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    How many false starts are sprinters allowed in 100m? Rules explained for 200m, 400m, hurdles and relay at Olympics

    SPRINTERS are allowed ZERO false starts at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and if found guilty will be instantly disqualified – if they starter decides they’ve violated it.From January 2010 onward, the official track and field false start regulation indicated that any athlete starting within 100 milliseconds of the gun being fired would be disqualified from the race.
    Usain Bolt’s false start in the men’s 100m final at the World Athletics Championships in South KoreaCredit: AP:Associated Press
    James Dasaolu holds head in hands after disqualification from 2016 World Indoor Championships, OregonCredit: Reuters
    Research has found that a reaction time faster than one-tenth of a second is impossible for a human, and the runner is therefore deemed to have anticipated the gun.
    On the ‘Track & Field 101: Rules’ on the Olympics website, it states: “If a sprinter commences his or her starting motion from the set position before the Starter’s gun is fired, it is deemed a false start. The first false start of a race results in an automatic disqualification to the offending runner.”
    How can they detect a false start?
    False start detection systems were introduced in 1979 and Omega’s false start detection system made its Olympics debut at the Los Angeles Olympics Games.
    In major athletics competitions, reaction times are currently detected using IAAF accredited false start detection systems.
    These systems determine athletes reaction time using encased accelerometers or force sensors fixed to the rear of the starting block rail to detect changes in force or acceleration exerted on the blocks through the feet.
    RT’s can now be instantly calculated accurately to 0.001 of a second, but for results, are recorded to the nearest 0.01 second.
    For athletics and specifically sprint athletes reaction times and overall sprint time detection methods have improved dramatically since the original 1896 Olympic Games.
    Were false starts previously allowed?
    Originally, before 2010, the “one-and-done” regulation was implemented meaning one false start per race in events up to 400 metres would be allowed rather than one false start per athlete as in the past.
    This means the athlete making the second false start of a race, breaking the accepted reaction time of 0.10 seconds, will be disqualified regardless of whether he or she was responsible for the first one.
    However, sprinters would often take advantage of the previous false start rules, purposely jumping the gun either to play mind games with their competition and set them on edge before the race or use the extra leniency to predict the gun and gain bonus milliseconds from their efforts.
    So, World Athletics just decided to just ban any false starts – it’s one and YOU’RE OUT.
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    Famous false starts at previous track and field events
    Usain Bolt
    At the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, Usain Bolt, 100-meter world record holder, jumped the gun in the 100-meter final over a year after the new regulations had been put into place.
    Bolt walked off the track, head in hands, only to watch his Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake take the gold.
    Usain Bolt after disqualification at 2011 World ChampionshipsCredit: AFP
    Jon Drummond
    Drummond’s infamous “I did not move!” plea after his disqualification at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris.
    Drummond protested his disqualification by storming into the infield, repeatedly yelling in front of officials and laying on the track.
    His tantrum delayed the 100-meter final by ONE HOUR. 
    A race official shows Jon Drummond the red card after his false start at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in ParisCredit: AP:Associated Press
    Linford Christie
    The 1992 Olympic 100-meter champion was disqualified under an even older false-start rule.

    Before 2003, any sprinter could false start once and get away with just a warning however Christie reacted early twice, delayed the competition and refused to leave the track.
    This was the first time a previous champion was unable to defend his title live on TV.
    Linford Christie walking back to his starting blocks after disqualification at the 1992 Barcelona gamesCredit: Reuters More

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    Simone Biles all-but quits rest of Tokyo 2020 Olympics after opting out of vault and uneven events due to mental health

