, 2010. REUTERS\/Ruben Sprich (SWITZERLAND - Tags: SPORT SPORT ATHLETICS)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view4.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/9568322\/wariner-celebrates-after\/wariner-celebrates-after.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":311,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=311","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":2},"title":"This Week\u2019s Big Meet \u2013 Penn Relays","author":"CHill","date":"April 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The Penn Relays are on tap this weekend, and while the focus is on the return of Usain Bolt to Penn and the USA v World events the collegiate competition could be the most exciting with high powered programs from Florida, Oregon, LSU, Florida Sate and Texas A&M on hand.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Track and Field: 115th Penn Relays","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.picapp.com\/ftp\/Images\/3\/b\/2\/c\/Track_and_Field_0942.JPG?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":395,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=395","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":3},"title":"My Version of the US 4×1","author":"CHill","date":"September 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes I know that the 2010 season isn\u2019t quite done yet. But for my money it\u2019s never too early to put a relay team together. Because one of the most important aspects of relay running is continuity and team togetherness \u2013 and that\u2019s difficult to achieve when team members are\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 19 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 19 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=395#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"OSAKA, JAPAN - SEPTEMBER 01: Leroy Dixon celebrates after he runs the anchor lane and takes the United States of America to victory during the Men's 4 x 100m Relay on day eight of the 11th IAAF World Athletics Championships on September 1, 2007 at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan. The United States of America won in a time of 37.78 seconds. (Photo by Mark Dadswell\/Getty Images)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/view3.picapp.com\/pictures.photo\/image\/1933806\/11th-iaaf-world-athletics\/11th-iaaf-world-athletics.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1129,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1129","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":4},"title":"It’s Time to Talk About the 4×1","author":"CHill","date":"May 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Ok, between the indoor season and the last few meets, we've seen most of the world's top sprinters on the track. So, with some 80 days until the start of the London Games, it's about time to start looking at the relays. Of course the race that will draw the\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 11 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 11 comments","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1129#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"Batons","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Batons_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1876,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=1876","url_meta":{"origin":298,"position":5},"title":"NCAA Championships – Great Competition","author":"CHill","date":"June 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is one of the meets that I really look forward to each year, because it's everything that the sport should be. A meet that contests EVERY event. It has relays. The best show up to compete. There's team scoring. And most of all, the competition is fierce! Yes, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Carter\"","block_context":{"text":"Carter","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?tag=carter"},"img":{"alt_text":"Brianna Rollins","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/trackchill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Brianna-Rollins_thumb.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}