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PARIS (AP) — With his hands on his head and tears in his eyes, Mozambican sprinter Steven Sabino left the unique purple track of the Stade de France and disappeared into a tunnel.
The 18-year-old found it hard to believe that he would return from the Olympics without even being able to compete.
Moments earlier, Sabino was on the starting line for the second run of the men’s 100-meter preliminaries, but he jumped off the blocks before the starting shot sounded. Track officials deemed he had made a false start and showed him a red card. card indicating that he had been disqualified.
“We got into a fixed position and I heard a noise,” Sabino said between sobs 10 minutes later. “I don’t know where it’s coming from. Probably pole vaulting. I don’t know. I heard a noise, the kind of noise. ” You hear when the electronic gun explodes.
Sabino pleaded his case to locate the culprit Vadim Nigmatov, pointing to his ears to imply what he had heard. He said he asked to participate in the race as a protest, but Nigmatov and the other officials refused.
“They didn’t even listen to what I had to say,” Sabino said. “I sacrificed everything for that. “
Sabino’s fate is the latest reminder that track and field’s zero-tolerance false start policy might be the toughest, most unforgiving rule in sports. It’s more sudden than a sixth foul in the NBA Finals, more damaging than a red card in the World Cup and less unusual than an unsigned scorecard in one of golf’s major tournaments. He caused tantrums in older adults and betrayed some sporting legends, even the wonderful Usain Bolt.
Just an hour after Sabino’s false start, the rule eliminated another runner. Britain’s Jeremiah Azu made a false start on his first pass and was also disqualified without being able to race.
Azu, like Sabino, said he “heard anything and just reacted. ” He planned to appeal his disqualification in hopes of having a chance to race and qualify in time for Sunday’s semifinal.
“Right now I’m acting like I’m acting like I’m acting again,” he said.
More than a decade ago, athletics’ foreign governance framework followed a policy of zero tolerance for false starts, in an effort to rationalize the game and games.
Under the old rules, sprinters or hurdles notorious for their slow reaction times would try to earn a merit by guessing when the starting gun would go off, knowing that the penalty would be charged to the area and not to themselves. Multiple false starts slowed down meetings and made it difficult for TV channels to operate on an express schedule.
In their eagerness to make the game more television-friendly, World Athletics officials have also risked depriving the audience of watching a famous sprint. Imagine the uproar if Noah Lyles or Sha’Carri Richardson walked off the blocks too early this weekend. and won the red card shown to Sabino.
Sabino said he has dreamed of competing at the Olympic level since he ran on the track at the age of 8. Lately she is in grade 12 at a school in South Africa, juggling her schoolwork and training.
“My practice notes showed what I wanted to see,” he said. “I thought this was my chance to show globally what I was capable of and unfortunately it didn’t happen. “
The hardest for Sabino? It was, he said, his first false start.
“The fact that it’s my first time and that he’s on the biggest stage. . . ” she said, her voice trailing off.
Brutal. Absolutely brutal.