    GYMNASTICS poster girl Simone Biles looks set to quit Tokyo 2020 after opting out of her first two individual finals.American Biles, who was expected to dominate the tournament and become one of the defining images of the Games, has instead developed into a dramatic storyline.
    Simone Biles has withdrawn from the single vault and uneven bar eventsCredit: Reuters
    The 24-year-old Biles, who has admitted to significant mental issues, pulled out of the team competition final after a single vault.
    She stayed inside the Ariake Gymnastics Centre to cheer her team-mates on to silver and was again a spectator for the all-round final won by Sunisa Lee.
    Biles, though, had remained on the start list for the four apparatus finals tomorrow and Monday.
    But US Gymnastics today announced: “After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars. 
    “She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether to compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam. 
    “We remain in awe of Simone, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all of the athletes who have stepped up during these unexpected circumstances.”
    Biles withdrew from the women’s team final and all-around final after turning in her lowest Olympic vault score in the opening rotation.
    And after the unexpected display, the Ohioan revealed she didn’t ‘trust’ herself to produce the required performance.
    She said: “After the performance I did, I just didn’t want to go on. I have to focus on my mental health.
    “I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now.
    After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven barsA US Gymnastics statement
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    “We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do.
    “I don’t trust myself as much anymore. Maybe it’s getting older. There were a couple of days when everybody tweets you and you feel the weight of the world.
    “We’re not just athletes. We’re people at the end of the day and sometimes you just have to step back.”
    The sporting world has rallied around Biles and praised her for prioritising her mental health.
    The four-time defending champion, however, has also received plenty of criticism – including from TV star Piers Morgan.
    But on Friday, Biles posted a video of herself landing on her back in training as she attempted twisties.
    The accompanying caption for the since-deleted video read: “For anyone saying I quit. I didn’t quit, my mind and body are simply not in sync.
    “As you can see [in the video]. I don’t think you realize how hard this is on hard/competition surface.
    “Nor do I have to explain why I put health first. Physical health is mental health.”
    She added: ‘No, this was not happening before I left the USA,’ she wrote. ‘It randomly started after prelims competition the very next morning.
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    “By that time no an alternate was not allowed to be placed in my position for you “know it alls”.
    “We have four on a team for a reason. I chose not to continue team competition [and risk] losing a medal (of any color) for the girls/US.
    “Also for my own safety and health.”
    Simone Biles shares scary vid of her landing on her back during training as she struggles with ‘twisties’ More

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    How many false starts are sprinters allowed in athletics? 100m, 200m, 400m, hurdles and relay Olympics rules explained

    SPRINTERS are allowed ZERO false starts at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and if found guilty will be instantly disqualified.From January 2010 onward, the official track and field false start regulation indicated that any athlete starting within 100 milliseconds of the gun being fired would be disqualified from the race.
    Usain Bolt’s false start in the men’s 100m final at the World Athletics Championships in South KoreaCredit: AP:Associated Press
    James Dasaolu holds head in hands after disqualification from 2016 World Indoor Championships, OregonCredit: Reuters
    Research has found that a reaction time faster than one-tenth of a second is impossible for a human, and the runner is therefore deemed to have anticipated the gun.
    On the ‘Track & Field 101: Rules’ on the Olympics website, it states: “If a sprinter commences his or her starting motion from the set position before the Starter’s gun is fired, it is deemed a false start. The first false start of a race results in an automatic disqualification to the offending runner.”
    How can they detect a false start?
    False start detection systems were introduced in 1979 and Omega’s false start detection system made its Olympics debut at the Los Angeles Olympics Games.
    In major athletics competitions, reaction times are currently detected using IAAF accredited false start detection systems.
    These systems determine athletes reaction time using encased accelerometers or force sensors fixed to the rear of the starting block rail to detect changes in force or acceleration exerted on the blocks through the feet.
    RT’s can now be instantly calculated accurately to 0.001 of a second, but for results, are recorded to the nearest 0.01 second.
    For athletics and specifically sprint athletes reaction times and overall sprint time detection methods have improved dramatically since the original 1896 Olympic Games.
    Were false starts previously allowed?
    Originally, before 2010, the “one-and-done” regulation was implemented meaning one false start per race in events up to 400 metres would be allowed rather than one false start per athlete as in the past.
    This means the athlete making the second false start of a race, breaking the accepted reaction time of 0.10 seconds, will be disqualified regardless of whether he or she was responsible for the first one.
    However, sprinters would often take advantage of the previous false start rules, purposely jumping the gun either to play mind games with their competition and set them on edge before the race or use the extra leniency to predict the gun and gain bonus milliseconds from their efforts.
    So, World Athletics just decided to just ban any false starts – it’s one and YOU’RE OUT.
    Famous false starts at previous track and field events
    Usain Bolt
    At the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, Usain Bolt, 100-meter world record holder, jumped the gun in the 100-meter final over a year after the new regulations had been put into place.
    Bolt walked off the track, head in hands, only to watch his Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake take the gold.
    Usain Bolt after disqualification at 2011 World ChampionshipsCredit: AFP
    Jon Drummond
    Drummond’s infamous “I did not move!” plea after his disqualification at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris.
    Drummond protested his disqualification by storming into the infield, repeatedly yelling in front of officials and laying on the track.
    His tantrum delayed the 100-meter final by ONE HOUR. 
    A race official shows Jon Drummond the red card after his false start at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in ParisCredit: AP:Associated Press
    Linford Christie
    The 1992 Olympic 100-meter champion was disqualified under an even older false-start rule.

