Eugene. After Devon Allen dunked for a jump start in the World Cup Final in the 110m hurdles, criticism of the jump start rule was massive.
It’s a stupid and unfair rule, says former top runner and BBC expert Michael Johnson.
The fact is that World Athletics itself conducted studies on the time of human reaction as early as 2009 and received a recommendation to change the rule.
Devon Allen would take home a World Cup gold medal at Hayward Field in a final race before trying to take a place in the NFL.
But instead, he was brutally washed up for a false start.
It’s the sensors in the starting blocks that register when practitioners shoot from and the rule says that if someone reacts faster than a tenth of a second from the shot, that’s a false start. No human being is considered to be able to respond faster.
Devon Allen reacted after 0.099 seconds, a fraction of a thousandth very fast.
But according to Devon Allen, this wasn’t a gamble but a pure reaction.
– I replied very quickly, I should act a little slower next time, he said disappointedly.
Thesis is supported by the fact that Allen had a reaction time of 0.101 in the semi-finals. Now the hard-line al-Qaeda is under harsh criticism.
– To clarify, Devon Allen was robbed of the ancient world athletics rule. Not by pandomer. Officials can not just change the moment and ignore the rule, even if it is stupid and unfair. WA should change the rule! Says Michael Johnson who now works at the BBC.
‘Must be investigated urgently’
This is not the first time that someone has recommended that the IAAF change a rule. As early as 2009, Finnish and Japanese researchers, led by Paavo V Komi, conducted a study on reaction time. Seven of the best Finnish runners had to undergo various tests and it was concluded that reaction times as fast as 0.08.
“We recommend that the 100 ms limit be lowered to 80 or 85 ms and that the IAAF (now WA) urgently investigate the possibility of detecting a jump initiated using kinematics so that a judge’s decision is made on the first visible movement regardless of body part. Something that can be possible with high-speed cameras”, writes the summary published by World Athletics itself.
It remains to be seen when the athletics federation chooses to follow its own recommendations.
