Merlene Ottey (© Getty Images)
Organisers of the four Energizer EuroSeries meetings will take steps next month to ensure a smooth introduction for the IAAF’s new false start rule.
A delegation from each of the meetings (Gent, Stockholm, Birmingham and Lievin) will gather in Gent on Saturday February 8 to pinpoint any potential problems surrounding the rule and ensure a uniform approach to it’s introduction.
The series will be the first major test on the international circuit for the rule, which became effective at the start of this year.
Under the new ruling only one false start per race shall be allowed rather than one false start per athlete as before.
That means that the athlete making the second false start of a race will be automatically disqualified regardless of whether he or she was the athlete responsible for the first one.
The move by the Energizer EuroSeries to has been warmly welcomed by the sport’s governing body, the IAAF, which will send representation to the meeting in Gent.
IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai said: “The IAAF strongly believes that the success of the new false start rule depends on educating the athletes, officials, media and general public.”
“For this reason we strongly endorse the decision of the Energizer EuroSeries organisers to get together and discuss practical methods to help ensure a smooth introduction of the new rule in a competitive environment. This support is greatly appreciated.”
The new rule has created much debate among sprinters as to how it will affect races. Britain’s European 60m champion Jason Gardener who will run in all the Energizer EuroSeries meetings is a strong supporter.
Gardener said: “With the old rule it has been very annoying, especially in championships where you could be in a semi-final and there could be six false starts. By the end of the race it can feel like a prolonged training session and you end up physically and mentally exhausted.”
Gent dash additions
42-year-old Jamaican born Merlene Ottey, who has won 34 major championships medals in an illustrious sprinting career, and is now running for Slovenia, is the latest star name to be added to the women’s 60m in the Gent meeting on 9 February.
The start list already contained World 100m champion Zhanna Block (UKR), European indoor and outdoor 200m gold medallist Muriel Hurtis (FRA) , Belgium’s Kim Gevaert, the double European outdoor sprint silver medallist from Munich, and European indoor silver medallist Karin Mayr. Also added to the line up is Italy’s Manuela Levorato, the double European outdoor sprint bronze medallist form Munich.
