by Cassie Escriture

Created on: July 15, 2009   Last Updated: July 17, 2009

On your marks Get set Go! Known to runners and spectators everywhere, these six words signify the start of a sprint, sending athletes around the track in a race to the finish line. While they seem like a simple set of races, the sprints have their own sets of rules in order to ensure the fairest races possible.

THE EVENTS

Within the sprints (as defined by the events run at the Olympics), there are three individual events and two relays. The individual events include the 100m, 200m, and 400m races; the relay events include the 4x100m and 4x400m races. Each of the relays consists of a team of four athletes racing 100m or 400m and then handing a baton to a teammate, while the individual races consist of single athletes competing by themselves against their field of competitors.

THE RULES: INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

For the individual sprint events, eight athletes compete (one in each lane of the track) to be the first to cross the finish line. The race begins when the starter says Go or fires a starter's pistol. The first rule of sprinting is that each runner must have both hands and at least one knee touching the ground behind the start line when the starter begins the race. If they do not, or they cross the start line before the race begins, it is considered a false start and the runners must begin again. Each meet and track has separate rules, but typically the first false start is charged to the field, meaning it does not hurt the chances of any individual runner. However, if a runner false starts after any other runner has had a false start, the second runner is usually disqualified.

The second rule is that each runner must remain in his or her lane from start to finish. Stepping on the line between lanes or crossing into another runner's lane results in disqualification.

The third rule is that the first runner to cross the line with any part of his or her trunk or head wins the race.

THE RULES: RELAY EVENTS

The rules for the relay events are very similar to the rules for individual events, with only a few additions. Like the individual events, eight teams compete to cross the finish line first, though in the case of relays, each teammate completes the distance and then passes the baton to another teammate. The teammate then runs another 100m or 400m, respectively, and hands the baton to a third teammate. Teams are scored when the fourth and last teammate crosses the line. There are designated zones on the track in which teammates can pass the baton; if they pass the baton outside of the zone they are disqualified. The same starting rules apply to the relay events as the individual sprints.

Also like the individual events, each runner in the 4x100m race must stay in his or her lane. However, for the 4x400m, the first runner (the lead) must stay in his or her lane, but the second, third, and fourth runners may move into the inside lane of the track for their laps.

Finally, the rules to win a relay are the same as in an individual event: the winner is the first team to have all four teammates cross the line.

CONCLUSION

The sprints have been raced for thousands of years. As one of the most primal methods of competition, they are based on the need for early humans to be fast in order to survive. Though there are now a series of rules to regulate sprint races, the interest and drive to compete remains the same. With the crack of the starter's pistol, the runners are off and the fastest will win.

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