LONDON, July 21 - World number one sprinter Asafa Powell says the false-start laws give slow starters the chance to twist the rules in their favour.
The Jamaican, who broke Tim Montgomery’s 100 metres world record in Athens five weeks ago in a time of 9.77 seconds, is angry athletes were not consulted about the current laws which disqualify the second runner to jump the gun in any given race.
The present system is the worst it's ever been. I don't think they should have any false starts - some people try and take advantage by putting everybody else off with a first false start,'' he said here Thursday. I know a lot of athletes who can’t start well so they do it on purpose, but I won’t name them.
The IAAF haven't asked the athletes for their opinions but we should be consulted.'' Powell was disqualified from the 2003 World Championships in Paris after jumping the gun but he said: I’ve never twitched deliberately to put anybody off and it should go back to the way it was.
But it's not unfair to me at the World Championships. It doesn't bother me - the athletes who do it put more pressure on themselves anyway.'' The 22-year-old - who clocked 9.85secs in the rain in Ostrava last Thursday - lines up against Olympic gold medal-winner Justin Gatlin, Maurice Greene and Kim Collins at London's Crystal Palace on Friday. Powell is likely battle with the likes of Gatlin, Shawn Crawford and Francis Obikwelu at next month's World Championships in Helsinki - and he gave his season a big thumbs up regardless of the outcome. The season won’t be a failure if I don’t win the World Championships because I’ve broken the world record,’’ he explained.
``It will all depend on the conditions in Helsinki. If I feel 100 percent I will go 100 percent.’’
“I know a lot of athletes who can’t start well so they do it on purpose, but I won’t name them.”
There is one fellow jamaican who false-starts at every meet.
I don’t think they should cancel out false-start rules, for example…In this years World Championships Men 100m Final what if someone false-starts,deliberately or not, and then Asafa Powell or Justin Gatlin false-start by accident. Then we would have one of this years top 2 sprinters out of the competition,which wouldn’t be fair in my opinion.
Won’t go 100% in a world championship if the conditions aren’t right? Powell is really coming off cocky ever since he broke the record, but I guess he has a right to be.
I said the exact same thing today…Dwight Thomas. Another cat that annoys me when he does it all the time is JJ Johnson. He is a terrible starter and has done this on numerous occassions…it ANGERS me so much.