PARIS — It took less than one hundred milliseconds for Aaron Brown’s run in the Olympic 100 metres to come to a devastating end.
In round one of the event at Stade de France on Saturday, Brown lined up in heat eight. The starting pistol went off — then sounded a second time. Brown, who had been first out of the blocks, became subject to one of the most merciless rules in track and field: he was instantly disqualified because of one false start.
“It’s a little embarrassing and I’m lost for words, I’m still in shock that I actually did that. I haven’t false started in maybe seven years,” a visibly agitated Brown told media after leaving the track.
“My God, it just happened so fast, I’m like did I just move? … I felt like there was a twitch beside me and that kind of made me react. I thought I heard something in the noise. It just felt like ‘Go!’ Something in my head just said ‘Go!’ It’s like when you have that angel and devil on your shoulders, that devil is just like ‘Move, go, go, get a flyer.’ No, it’s the frickin’ Olympics, don’t do that shit. But I did it. So, yeah, it’s over.”
The pursuit of a spot in the 100m finals is over, yes, but the four-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medallist in the 4x100m relay will still line up in the 200m and 4x100m relay. And Brown, searching for a silver lining, says he should feel fresh for those events now that he’s no longer chasing an Olympic triple.
The cruel “one-and-done” rule of false starts for sprinting hasn’t always existed and isn’t consistent across all sports. Here’s what you need to know.
What qualifies as a false start?
The high-tech starting blocks athletes use in sprint events up to the 400 metres are equipped with accelerometers capable of measuring the athlete’s force against the takeoff pad at least 4,000 times per second. If the system detects a reaction within 0.10 seconds of the electronic starting gun going off, a false start is declared.
Has the one-and-done rule always been in place?
No. The one-and-done rule was introduced by World Athletics (then International Association of Athletics Federations) in 2010.
From 2003 to 2010, only one false start per race was allowed without the disqualification of the athlete making the false start. Any athletes making subsequent false starts would be disqualified.
Before that, every athlete was allowed one false start and would be disqualified only if they false started a second time. “It’s been very annoying, especially in championships, where you could be in a semi-final and there could be six false starts,” European Indoor 60m champion Jason Gardener said when those rules were changed in 2003. “But all athletes will have to become more disciplined.”
Wait, there was no one-and-done in the decathlon.
Those following Canada’s athletes in Paris may have noticed on Friday that the one-and-done false start rule did not apply to decathlon. Reigning Olympic champion Damian Warner was in two events with false starts: the 100m and 400m. In both cases, the race was recalled and the false starter was allowed to get back in the blocks and compete with no penalty.
That’s because there are different rules for combined events including the decathlon and heptathlon. In these events, the athlete responsible for the first false start receives a warning and the race restarts. Anyone who commits a subsequent false start is immediately disqualified.
Are there other ways sprinters can be disqualified?
Yes. Athletes can be disqualified for lane infringements, blocking other athletes or anything deemed as unsportsmanlike behaviour.
Unfortunately, Brown’s false start in Paris is not his only DQ from an international competition. At the 2017 World Championships, he finished first in his 200m heat, but was disqualified due to a lane violation for stepping on the inside line.
How important is reaction time?
For sprinters — especially 100m sprinters — very. Six-time Olympic medallist Canadian Andre de Grasse narrowly qualified for the 100m semi finals on Saturday, ducking over the finish line in the third and final automatic qualifying spot after a slow reaction time out of the blocks (he registered 0.144 seconds).
“I was a little bit just lackadaisical in the beginning and that kind of cost me,” de Grasse told media after the first round.
“I just gotta make those adjustments for (the semi finals) tomorrow and make sure I just react at the gun and make sure I’m pushing. I mean, I know Aaron false started, but I gotta react, I gotta react, and that’s important, even if I gotta risk it a bit.”