Usain Bolt Disqualification Will Have Wide Ranging Ramifications

This week's World Championships of Track and Field in South Korea were supposed to be the Usain Bolt show. After all, he had raced to dominant victories in the 100 and 200 meters at the past two global events, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, setting world records at both events. His poster was displayed all over Daegu to promote the championships. 

The "Lightning Bolt" has not run that fast this year, but looked like his old self during the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. 

Yet, Bolt was disqualified from the 100 meter final before it ever began, due to a false start. 

The new IAAF (the international governing body for track and field) rule instituted last year, at the hest of television networks (who hoped to speed up competitions), calls for immediate disqualification for the first and subsequent false starts.

From 2003 through 2009, one false start was permitted on the field, but any further false starts eliminated participants. 

The International Olympic Committee, along with its television partners and sponsors, are not very happy about a similar occurrence happening next summer at the London Olympic Games. The IOC will pressure the IAAF to return to the former rule and in turn, the IAAF will call a special meeting of its rules committee to change the rule back prior to London.

The media, no doubt, will dub it the ""Bolt rule".

No one wants to witness a feature Olympic event without a big star like Bolt competing.