Why do sprinters get punished for “reacting too fast”?

They aren't reacting too fast to the gun. They are reacting before they can hear the gun.

Yeah, you should be allowed to guess it right and DQed for moving before the gun.

If there was a sprinter with inhuman reaction times who was false starting almost every race they would change the rules, but for now we know anyone who reacts too fast is just guessing.

At least the rule is very clear and objective (although it seems like sometimes it is over ruled).

The evidence shows how long it takes to hear and respond a sound. It cuts down on the people guessing and getting a jump.

Used to make them move back a yard, dead serious. Would ya believe a world record was tied after moving back a yard?

That will just add an undesirable element of random luck based on guessing. Having a cutoff known to be humanly impossible is fair provided it is indeed humanly impossible.

Also the reaction time limit was decided in the 60s, it's time to update it. These both mention 80 or 85 ms.

worldathletics.org

IAAF Sprint Start Research Project: Is the 100ms limit still valid? | NEWS | World Athletics

Open link

tandfonline.com

Sprint starts and the minimum auditory reaction time

The simple auditory reaction time is one of the fastest reaction times and is thought to be rarely less than 100 ms. The current false start criterion in a sprint used by the International Associa...

Open link

If it was allowed all sprinters would be coached to (literally) jump the gun on the first go. Every race would have a false start as a defacto strategy.

2003 called. It wants its thread title back.

Yeah, timed with a sundial.

0.004 seconds difference is nearly negligible in terms of how long it takes for the sound to reach the athlete. If they want to actually make it scientific then each lane should have a different reaction time because lane 8 is further from the gun than lane 1…

And now 1 ms "false start" for Allen, ridiculous.

Run the race and DQ after. And the number needs to be lowered.

it's the one-and-done rule that's the most absurd.

If you false start, that should not DQ you right away

This makes me to not watch sprints anymore.

Yeah, my problem with this is, that just bc you measure something doesn’t make it meaningful. I’m going to read more about how they actually perform the measurement. Given the uncertainties present, I can’t see how they can be sure to within 1 ms

Why would it be an undesirable element?
How much luck is involved and n distance runners being boxed in or tripped?

If you kept letting them try again, then it would be a guessing competition.
But they don’t keep letting them try. Guess wrong once, and you are out.
I don’t think anyone would start risking a DQ if you allowed a .01 reaction.
But you’d have fewer restarts.

The .10 rule sounds more arbitrary then scientific.

Sure it should. Every other type of DQ is a 1 chance violation.

Still believe this take with Devon Allen? Nobody cares until it’s an American getting DQd, typical of you guys. Everyone hates the rule now that it took out your star