Feet, not hands behind start in sprint events....

[CoachW-xc]

Came across an interesting article on Track & Field news. Don't see it ever happening, but the idea isn't that far fetched. Part of the suggestion is below

"For a hundred years or more all sprint events up to and including 400 meters conducted by amateur athletic bodies world wide have started with hands behind the line.
This means that the feet are at least ½ a meter further back which means that the athlete in fact covers more than the designated distance.

Most athletes do a bunch start ( meaning they try to get their feet closer to the line). It is long past time for this anomaly to be rectified.
Bluntly the feet ( toe behind the line to be precise) should be behind the line not the hands.
This change allows the athlete to develop the best set position to suit his build.

Also to set a reasonable and fair penalty for a false start the offending athlete should have his starting blocks moved back 1 meter and if the athlete should offend again he is suspended from the event.(a world class athlete aka Usain Bolt coud still win)

If all these changes are introduced athletic events would reach new levels.

All sprint events would naturally be run faster and all records rewritten."

Any thoughts?

 

[cc coach]

I suppose then if that line of thought was pursued to completion, you would have to wait for the feet to cross the finish line at the end - instead of the torso. In theory, a person's torso could cross the line quite a ways in front of their feet if they are leaning.
Also, "all records would be rewritten" . . . . Well, of course they would - everyone would be running a shorter total distance than in the past. Not sure what is "good" about having all of the old records broken because of a change in distance, as opposed to someone actually running faster. It has always been that way, no real reason to change it.

 

[Duddley Do Right]

Very interesting perspective, it will probably take someone having a great deal of success with the different type of start to get others to follow but it does make sense what your saying, especially in a race such as shuttle hurdle with four starts.

 

[CoachW-xc]

Excellent point about the torso and the finish. With the above theory and change at the start, the feet would have to determine the finish as well (when they come across the line)
Hmmm....
A 45 degree night in late March...Kid trying to finish a 100 worried about getting his foot over the line first...No problems with pulled hamstrings or kids just simply trying to slide across the line.

Ok, dumb idea.

 

[captain_sparrow]

Originally posted by CoachW-xc:
No problems with pulled hamstrings or kids just simply trying to slide across the line.

Ok, dumb idea.

I learned in baseball, way back when, that you lost a half a step by sliding feet first. If that's true then I don't know sliding feet first would help at all.

But in all seriousness, though, I don't see any reason to change it from the way it currently is.