A Must Read: Video Proof That Yohan Blake - Not Usain Bolt - False Started

rojo,

You're basing this claim solely on the timing of the events. It is entirely possible that the two happened independently.

I've deleted a number of posts from people who don't know the rule book or who didn't bother to read the piece we have on this.

Here are the other relevant rules. No flinching is allowed.

1) From Rule 162.5. "On the command 'On your marks' or 'Set,' as the case may be, all athletes shall at once and without delay assume their full and final set position."

2) From Rule 162.5. "After the command 'On your marks' or 'Set,' if an athlete disturbs other athletes in the race through sound or otherwise, the Starter shall abort the start."

3) From Rule 162.8. "The Starter should warn or disqualify only such athlete or athletes who, in his opinion, were responsible for the false start."

conspiracy gal, not wrote:

Frickin' POD!!!!!!!! Spot on! The officials not seeing something has nothing to do with Bolt. His disqualification had nothing to do with anything but himself. He reacted to quickly and could NOT see his leg twitch. End of the drama please.

Rules are rules. It doesn't matter whether Bolt jumped the gun too because Blake did first.

Also, did you know that humans have other senses besides sight? Perhaps he heard the movement.

Whambulance wrote:

The raw footage video is the one that shows is best. Not the one with the dude pointing at it.

I actually agree on this one. Blake definitely flinches. We'll never know if that's what caused Bolt to go, but it certainly seems like a possibility.

+1

rojo wrote:

I'm not making this up. Please, please read this piece and decide for yourself.

http://www.letsrun.com/2011/falsestart-0828.php

It's very, very clear. Watch the 2nd vidoe if mine's not big enough. Yohan Blake false started - not Usain Bolt. Bolt just reacted to Blake's flinch.

Weldon is in Daegu trying to contact the international media and the IAAF people so something can be done - at least an apology can be issued or something.

http://www.letsrun.com/2011/falsestart-0828.php

Rojo, most of the time you guys run this website very well, but sometimes you post things like this that make you look immature and juvenile. Yes, in HD slow mo Blake barely flinches but there are several things you guys seem to just ignore.

First, it is not a false start as you claim in your headline. It is at the official's discretion whether to disqualify someone if they were deemed to be the cause of the false start.

Second, things happen in real time and there is no way you can reasonably expect an official to catch that minute movement.

Third, if you actually watch the video you posted, you will see Bolt's legs start to flex almost instantly after Blake's twitch. I guarantee that there was less than a tenth of a second between the two events, less time than humans are able to react in.

Bolt false started. He didn't protest which was within his rights. Blake did not cause Bolt's false start and the official has nothing to apologize for. End of story. Please stop trying to take away from Blake's accomplishment today like everyone else in the world seems to be doing.

Barry Badrinath wrote:

rojo,

You're basing this claim solely on the timing of the events. It is entirely possible that the two happened independently.

And what do you want me to base it on?

I mean when a race starts, most people start running after the gun goes off. And every time that the gun goes off, I assume based on the timing that's why they start running although I don't know for a fact.

How much more of a casual relationship do you want? Blake flinches and then Bolt reacts. It's clear as daylight and the rule book is clear as well.

If this was a college meet and Blake's move was seen, they'd just raise the green card and let everyone try again or DQ Blake. Not Bolt.

Wow, deleting posts is really surprising, especially from those of us who DO know the rules.

Like I said in the a post that was deleted, No, Blake did not false-start. A false-start is a ruling made by an official, and no such ruling was made, regardless of what Bolt did or did not do.

Also, it is possible that the reaction was not subconscious but that Bolt actually knew what happened?

Is it possible that Bolt did not protest simply because he knew that it was his teammate that could be at risk? This would explain why he did not even consider a protest.

Please find me the IAAF definition of "flinch." Can an athlete blink, swallow, flex any muscle? Who decides where to draw the line... you? No, they have guys who train for years to make those decisions. The starter and recall starters are there for a reason. In the end it is a judgement call... to be made on the spot, not by video review. The argument that Bolt reacted to Blake but didn't realize it in his consciousness is far too new age for you to really believe. Seriously, look at the technical manual if you can get your hands on one. The absolute best you could hope for would be a stand up and I have never met a starter, in thirty years in the sport, who would have stood that up.

rojo wrote:

I've deleted a number of posts from people who don't know the rule book or who didn't bother to read the piece we have on this.

Here are the other relevant rules. No flinching is allowed.

1) From Rule 162.5. "On the command 'On your marks' or 'Set,' as the case may be, all athletes shall at once and without delay assume their full and final set position."

2) From Rule 162.5. "After the command 'On your marks' or 'Set,' if an athlete disturbs other athletes in the race through sound or otherwise, the Starter shall abort the start."

3) From Rule 162.8. "The Starter should warn or disqualify only such athlete or athletes who, in his opinion, were responsible for the false start."

