IAAF to change false start rule
Published:Monday | August 10, 2009 | 5:41 PM
The world governing body of athletics is expected to change its false-start rule this week.
Currently, one false start is allowed per race. A second one results in the automatic exclusion of the guilty sprinter regardless of who caused the first false start.
The new rule would mean an immediate expulsion for any offender.
Nick Davis, spokesman for the International Association of Athletics Federations, (IAAF) says some athletes deliberately committed a false start.
As a result, the IAAF Council pushed for a new, clearer system.
The new proposals will likely be approved by the rule-making Congress on Wednesday.
The new rule would not apply to the World Championships, which start in Berlin on Saturday and would only take effect from next year.
The rule allowing one false start per race has been in force since 2003.