    Before 2003, any sprinter could false start once and get away with just a warning however Christie reacted early twice, delayed the competition and refused to leave the track.
    This was the first time a previous champion was unable to defend his title live on TV.
    Linford Christie walking back to his starting blocks after disqualification at the 1992 Barcelona gamesCredit: Reuters More

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    Who is USA sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and why is she not at the Olympics in Toyko?

    THERE are few greater thrills in sport than watching an Olympic sprinter run on the biggest stage.And that was the dream for US 100 metres star Sha’Carri Richardson, who was tipped by many for a medal at this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo.
    Richardson had been expected to take the Olympics by storm this summerCredit: Reuters
    Who is Sha’Carri Richardson?
    Born in Dallas, Texas in 2000, Richardson is one of Team USA’s rising stars.
    An exciting sprinter, she competes in the 100m and 200m and rose to fame after a stunning run for Louisiana State University in 2019.
    Sha’Carri ran a 10.75sec race for the 100m, breaking the NCAA record and in turn becoming one of the fastest teenagers of all time.
    Fast forward to 2021 and she was breaking records again, recording a personal best 10.72sec in the run-up to the Olympics in Tokyo.
    As a result of that run, she is now the fourth-fastest American woman in history.
    But the US star will not be competing in TokyoCredit: Getty
    Richardson has always been a talented sprinter and won the 100m title at the Junior Olympics in 2016.
    She is known for her colourful hair styles and revealed after qualifying for the Olympics that her girlfriend picked the colour.
    She told USA Today: “My girlfriend actually picked my [hair] colour.
    “She said it like spoke to her, the fact that it was just so loud and vibrant, and that’s who I am.”
    Richardson’s stunning athleticism has seen fans compare her to the legendary Florence “Flo Jo” Griffith Joyner.
    Flo-Jo won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and relay race at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in South Korea.

    Why is she not at the Olympics?
    Unfortunately, Richardson will not be competing this summer at the Olympics.
    She was disqualified last month from participating in individual Olympic events after testing positive for THC, the chemical found in marijuana.
    Cannabis was banned by WADA as of January 1 this year and could carry a ban of up to four years.
    Sha’Carri claims that she only smoked weed to cope with the pain of finding out that her biological mother had died. 
    Richardson had qualified for the Olympics earlier this year but that run has been scrubbed from the record booksCredit: Reuters
    Her cousin Chasity Lanell told the US Sun: “I really feel [the ban] is unfair.
    “Sha’Carri really does inspire a lot of people and everybody makes mistakes. 
    “She is going through a very hard time because of the loss of her mother. 
    “It’s unfair to take something from someone who started from the bottom and made their way up to the top, from nothing. 
    “People are judging her from the outside but they don’t really know what she’s going through on the inside. 
    “It was just a little marijuana, it is a legal substance in the state where she took it.” More

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    Aussie Olympian Nathan Baggaley handed 25-year prison sentence for £110m cocaine smuggling plot

    TWO-TIME Olympic silver medal-winning kayaker Nathan Baggaley has been jailed for 25 years for trying to smuggle up to £110MILLION worth of cocaine into Australia.Along with his brother Dru, the pair was found guilty by a Brisbane Supreme Court jury in April of attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug in July 2018.
    Olympic silver medal-winning kayaker Nathan Baggaley has been jailed for 25 yearsCredit: AP
    Police seized a huge amount of cocaine that was linked back to the OlympianCredit: Supreme Court of Queensland
    During their trial in Brisbane, the court heard Dru, 39, and another man travelled hundreds of miles to pick up 650 kilograms of the drug from a foreign ship.
    It also heard the men began throwing the drugs overboard on their way back to the mainland when they spotted an Australian Navy patrol boat chasing them.
    The two men were arrested by Queensland Water Police shortly after the pursuit.
    Nathan, who won silver medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics in the K-1 and K-2 over 500 metres and is a three-time world champion over the K-1 500 distance, was charged almost a year later.
    It was discovered that he purchased and fitted out the boat which was used during the failed plot.
    Lawyers for the men argued Dru had believed the dozens of packages contained tobacco, while Nathan knew nothing about a plan to import any illicit substance.
    Judge Justice Ann Lyons rejected the brothers’ claims and sentenced them Tuesday on the basis that Dru was a principal organiser of the operation and his brother Nathan was actively involved on the day the two men went to sea, and was set to be rewarded substantially for his role.
    Nathan, 45, will have to serve 12 years in custody before he is eligible to apply for parole, while Dru will be eligible to apply for parole after 16 years.