Sprint Geezer wrote:

Having been in the 100m blocks, [I know that] anything--and I mean ANYTHING--can set you off. [As] I have said, the race starts well before the gun sounds. You are already on automatic response in the set position, and going out in response to a flinch is NOT your fault--that is why a flinch that doesn't register a tone isn't counted as a start for anybody.

I entirely agree here.

"Why didn't the man on Bolt's other side react to the flinch?" Because it wasn't in his peripheral vision (plus Bolt's body may well have blocked it).

"How could Bolt have seen it, even peripherally, unless he was looking backward?" The easiest way to answer this is simply to assume a sprint set position, if you know how.

"How could Bolt have been reacting to the flinch, if he immediately acknowledged that the false start was his?" Because his response, as Sprint Geezer says, was automatic. He probably had no conscious awareness of the flinch and was simply responding automatically--subconsciouly.

Sprinters are trained to do precisely this. If you are thinking "gun" in the set position, and the gun goes off, you have to think "gun means go" and then "go," before you start moving. That process, research has demonstrated, costs you just about a tenth of a second.

No--in the set position you are only thinking "go," and any disturbance can set you off: a cough, a camera click, a blowing piece of kleenex, a competitor's twitching limb.

Bolt knew that he went early. He didn't know that the early start was (probably) prompted by the next man's twitching leg. If that sounds unbelievable, all I can say is: welcome to sprinting. It's a whole other world.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I love SG's formulation: "The race starts well before the gun sounds." That should be a major coaching point for anyone who works with sprinters.

And, in addition, Bolt DID false-start, according to the rules.

But go ahead and fuel the fire, as the race results won't change. It will only increase the perceived injustice, and therefore the media and public attention.

On second thought, I've changed my mind. You are absolutely correct, the winner should have been DQ'd and Bolt should have won, but was robbed!

I can't wait for the Olympics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ARE YOU SERIOUS? Heard the movement? His leg moved a bloody inch. Honestly, we all know that there are other senses besides sight, but you have just made the most ridiculous argument in this whole thread. Rules are rules if a judge sees it. The judges didn't and neither did Bolt. ARE YOU SERIOUS?

And how do you conclude from the rules that you posted that "flinching is not allowed"?

FYI, guys flinch all the time. Much of the time there is no force applied to the blocks, it is just twitching.

Flinching IS allowed, and it is within the official's discretion to allow it.

conspiracy gal, not wrote:

ARE YOU SERIOUS? Heard the movement? His leg moved a bloody inch. Honestly, we all know that there are other senses besides sight, but you have just made the most ridiculous argument in this whole thread. Rules are rules if a judge sees it. The judges didn't and neither did Bolt. ARE YOU SERIOUS?

As someone who's false started based on the noise of another's movement before, I assure you that it's easily done. I don't think you realize how focused sprinters are when they're in the blocks.

I'm starting to worry that rojo is lost without wejo there to maintain order. Twins can't spend this much time apart.

Actually, he could have heard it. I don't know what the blocks are like there, but there is often a little play in the blocks, and when aluminum knocks together it rattles a bit.

Also, Bolt COULD have seen the flinch. I've seen guys beside me flinch like that, and gone out. You don't realize how wide your field of vision really is--check it out right now, it's somewhere around 180 degrees.

Whatever though, it really doesn't matter...now we have the 200 to look forward to!

Rojo your thoughts are unorganized and you are a terrible communicator. Why are you so nervous?

I'm not making this up. Please, please read this piece and decide for yourself. http://www.letsrun.com/2011/falsestart-0828.phpIt's very, very clear. Watch the 2nd vidoe if mine's not big enough. Yohan Blake false started - not Usain Bolt. Bolt just reacted to Blake's flinch.Weldon is in Daegu trying to contact the international media and the IAAF people so something can be done - at least an apology can be issued or something.http://www.letsrun.com/2011/falsestart-0828.phpEditor's Addition: We are adding to the original post as many people don't seem to have read the rules.The rules state that flinching, not just bolting from the blocks, isn't allowed. If someone does flinch, only they and not anyone that follows, should be warned or DQd.All of the following is language straight out of the rule book: http://www.iaaf.org/mm/Document/Competitions/TechnicalArea/05/47/81/20091027115916_httppostedfile_CompRules2010_web_26Oct09_17166.pdf

Apologies, I misread, misremembered, and misspoke: the man on Blake's other side probably didn't have the twitch in his peripheral vision. Fault all mine, here.

RoJo misspoke as well. As other posters have pointed out, Blake's twitch was *not* automatically a false start (and in fact I can't imagine that any experienced starter would have called it that). However, Blake could still have been DQed for it, if the starter had thought the twitch was a deliberate effort to make a competitor false start. (Again, I can't imagine a starter calling that here.)

The ideal, as others have said, would have been for the starter to have seen the twitch (eight competitors--not so easily done!) and aborted the start.