EDITORIAL - Bolt, Blake and a silly rule

For all the shock and frustration felt by Jamaicans and his multitude of fans across the globe, no one is likely to be as disappointed, and even angry, as Usain Bolt over his eviction, on Sunday, from the final of the men's 100 metres race at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics for a false start.

But to his and Jamaica's credit, Bolt has displayed admirable character and maturity over the affair. He has avoided the kind of personal recrimination that might have soured the victory for the race's eventual winner, his fellow Jamaican and training partner, Yohan Blake.

In a perverse way, too, Jamaican and global athletics may benefit from the unfortunate events in Daegu, South Korea. Certainly, Blake will.

Our commendation of Bolt started with his immediate acceptance that he had false-started once a breach was signalled. He ripped off his vest, cupped his hands over his head and walked off the track. There was no accusatory stare. No appeal for a second chance.

The rule, whatever he may have thought of it at the time, was no rule. It applied to Usain Bolt as equally as to any other athlete.

Blake's time to shine

Second, while we would have preferred live, in-person comment from the great man, we appreciate his statement of personal disappointment over what happened and accept as genuine his congratulations of Blake for having won the gold medal for Jamaica.

Unless Bolt's sublime talent has suffered a sharp terminal decline, it is unlikely that he can, in the immediate future, be eclipsed by Blake. But Sunday's victory, making Blake, at 21, the youngest 100 metres World champion, would have been liberating for the young man. Or, as Blake himself noted, his world has changed - as an athlete and economically.

At the same time, another victory for Bolt, outside his doing something spectacular, would probably be considered ho-hum by fans spoiled by his brilliance. As it is, Bolt did not lose, yet Jamaica won, Bolt's name remains in the limelight and global athletics has a sensational talking point.

Bolt, who had no problem with the one-strike-and-out elimination rule when it was introduced last year, may wish to move on and concentrate on his 200m races later this week. "There is no point to dwell on the past," he said.

Rethink false-start rule

Perhaps Bolt can move on, but the world won't. Most people, as does this newspaper, believe that the false-start rule, as it now stands, is silly.

Individuals, even those as supremely gifted as Usain Bolt, sometimes make mistakes. We do not, in the normal course of things, exact the gravest penalty for every infraction.

Indeed, the ridiculousness of the one-strike-and-out rule in athletics is demonstrated, unfortunately, in all its absurdity when the Usain Bolts of the world are ensnared by it and millions of people, who bask in their greatness and live vicariously through them, are deprived of that enjoyment because of extremist rules.

Of course, there must be rules to prevent cheating and gamesmanship in the starting blocks, but they must be sensible, which we hope the IAAF will now appreciate. The chorus around the world will certainly have alerted the federation to the fact that something is amiss.