Why you shouldn't jump the gun to be disqualified for a wrong start

Devon Allen did not jump before the starting gun in the final of the 110m hurdles at the world athletics championships, but he was still disqualified for a wrong start.

The 27-year-old hopes to clinch a world title before starting a three-season wide receiver contract with the NFL Philadelphia Eagles.

He qualified fourth fastest for the final but was too soon out of the blocks. This is what it means in the world of athletics.

Did Allen really leave the starting block too early?

Yes and no.

He doesn’t leave before the gun starts firing, but sensors on the block measure “reaction time”which is the amount of time it takes a runner’s leg to leave the block after the gun explodes.

Devon Allen has signed a rookie contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.(AP: Ashley Landis)

Obviously, leaving the starting block before the gun explodes is not an act, but the rules also say it is a false start if a runner leaves in 0.1 seconds after gun — the idea that no one might react that quickly, and that they were only predicting when the gun would fire instead of hearing it and then taking off.

According to the rules of World Athletics:

The start of the start is defined in the case of the squat start, as any movement by an athlete that involves or results in one or both feet losing contact with the footplate.[s] from the starting block, or one or both hands lose contact with the ground.

“If a starter determines that prior to receiving a weapons report, an athlete initiated a movement that was not stopped and continued until the start of their start, that is also a false start.”

Coincidentally, this is very similar to the rules surrounding linemen moving too early on the scrimmage line in the NFL.

What happened to Allen?

The reaction time was measured at 0.099 seconds — a thousandth of a second is too fast.

He lingered near the starting line after receiving his red card, stretched out his hand and looked at the replay on the monitor in the center of the pitch.

In the end, though, rules are rules, and Allen returns to the bottom of the stadium to watch compatriots Grant Holloway and Trey Cunningham win gold and silver, respectively.

Allen’s reaction time in the semifinals was also only valid, clocking in 0.101 seconds.

What do Allen and others think about the disqualification?

Allen’s status as an NFL player seeking to become world athletics champion caught the attention of many, so his disqualification is thought to have led to some outcry on social media.

NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III insisted that Allen was robbed, tweeting:

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But, after his initial disappointment and watching the race progress, Allen was relatively friendly.

“When I was flagged, I was very surprised … because I knew for a fact that I didn’t react until I heard gunshots,” he said.

“Being a thousandth too soon… kind of sucks.”

To his credit, Allen took it in stride, retweeting an NBC Olympics tweet about Holloway’s win and posting his own congratulatory message to his teammates:

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Griffin clearly wasn’t finished, replying: “SHOULD SWEEP. You shouldn’t have been disqualified.”

Shouldn’t he have been warned?

A false start is first used to generate a warning for the entire field, then a subsequent false start results in disqualification.

However, officials changed the rules in 2010 largely because early mistakes were rampant and slowed the pace of meetings.

One of the most notorious victims of the new rules was Usain Bolt, whose bad start at the 2011 world championship cost him his chance to win the 100m title.

The good news for Allen is that he can refocus on his upcoming NFL career, with Philadelphia Eagles training camp a week away.

AP/ABC

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