    Nathan was banned for taking steroids in 2005 while still competing as a kayaker.
    The brothers were jailed in 2009 for manufacturing and supplying large numbers of ecstasy tablets.
    And again in 2015 for producing party pills and conspiring to make methamphetamine.
    Police intercepted the boat carrying the Olympian’s brother Dru
    Cops seized £105million worth of cocaine on the arrestCredit: Australian Federal Police
    Nathan Baggaley will now be spending a long period behind barsCredit: AP More

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    Team GB rowers end Tokyo 2020 without a single Olympic gold medal ‘after £27m investment’ as men’s eight take bronze

    GB rowers’ week of woe ended with yet more disappointment – and the first Games without a gold medal since 1980.After Vicky Thornley became the SIXTH GB boat to succumb to the “curse of fourth”, the defending champion men’s eight could only finish third behind New Zealand and Germany.
    Team GB’s men’s eight won the bronze medal after finishing behind New Zealand and GermanyCredit: AFP
    It was Britain’s second and final medal in rowing at Tokyo 2020Credit: Reuters
    Rio 2016 silver medallist Vicky Thornley came fourth in her women’s single sculls finalCredit: AP
    Despite the second medal of the regatta, it was a poor end to a miserable week, with the reaction of the crew telling its own story.
    And the nightmare at the Sea Forest Waterway could have a massive long-term financial effect on one of Team GB’s best funded sports.
    Two-time Olympic champion James Cracknell said on BBC commentary: “We got three golds and two silvers in Rio. 
    “We come away from Tokyo – after £27million worth of investment in British rowing – with one silver and one bronze.
    “At a time when the national budget is under pressure from so many areas, is that a good investment?”
    Starting in lane five, GB including only flagbearer Mo Sbihi of the crew that won in Rio, were in the race from the start, headed only by Germany at the 500m mark.
    By half-way, though, New Zealand were in front, with GB just 0.07secs behind and Germany third.
    The British crew of Josh Bugakski, Jacob Dawson, Tom George, Sbihi, Charlie Elwes, Oliver Wynne-Griffith, James Rudkin and Tom Ford, coxed by Henry Fieldman, had no answer as the Kiwis pushed clear in the third 500m.
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    And as they battled to stay in the frame, they were also overtaken by the Germans, holding on for bronze.
    It meant they did add to the silver won in the quad scull.
    But that represented a terrible performance from a team that had topped the rowing medals table for the past three Games.
    Indeed, GB had taken at least one gold in every Olympics since 1984, standing just two gold medals behind leaders USA and East Germany.
    But the retirement of long-standing coach Jurgen Grobler and a stack of experienced rowers took a heavy toll as the team significantly under-achieved to face a major effort to retain their lottery funds.
    Earlier, Thornley, who partnered Katherine Grainger to silver in Rio, became the latest and last of the fourth place finishers in the single scull, behind New Zealand’s Emma Twigg.

    Thornley wanted to be in the race by the half-way mark but found herself fifth through the first 500m, 1.51 seconds behind Twigg.
    She looked as if she might drop to the bottom of the pile but with 500m to go it was clear she was locked in a scrap for third with Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig.
    Thornley gave it everything in the final burst but was not able to close the gap and finished a third of a length behind the Austrian, with Hanna Prakatsen of Russia second.
    Harry Leask, Angus Groom, Tom Barras and Jack Beaumont claimed the silver medal in the men’s quadruple sculls which was Britain’s best resultCredit: PA
    Team GB’s Polly Swann breaks down in tears while discussing Helen Glover’s amazing career More

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    Tokyo 2020: US silver medallist swimmer Erica Sullivan reveals she trained in ‘gross’ duck poo and ‘green-brown’ pool

    TEAM USA swimmer Erica Sullivan has revealed how she trained in duck poo en route to scooping a silver medal at the Tokyo Games.The 20-year-old was pipped to the gold medal in the women’s 1500m freestyle event by compatriot Katie Ledecky.
    Erica Sullivan won the silver medal for Team USA in the women’s 1500m freestyle eventCredit: Getty
    American youngster Sullivan finished behind her team-mate Katie Ledecky at Tokyo 2020Credit: AP
    It was a remarkable swim from the Las Vegas native who has spoken of how difficult her training was in the build-up to competing in Japan.
    Due to the coronavirus pandemic, access to swimming pools was restricted, with athletes forced to look elsewhere to train.
    Some unorthodox methods involved swimmers using paddling pools, while Sullivan opted to train in Lake Mead, located 24 miles off the Las Vegas strip.
    And the American has remarked how the water was often ‘brown-green’ – resembling the murky water from pools at Rio 2016.
    Quoted by Yahoo, Sullivan said of Lake Mead: “There was just duck poop everywhere.
    “And it was murky and a solid brown-green on a good day.
    “It was just gross. We were getting duck mites, apparently they like to eat on ducks’ poop and they like still water.
    “We’d get in the water and we were covered in bites. It was nasty.
    “It built character. I’m funnier because of it.”
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    Sullivan also discussed the death of her father who passed away when she was 16 – just four weeks before she made the national team.
    Speaking in her press conference, she said: “The last five years, I’ve had a lot of struggles, and I think everyone knows that. It’s pretty much (an) open book now.
    “But it feels good to have it all finally pay off, and I really hope I can be like a beacon of hope to anyone who’s struggling with mental health or coming out or any minority that they are, to show that there’s hope.
    “And honestly me getting to do it here, where half my family is from, means the world.”
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    How much do Olympic stars get for winning gold, silver and bronze medals – with Team GB the LOWEST at Tokyo Games More

