Athletes oppose Federation's proposals

By Christopher Clarey

NEW YORK, APRIL 16. Looming on the horizon is a major evolution in track and a minor revolution in field. Later this year, a series of rule changes will be put to a vote at the International Amateur Athletic Federation's congress in Edmonton, Alberta, during the World Championships.

The most prominent proposals, which are generating much debate and discontent, would make these changes:

** Sprinters would no longer be allowed a false start.

** Pole vaulters and high jumpers would be allowed no more than two attempts at each height instead of three.

** Long jumpers, triple jumpers and athletes in throwing events would be allowed a maximum of four attempts instead of six.

The proposed rule change that makes the most sense is the abolition of the false start.

One false start is permitted for the moment because of concerns about fairness. Jumpy sprinters, primed for the race of their lives, are not inclined to keep still. Why ruin their day, and perhaps their careers, for one ill-timed twitch?

Answer: because false starts disrupt other sprinters' concentration along with meet timetables, and because athletes in some other sports who are under just as much pressure do not get reprieves in case of a mental mistake.

Imagine Mulligans at the Masters or a slalom skier who misses a gate getting a second run. False starts are banned at the American collegiate level, which helps explain why American sprinters rarely jump the gun. As for the argument that the ban will make it harder to break world records, that is a more legitimate concern.

But consider the case of swimming, where false starts are banned and World records still fall with regularity, or consider the case of the 100m world-record holder Maurice Greene, who hardly ever false starts and looks ready to break his own record this summer. In short, the false-start proposal has a good chance of getting the majority vote required from the IAAF's 210- member federations.

As for the reductions in attempts in the jumping and throwing events, successful competitions and experiments have been conducted, and the pecking order has not generally been disrupted. But many athletes intensely dislike the idea of such change, particularly those in the pole vault and high jump.

``It's far from certain they will be approved,'' said Istvan Gyulai, the federation's general secretary. ``Since we published these proposals, it's amazing the number and kind of reactions we've received, especially with the reduction in the number of attempts in vertical jumps. It's funny. People don't seem to believe that by doing that you really reduce the length of the competition.''

It seems simple enough. Allow two attempts instead of three and slice one-third of the time. But the athletes are not convinced. ``It's tough to start jumping at 2.25 meters when you have only two attempts; I think people will start jumping at 2.15 meters instead, which means it will take a bit more time anyway,'' said Stefan Holm, the Swedish World indoor high jump champion.

Holm and his teammate Staffan Strand recently sent a letter to the federation to protest the proposal. Holm and many other athletes believe that if track officials are serious about saving time in field events, they should start by ensuring that competitions are run more efficiently.

``What's frustrating is that we know that every championship meet we are in could be run much faster; it's a matter of getting a set of officials who know what they're doing,'' said John Godina, a former shot put World champion from the United States.

``They waste 15 to 20 seconds per person making sure the name gets up on the scoreboard. We have to wait for award ceremonies that take five to seven minutes apiece. Things stretch out and it gets to be ridiculously long, and then they blame the number of throws for it. They ought to look in the mirror first.'' added Godina.

Godina has no argument with reducing the throwing and horizontal jumping events to four attempts, but he has a big problem with allowing only two qualifying attempts and then two in the final. Now there are three in each round.

``The events are so technical that with just two preliminary attempts, you put less of a premium on throwing or jumping far and more on not fouling,'' Godina said. ``It's admirable to want to try and focus more attention on each event. I just think they're going about it the wrong way. They may present a more compact product, but I think it will come at the price of quality across the board.''

It's difficult to argue with the fact that Sergei Bubka would never have been Olympic champion in 1988 without a third attempt, or that Holm's former Swedish teammate Patrick Sjoberg would never have been the world-record holder in the high jump without a third attempt.

Those might be exceptions - the vast majority of athletes are too spent to clear a world-record height on a third attempt - but is it worth tinkering with tradition without first trying less drastic measures?

``Cutting attempts could really affect performance,'' Holm said.

- New York Times News Service

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Section  : Sport
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