Did Yohan Blake cause Bolt's false start?

According to this he did!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/aug/29/usain-bolt-yohan-blake-twitch-disqualification

Clearly did.... however these new rules are STUPID, they really need to go back to 2 false starts and your out...... much better that way. Now we're being robbed of great races due to stupidity, it's in human nature to be anxious, nervous etc and time and time again top athletes will make a mistake and have a false start. But for crying out loud lets get back to how it used to be. They better sort it out before 2012.



ok... breathe

rant over.

Not sure I agree with this. The twitch if it's there is very small, and as an athlete you need to react to the gun and not those around you. Just wonder if Bolt was more nervous than he was making out...

End of the day, the rules are there. Bolt was actually one of the supporters of this new rule. It's the same rule as in swimming, and you rarely see any false starts there any more. The number of false starts in athletics has also dramatically reduced since the rule change, which is a good thing IMO. If this weren't Bolt we wouldn't be having this discussion. Ultimately he made a stupid mistake, got punished for it. End of.

If Blake distracted Bolt, then it shows Blake has no real talent.

Chambers was disqualified for twitching in his block. Just because he didn't do it enough to trigger the sensors, doesn't make it any less right.

They need to get back to the original system. Rather than this annoying made for TV schedule's system which is ruining the sport.

They also need to reduce the time in the set position. The set position was originally put in place to set your self in the blocks, you were allowed to shuffle a bit.

If you are not allowed to set yourself anymore, then reduce it to one second at the most.

Mad for Chelsea wrote:Not sure I agree with this. The twitch if it's there is very small, and as an athlete you need to react to the gun and not those around you. Just wonder if Bolt was more nervous than he was making out...

End of the day, the rules are there. Bolt was actually one of the supporters of this new rule. It's the same rule as in swimming, and you rarely see any false starts there any more. The number of false starts in athletics has also dramatically reduced since the rule change, which is a good thing IMO. If this weren't Bolt we wouldn't be having this discussion. Ultimately he made a stupid mistake, got punished for it. End of.

A twitch will set you off. You are going for the B of the Bang, if it is noisey and you think you may have missed it and someone else in on their way it could cause you to lose.

you could be right ian, I don't really know enough about it to say for sure whether Blake's very tiny twitch (if it's there at all) would have been enough. However, I disagree with going back to the original rule: you were having three or four false starts before every (big) race in those days and it got a bit silly. Athletes ust need to learn to adapt, no need for a knee jerk reaction just because it's Bolt....

Agree 100% about the time they're left in the "set" position though. This needs to be shorter and universal (again, see swimming)

Don't like the present rule - after the recent false starts, it will have a detrimental impact on absolute performance in terms of times. Starts are critical to getting super fast times.

If athletes are having to play for safe starts, then we will see an increased likelihood of times in the 100m being short of full potential, as athletes, particularly during major global events, react more slowly / safely in order to make sure they're there at there at the finishing line...

Additionally, as another points out, if there is excessive background noise that sets you off, or even a twitch from yourself [ one that isn't picked like Blake's ], you are unlikely to be able to argue your case at the time; instead, under one of the less 'draconian' rules, you are given the opportunity to adjust and be more cautious...

Bring back the previous rule - the lesser of several evils

They should have starting gates like they have in horse racing for races up to 400m. The gates fly open, you run. Go too soon and get smacked in the face with a starting gate for your trouble. Problem solved.

icecold wrote:They should have starting gates like they have in horse racing for races up to 400m. The gates fly open, you run. Go too soon and get smacked in the face with a starting gate for your trouble. Problem solved.

Gates wouldn't work for 200 metres

This whole 'Blake caused it, it's his fault' attitude is pathetic, to be frank. I've literally heard some people saying "Bolt didn't do anything wrong." Erm, apart from setting off before the starter gun, you mean?

Honestly, if similar claims were being made to pardon an error by any other athlete other than Bolt, we'd be agreeing how ridiculous it is. But because it's the golden boy, people want to perpetuate the idea that he was 'robbed.' He wasn't. He made a mistake, simple as that. The rules are the same for everyone, and I can't believe some people are still moaning about it. Bolt has accepted his error (and his error alone) and moved on - I just wish certain others could do the same.

I've said it all along. The best rule ever was the two false starts rule.

I don't believe swimming has it right for athletics, it is a different sport, with a less explosive start. Track athletes have to explode more and are much more tensed in their starting positions. Swimmers are more poised to launch.

I couldn't care less about the media nor whether the favourite wins, i like the underdog. But the 1 strike for all and this new rule are rubbish. It creates huge disappointment for the general public and unfortunately the general public will remember this race for the fact that:

Bolt was disqualified, Gay and Powell were injured. And that Bolt's training partner won. Unless Bolt stops running, he will always be in his shadow.

"If Blake distracted Bolt, then it shows Blake has no real talent"

How does this make any sense?



Also, when Chambers false-started absolutely no interest. Bolt false starts and it's an enomous problem.
I think the rule is detrimental to the sport, but that's what the athletes wanted allegedly, so good luck with that.

i was gutted for Chambers. He could have been a Silver medallist.

ryan...have similar views regarding Chambers...he'd been working hard all season, and believe that he could've produced something special...

"Re: Did Yohan Blake cause Bolt's false start?"

Maybe it was fixed between both of them, whereby Blake would win the 100m, with Bolt winning the 200m.

gboycottnut wrote:"Re: Did Yohan Blake cause Bolt's false start?"

Maybe it was fixed between both of them, whereby Blake would win the 100m, with Bolt winning the 200m.

Not a chance, as an athlete Bolt will want to win every race he enters, especially if he thinks he has a chance of breaking the world record

Where was the second false start? They shopuldn't have changed it down to 1. When did they start doing that?

By the way, what's the deal with the new blue tracks? Where's the usual red ones?

Super D Boon wrote:By the way, what's the deal with the new blue tracks? Where's the usual red ones?

Global warming has changed the colours from red to blue.

88 Chris, hmm,

You say Bolt false started and so should have been disqualifed. But this implies that you would disqualify everyone that false starts (ie goes before the gun) This would cause problems as in the VAST majority of false starts as once one guy twitches 2,3 or 4 guys around often go before the gun. Because of the twitch from the first guy. So would you disqualify everyone that moves in such a case?

Bolt accpeted it and moved. This a ood thing, but saying that a witch from someone else cannot or should not affect the 3rd party is just untrue and if can see Blake twitch, then that is the false start/falty start rght there.