By Elton Tucker, Assistant Sport EditorPARIS, France:
VETERAN JAMAICAN track and field judge, Rev. Canon Gervais Clarke, has described Sunday's sit-down protest by American sprinter Jon Drummond at the Ninth IAAF World Athletics Championships as "street behaviour" which has no place in track and field.
"It was a despicable show," said Clarke, a Calabar old boy and current Rector of the Church of the Epiphany in Orange, New Jersey with 46 years in the sport at the international level.
The protest occurred prior to the start of the second heat of the men's 100 metres second round when Drummond refused to leave the track after he was called for a second false start.
Clarke, who was chief finish judge at the 1996 Atlanta Games and who has been attending the Olympics from 1976 and the World Championships since the first one in 1983, said it will be difficult for him to erase the incident from his mind.
"It was something that I regret that it happened at all. I have known Jon Drummond for many years. His father is a baptist minister and I was disappointed in the show on Sunday. I believe Drummond has to look at himself a little bit. This is a sport of gentlemen and ladies and we should be observing and respecting the officials and the rules and they are very clear.
"Any movement after the command of set constitutes a false start. Unfortunately the replay of the start was on the video screen many times at the Stade de France and Jon (Drummond) did not get out first. But that is not the criteria. The important thing to note is who activated the pedal on the blocks first. He actually did in half the accepted reaction time which is 0.10 second and his was 0.052. Asafa Powell was just as guilty, his time being 0.086.
"My only concern was there was a malfunction of the equipment but I should think those were well tested and both athletes were properly sanctioned for not complying with the rules.
"Jon (Drummond) has always been a character of some sort. Some call him the clown prince of track but he went a little bit too far on Sunday."
Clarke, who writes as Cannon Gee in a local track and field magazine and is in Paris as an accredited journalist, said the incident was not dealt with well.
"He was in, he was out, he was spoken to. That I found a little unprofessional. I like to know that when a ruling is made you are history and we move on to the next page.
"The situation is one that was triggered by the decision by the IAAF to institute one false start for the field and then whoever false starts after that is guilty. This was instituted in January this year but the United States has refused to accept this as the guideline and they run off their own rules which allows no false starts.
"I do not think there are enough meets in the States that use electronic blocks and I suspect that any adjustment made on the normal block would not register anywhere but at this level it would register."
Clarke said it was clear from the replay that Drummond did not break first out of the blocks.
He, however, added: "Once the set command has been given you can't move. If an athlete is on his blocks and is not comfortable at 'set' he can ask (for a delay) but he can't move. Once you move the traditional thing in the good old days when I ran was to put up a hand to indicate that you are not settled.
"Those days are over. Any movement in the 'set' mode is a false start. In the case of present day starters the electronic equipment beeps whenever someone contravenes the rules," the 63-year-old Clarke explained.
Turning to the case of Jamaica's Asafa Powell, Clarke said there was a mistaken view that only the athlete who 'picks' first should be thrown out.
"Whoever moves before 0.10 second is out. Powell obviously did not know that and many people in the stands didn't either. One or more athletes can be disqualified as long as their reaction time is faster than the accepted level."
Clarke, a long time member of the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA), said he felt Powell, the national 100 metres champion, will be the "wiser" for what took place on Sunday.
"I was happy that Powell did not engage in the theatrics that Drummond displayed because that would have made me very disturbed about the Jamaican situation," Clarke, who is now an American citizen, said in conclusion.