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    Helen Glover has emotional message for kids as mum-of-three suffers Tokyo 2020 medal heartbreak on inspirational return

    HELEN GLOVER had a special message for her kids after her Olympic comeback ended in an agonising fourth place.The inspirational rower failed to make a medal-winning comeback on her return from becoming a mum.
    Helen Glover and Polly Swann finished fourth in the women’s coxless pair final at Tokyo 2020Credit: Getty
    Glover delivered a passionate speech to kids after she and Swann came up short
    The 2012 and 2016 pairs champ and new partner Polly Swann have always had their backs against the wall at the Sea Forest Waterway.
    New Zealanders Grace Prenderghast and Kerri Gowler, who have looked the class act from the start of the regatta, set a world and Olympic record in the semis yesterday.
    And as the Kiwi pair rowed away from the field again, Glover and Swann saw their bronze hopes fade and die as they could not haul back the fast-starting Canadian boat as Russia took silver.
    It was a dose of hard reality for Glover, 35, who took time out of the sport after her Rio gold with Heather Stanning, having three kids with TV presenter hunny Steve Backshall while her boat partner returned to her role in the Army.
    Addressing her children Logan, Kit and Willow, Glover added: “They’re sometimes up at this time in the morning so they might be watching now.
    “I love them so much, they’ve been my inspiration. I never saw myself getting back in a rowing boat until they came along. You can do anything you want to do.
    “Trying and failing is not a problem, as long as you try. All the parents who have supported me on the way, thank you for your messages.”
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    The three-time world champion only announced she was coming back to the water in January, making the task of landing a third successive Olympic crown unlikely.
    And so it proved although it was the Canadian boat, in lane one, who flew off the start.
    The Canadians led at 500m with GB third behind New Zealand and were still ahead of the same pairings at the half-way mark.
    But New Zealand, with both rowers also part of the eight, came through to take the lead in the third quarter of the race as Glover and Swann lost third place to the Russian boat.
    As Russia tried to hunt down the leaders, Glover and Swann were hoping that the Canadians would fade to allow them into the top three.
    It was not to be, with GB finishing a length and a half off the Canadians.
    Glover told BBC: “I’m pleased that we put everything on the line. We knew it was going to be a really big final to be in.
    “Getting here was a tough route. We knew that if we crossed the line having spent everything. Looking back on the way we got here, we’re pleased with that result. It shows a lot of our hard work.”
    And emotional Swann then remarked: “I think we always knew in the Olympic final people were going to go out hard.
    “We thought we might have a bit more of a buffer but it wasn’t to be.

    “The way we have attacked this project has been really exceptional and I couldn’t be prouder of her and what we’ve done together, it’s been a special ride.”
    But while Glover and Swann could have no complaints, there was pure heartbreak for the lightweight double scull of Emily Craig and Imogen Grant as they missed out on a medal by just ONE HUNDREDTH of a second.
    The pair led through the first 500m but looked to be rowed out by a Dutch attack and closing sprints from Italy and France.
    But as Italy pushed through in the final 50m, the Dutch, defending champions from Rio, literally stopped rowing two strokes from the line.
    It appeared that Grant and Craig had taken third, with the Dutch in despair, but a photo-finish went against the Brits by maybe three inches.
    And Vicky Thornley produced an excellent row to reach the final of the single sculls, although Emma Twigg of New Zealand of New Zealand looks unstoppable.
    Thornley, who won silver with Katherine Grainger in Rio, kept her form and composure to finish second behind the Kiwi in the semi and looks set to contest the silver and bronze medals with Russia’s Hanna Prakatsen and Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig.
    Emily Craig and Imogen Grant missed out on a bronze medal by by just one HUNDREDTH of a secondCredit: PA
    Team GB duo Craig and Grant were just pipped to the finish line by Holland
    Team GB swimmer James Guy break down in tears for second day in a row after latest gold at Tokyo 2020 More