ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 29, 1996 TAG: 9607290099
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: Associated Press
LINFORD CHRISTIE has suffered enough, officials say, for being the first man ever disqualified from the 100-meter finals at the Olympics.
British sprinter Linford Christie will not be reprimanded for refusing to leave the track after being disqualified from the Olympic 100-meter final for two false starts, the governing body for international track and field said Sunday.
Rival competitors angrily accused Christie of disrupting Saturday night's race, won by Canada's Donovan Bailey in a world-record 9.84 seconds. But Istvan Gyulai, general secretary of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, said there was no reason to punish Christie.
``I don't find anything outrageous by it,'' Gyulai said. ``People must understand what kind of pressure he was under, what that moment must have meant for the athlete. We have sympathy for him. He is a great champion.''
Christie said Sunday he had no regrets about his actions.
``Once you have had one [false start], there are two things you can do,'' he said. ``You can either sit back and die like a sucker or go out there and give everything. It was all or nothing.''
Under the rules, any time there is pressure on the starting blocks less than one-tenth of a second after the gun sounds, a computerized device signals a false start. The reaction time of Christie's second false start was .086 seconds.
``The IAAF checked the documents and the decision was correct,'' Gyulai said.
There also was controversy in the women's 100-meter final, when Gail Devers won the gold medal in a photo finish over Merlene Ottey of Jamaica.
The IAAF rejected a protest by the Jamaicans, who argued that Ottey's torso hit the line first.
``After studying the photo finish, it was very clear that Devers' torso was a little bit further,'' Gyulai said.
He said Devers' time was 10.932 seconds, compared to 10.937 for Ottey.
Christie, 36, the defending Olympic champion appearing in his last games, became the first runner ever disqualified from an Olympic 100-meter final for false starts.
Christie did not protest the first false start. But after the second, he threw down the red marker flag on his starting block and refused to accept his disqualification.
``I felt that I had the perfect start,'' Christie said. ``I went with the gun.''
Several minutes later, referee John Chaplin came out and ordered Christie off the track. After watching Bailey win the race, Christie ran a ``victory lap'' of his own before tossing his shoes in a garbage can and leaving the stadium.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB