ABSURD RULINGS NEED SORTING

IF athletics’ world governing body the IAAF hasn’t enough problems, they got even more with the bizarre series of disqualifications at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

The Championships featured a whopping 21 DQs, most of them for ‘lane infringements’, including one men’s 400m heat where the entire field was thrown out.

Things were particularly farcical in the men’s 400m final, when the defending champion Pavel Maslak became the first man to win three World Indoor 400m titles, but only because the two men who finished in front of him were disqualified.

That included Spain’s Oscar Husillos, who had crossed the line first in 44.92 seconds, which, if it had stood, would have broken a 30-year-old European record.

While athletes should be smart enough to be able to keep in their lanes and obey rules, there is enough history to suggest that this venue has a problem that made life extra difficult for them.

The highest number of DQs in the World Indoor 400m before this – nine – was also in Birmingham in 2003. There were 13 this time and the steepness of the banks seemed to be a contributory factor.