World Athletics

Auto-detected content change during sync (commit 06ffb34)

Recorded May 13, 2026

IAAF replaced the long-standing per-athlete-warning false-start rule (each athlete could false-start once before being disqualified on a second) with a field-warning regime: one false start triggered a single warning to the entire field, with any athlete (regardless of whether they had been involved in the first jump) being disqualified on a second false start. The change was driven by competition-pace and broadcast-schedule concerns — false starts had become a tactical weapon — and stood for six years before being replaced by the 2009 zero-tolerance rule.

Recorded May 8, 2026

IAAF tightened false-start procedure to immediate disqualification on first offence, eliminating the field-warning regime that had stood since 2003 and the per-athlete warning that preceded it. Any athlete who breaks before the gun in a sanctioned IAAF (later World Athletics) race is now disqualified outright — a change driven by competition-pace concerns at the highest level (false starts disrupt warm-up, cool-down, and broadcast schedule) and intended to discourage tactical false starts that disrupted opponents. The rule remains controversial — Usain Bolt was famously DQd from the 100m final at the 2011 World Championships under it — but has stood unchanged in elite competition.

Recorded May 8, 2026

World Athletics' first comprehensive shoe-technology regulation, issued ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in direct response to performance advantages observed from Nike Vaporfly carbon-plated foam shoes. Three core requirements: (1) sole thickness capped at 40mm for road and 25mm for track competition, (2) at most one rigid embedded plate or blade running any portion of the shoe's length, (3) any competition shoe must have been available on the open retail market (online or in-store) for at least four months before it can be raced — closing the prototype-fast-track loophole that had allowed elite athletes exclusive early access. Most consequential equipment rule in modern athletics history.

Recorded May 8, 2026