'Harsh rule, but what's the alternative?'

• Mills argues there's no easy fix to false-start rule
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André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

DAEGU, South Korea:

Sprint coaching guru, Glen Mills, agrees that the current IAAF false-start rule is a harsh one, but is of the view that the international regulators are not in a position to do much more at this point.

Mills, who conditions both Usain Bolt - the man who false-started in the 100m final at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics on Sunday - and Yohan Blake, the youngster who took full advantage of Bolt's absence and helped himself to a gold medal, is of the view that the IAAF's hands are tied at present and that we may not see an amendment any time soon.

"It's a harsh rule, but what is the alternative?" Mills asked.

"They have tried a number of alternatives before that didn't really work, and as far as I see it, there are only two things that they can do, either go back to where everybody has a false start or continue using the current one, because anything in-between is not equitable, so I don't know what they can do, to be honest."

The present 'one-strike' rule was introduced in January 2010 and effectively means that even a slight movement in the blocks, such as a twitch of the feet, can lead to disqualification.

Prior to this rule, a false start would lead to a caution to the entire field, with the next person to jump the gun being ejected.

The original rule, which was changed in 2001, afforded each athlete one false start.

Meanwhile, Mills reported that though disappointed Bolt, the Olympic 100m and 200m champion and world record holder, has already moved on and is now focused on defending his 200m world title.

"He (Bolt) is disappointed, but it makes no sense to groan over it continuously," Mills said. "He knows that the show must go on, and as a champion and a star, he must realise that he has to get ready for the next act, which is what he is doing.

"I don't know what went wrong. In terms of the conditions, that was a disappointing thing for him; the breeze was constantly blowing against the athletes and at a championships you want to produce your best performance," Mills added, before saluting the composure, focus and maturity shown by Blake, even after the false start by his close friend.

"He (Blake) performed well. I was very pleased with how he was able to hold his composure because, certainly, that kind of situation certainly affected him because they both train together, work together and aspire to performing, and seeing your number one man getting thrown out should rattle you a bit as to how you are going to execute your own start," Mills noted. "He handled it well for a first-timer and it speaks well for his future in terms of his maturity."

Mills was also quick to point out that Blake's victory here underlines the work being done by the team at his University of the West Indies-based Racers Track Club.

"It speaks volumes of our programme. We consider ourselves to be the leading sprint club and we have quite a number of young athletes coming up. I think that the future looks very bright for us," Mills declared.