Jon Drummond was disqualified from his 100-meter heat at the World Track Championships on Sunday when he was the second runner in the group to commit a false start.

Drummond lying on his lane

The heats were then thrown into chaos when the American sprinter refused to leave the track following his disqualification.

Drummond lay on his back on the track for several minutes, saying, "I didn't move, I didn't move," as race officials tried to get him to leave.

After about 15 minutes of confusion, all eight runners were led away from the starting blocks to the warmup area. The runners from the next heat were brought in to run their race.

Later, Drummond was officially disqualified and didn't appear for the rerun of his heat. He was seen sobbing uncontrollably and rolling on the grass as his coach, John Smith, tried to console him. Drummond also jumped into the water in the steeplechase pit at the practice track.

Under new international track rules, only one false start by anyone in the field is allowed. After that, any athlete called for jumping the gun is automatically disqualified. Previously, each athlete was allowed two false starts before disqualification.

These are the first world outdoor championships where the new rule has been applied.

"We told them this rule was going to do this," said Trinidad & Tobago sprinter Ato Boldon, who was in the same heat with Drummond. "Someone is going to get thrown out and ruin the world championships. That's exactly what they're doing.

"It's a wrong call. When the machine makes a wrong call, it's all over — 100,000 pairs of eyes could see, obviously, it was a wrong call."

Jon Drummond protests.

Jamaica's Dwight Thomas was called for the first false start. Then both Drummond and Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell were called for the second. TV replays were inconclusive, but a computer showed that Drummond left the blocks too early.

Drummond gestured angrily, then flopped on his back in his lane about 20 meters down the track. He got back up and stalked up and down his lane. Then he lay down again, shaking his head.

As course officials gathered around him, Drummond said, "I did not move. I did not move. I did not move. I'm not leaving. This is not fair. I did not move."

Drummond got up again, pulled down the top of his racing outfit and walked toward the stands, waving to the crowd. He then returned to the starting blocks apparently thinking he had been reinstated.

But then officials ordered all the runners away from the area to let the next heat go ahead.

When they returned half an hour later without Drummond, Powell went to his lane and began warming up. Then a course official confirmed that he, too, had been disqualified and made him leave.

Then each time the six remaining runners got into their blocks, the spectators at the Stade de France booed and whistled, preventing the race from starting. It took seven attempts and nearly 20 minutes before the heat finally took place.

Boldon, a friend and training partner of Drummond, won in 10.09. After crossing the line, he gestured angrily and stormed off the track. Patrick Johnson of Australia, who held the world's fastest time this season of 9.93, finished sixth and didn't qualify for the semifinals.

World record-holder Tim Montgomery won his quarterfinal in 10.04 seconds, ahead of U.S. champion Bernard Williams in 10.12.

Three-time defending champion Maurice Greene finished third in his quarterfinal in 10.04, behind Kim Collins in 10.02 and Dwain Chambers in 10.03.

Darrel Brown, an 18-year-old Jamaican, won his heat in a world junior record of 10.01. That shaved .05 seconds off the time Chambers set in 1997.

The semifinals and final will be run Monday.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Sports News
+Commentary: Don't meddle with yuan ( 2003-09-02) +200,000 troops to be cut by 2005 ( 2003-09-02) +Beijing Games marketing plan launched ( 2003-09-02) +Flood forces 10,0000 to evacuate ( 2003-09-02) +Beijing courts announce 50 major changes ( 2003-09-02)		+ China beat South Africa 2-0 in soccer friendly ( 2003-09-02) +Sun Jihai-Seaman mix up sends Arsenal top ( 2003-09-01) +China retains top place at world games ( 2003-09-01) +Real's Makelele completes Chelsea move ( 2003-09-01) +48-year-old Olympic champion is making a comeback ( 2003-09-01)