Whitney Dodges Disaster to Win 200 Gold

Why wasn't she dq'ed? Anyone know the ins and outs of jr sprinting rules?

She def flinched. She would have been DQ'd if the sensors registered too much pressure applied, if her feet left the blocks she would have been DQ'd, OR if another girl did false start bc of her flinch(which prolly wouldn't be possible bc of the stagger). Close call, but the right call. Great race and way to stay composed after that.

USATF guidelines

Flinch or buck.

During the momentary hold at the peak of the set position, a runner may “flinch” or “buck” yet not break contact with the ground with the hands or break contact with the blocks.

This action will cause the runner to move slightly forward or upward and then slightly back.

If the gun is fired in the middle of this flinching action, the other runners are going forward while this runner is still going back. In such a case you are faced with a dilemma. You could let the race go on, based on the viewpoint that the athlete who flinched “dug his own hole” (a somewhat questionable philosophy if you are supposed to be there to ensure everyone gets a fair start). While

this athlete was moving, he certainly was not gaining any advantage because he was moving back when the gun fired, and you could interpret this as an unfair start and call the runners back with no penalty to the runner who flinched. On the other hand, there also is a valid point of view that holds that recalling and starting again allows this individual to correct their mistake while in some sense

penalizing all those who had a fair start and now have lost concentration because of the recall.

How to handle this situation in any given case may depend on how extreme the flinch was, and whether or not it could be considered an unquestionable full commencement of the starting motion (see later section on False Starts). These will always be subjective decisions on the part of the

starter. However, if the runner who flinches draws a runner to either side into a false start, the runner who flinched should be charged, since by his actions he has “disturb[ed] other competitors in the race through sound or otherwise.”

If the flinch occurs early in the pause between the “Set”

command and the gun, it may be possible for the starter to “wait it out” and let everyone stabilize before the gun is fired.

If the flinch occurs late in the pause before the gun, or if more than one runner flinches, the starter (or the recall starter) should call everyone up, calm the athletes down, and start the command cycle again. This is basic preventive officiating, giving the athletes the benefit of the doubt.

Given the explosive atmosphere at the start, there occasionally will be movements of this type, and the starter crew should be prepared to handle these instantaneous

situations.

If a race is called back because of a flinch or a false start caused by a flinch, the starter should briefly confer with the recall starters to get input from other pairs of eyes and make sure all agree on exactly what happened before making the call.

The blocks slipped just as she got to her final starting position and had full weight on the blocks for the first time.

Look at the replay and watch officials inspect and adjust her blocks after the faulty start.

the official line is

that is all

nothing to see here

move on

She should have been Disqualified. If it was any other nation they would have gone. Total sham of the system.

History wrote:

She should have been Disqualified. If it was any other nation they would have gone. Total sham of the system.

That's really not true if her blocks slipped. That's an equipment malfunction. Any other nation would have received a yellow card too.

Anyone remember when John Capel rocked in the blocks and they started the 200 anyway? He got left in the dust. That was back in the days when everyone got a free FS. He was witching they would have called it on him so he could reset. The starter did Whitney a favor by holding up the race.

Alberto again.

History wrote:

She should have been Disqualified. If it was any other nation they would have gone. Total sham of the system.

You said it ironically, but it was in Oregon. Hayward Field is like the backyard of Alberto's house. Also, there was not chance of Cain being dq'ed for contact (imagine Alberto screaming, insulting, telling about his connections with nike)