Daegu 2011 World Championships Controversies

Here are the top 5 controversies from the 2011 Daegu World Championships:

1. Usain Bolt’s False Start in the 100m
2. Dayron Robles 110m Hurdles DQ
3. Oscar Pistorius entry in the open 400 meters
4. Caster Semenya 800m losing on purpose
5. USA 4x100m relay collision with UK

All 5 of these topics have been covered in various blogs, websites and Facebook Fan Pages, including SpeedEndurance.

But the topic I want to harp on is the USA/UK relay collision.

When I first saw the race live, I had a hard time believing what happened.  I’ve seen this type of collision happen at the occasional Penn Relays, but that’s about it.

I remember someone punched me in the eye at the mass start of a Cross Country race because of teammate’s arm backswing on a crouch start!

It’s unfortunate it had to happen to the USA with their recent history of bad luck, and even worse, to the same person “involved” in their past 2 DQ’s.  Make that 3 now.

It’s also unfortunate that the collision occurred with one of the biggest sprinters in track, UK’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey .

But stuff happens, whether it’s good, bad, lucky, or unlucky. (see Steven Bradbury 2002 Winter Olympics)

I don’t think it would have changed the outcome of the race, with Jamaica winning the Gold.  However, USA would have come second and Trinidad and Tobago would be in the running for a bronze.

The moral of the story is you have the right to your own 36” lane in the sprints and hurdles. 

The corollary is watch out for flying objects!

Here is the best angle and slow motion video on YouTube. 

UPDATE: Sorry, the video is no longer on YouTube.